Cedar Rapids Kennedy shuts out Davenport North to wrap up regular season

CEDAR RAPIDS — Slow and steady wins the race.

Needing a win for a shot at a first-round home playoff game, there were no deep shots down the field.

Methodical and efficient Cedar Rapids Kennedy left no doubt, beating Davenport North, 35-0, Friday night at Kingston Stadium.

A season that began with a nervous 0-2 start will continue as Class 5A’s ninth seed when the playoffs begin next Friday. Following a tough loss at Cedar Falls last week, Kennedy got right back on track.

“We played a tough schedule,” Kennedy Coach Brian White said. “We asked for a tough schedule. We’re the ones that asked to play (West Des Moines) Dowling. You need to play those types of teams if you ever plan on competing against those types of teams.”

The Cougars (6-3) had two chunk plays of 20 yards or more, both in the second half. They didn’t need them. Churning out a constant barrage of 7- to 17-yard gains racked up first downs and piled points on the scoreboard.

“Those plays are killer,” Kennedy running back Trevor Scott said. “That’s going to wear the defense down. As a defense, you don’t want to see those plays.”

Equally effective on the ground and through the air, Kennedy kept wearing the Wildcats (2-7) defense down. As the first half came to a close, the Cougars had amassed 19 first downs, averaging 7.3 yards per play on 41 offensive snaps on their way to a 21-0 lead.

The lone blemish was a Parker Taylor interception of a Jacob Ervin pass. The aerial attack was otherwise crisp. Starting quarterback Vincenzo Gianforte connected on 20 of 29 passes for 255 yards and three touchdowns. Gianforte surpassed 2,000 yards for the season.

“I felt like we moved the ball,” Gianforte said. “We did what we needed to do. We got the win. That’s the biggest thing.”

Ten different ball carriers combined put up 195 yards on the ground, but Scott and Jacob Doyle largely took turns hammering the ball straight at the Wildcats defense behind the big Kennedy offensive line.

The Cougars meticulously drove down field on the opening possession. On fourth-and-2 from the Wildcats 28, Scott bulled ahead for 10 yards. Scott followed it up with a 17-yard burst and scored from a yard out on the next play.

Gianforte took his turn, dicing the Davenport North defense on the Cougars’ second drive, hitting Cyrus Courtney for 5 yards on a fourth-and-4. Courtney made a leaping catch in the end zone from 2 yards out for a 14-0 lead with 10:54 left in the half.

Doyle rounded out the first-half scoring with an 11-yard touchdown reception.

The Wildcats showed flashes. Coming into the night with 23 of Davenport North’s 122 catches, Izreal Harper hauled in the first eight receptions from Kazimir Rebarcak, the first going for 40 yards. But the Cougars answered the bell every time. The Wildcats never got closer than the Kennedy 23.

The win caps a run of six wins in seven games as the Cougars head into the postseason with momentum.

“We knew from the start we had a good team,” Scott said. “This is probably one of the better teams I’ve ever played on. It doesn’t matter what your record is now. You win or go home.”

Cedar Rapids Kennedy 35, Davenport North 0

DN, CRK

First Downs 9, 26

Rushes-Yards 25-32, 37-195

Comp-Att-Int 11-23-0, 20-32-3

Pass Yards 106, 255

Total Yards 138, 450

Fumbles-Lost 2-2, 0-0

Penalties-Yards 4-30, 7-55

Punts-Avg 4-39.8, 0-0.0

Davenport North 0 0 0 0 — 0

Cedar Rapids Kennedy 7 14 7 7 -35

CRK — Trevor Scott 1 run (Dylan Augustine kick).

CRK — Cyrus Courtney 2 pass from Vincenzo Gianforte (Augustine kick).

CRK — Jacob Doyle 11 pass from Gianforte (Augustine kick).

CRK — Doyle 1 run (Augustine kick).

CRK — Courtney 13 pass from Gianforte (Augustine kick).

Rushing — Davenport North: Mason Bogan 13-42, Kazimir Rebarcak 7-minus-12, Cunell Burrage 1-11, Jaedyn Stuckel 1-minus-1, Izreal Harper 1-5, Aden Jones 1-minus-5, TJ Ogden 1-minus-8. Cedar Rapids Kennedy: Calvin White 5-34, Trevor Scott 8-61, Jacob Doyle 9-53, Vincenzo Gianforte 3-minus-1, Brayden Alber 1-5, Jacob Ervin 1-6, Zion Jackson-Collins 1-14, Cole Turner 6-12, Caden Gorth 2-6, BJ Henry 1-5.

Passing — Davenport North: Rebarcak 11-23-106-0. Cedar Rapids Kennedy: Gianforte 20-29-255-2, Ervin 0-3-1-0.

Receiving — Davenport North: Harper 8-89, Bogan 1-2, Cael Pairrett 1-7, Burrage 1-8. Cedar Rapids Kennedy: Cyrus Courtney 7-78, Pierce McCrary 6-104, Doyle 2-28, Nick Woods 3-22, Davarion Harris 1-15, Alber 1-8.