Cedar Rapids Prairie starts fast and hangs on to beat Iowa City Liberty, 38-30

CEDAR RAPIDS — The start for Cedar Rapids Prairie in Friday night's game with Iowa City Liberty was fantastic.

At game's end, the Hawks walked off the field as winners, but far from satisfied.

Coach Kyle Knock's team bolted to a 21-0 lead, only to see turnovers and penalties take hold, especially in the second half. In the end, Prairie was able to come away with a 38-30 victory over the Lightning.

"We still have so much to clean up," Knock said. "The first quarter and a half, I thought we played really well. The kids came out on fire and we had so many chances to put it away, but we just didn't have that killer instinct tonight."

What the Hawks did to have to start was Apollo Payne. He hauled in a pair of scoring passes of 39 and 49 yards from quarterback Will Phillips in the first quarter. The 6-foot-3, 195-pound senior finished the night unofficially with seven catches for 139 yards and the two scores.

Recommended Reading

Photos: Cedar Rapids Prairie football hosts Iowa Liberty

“We might have got full of ourselves in our own heads after starting so well,” Payne said. “The good thing was that we found a way to finish it out. We came together at the end and got out of here with the win.”

When Casey Kelley broke loose for a 44-yard scoring run on the first play of the second quarter, it appeared the Hawks were on their way to an easy win. In fact, they were driving for a fourth score but lost the ball on a fumble.

That turnover gave the Lightning a spark. Senior quarterback Graham Beckman, who ended up throwing over 50 passes on the night, capped the drive with the first of his three TD passes, a 6-yard strike to Dallas Miller.

“They are a good football team,” Knock said of Liberty. “They made plays when they had to and were able to stay in the game.”

Kelley was the man who kept Liberty at arm’s length throughout the second half. He scored on runs of 35 and 50 yards in the third quarter, finishing with 209 yards rushing on 23 carries.

Beckman, who threw unofficially for 363 yards, had a pair of second-half TD passes and a pair of two-point runs. His final TD pass, a 6-yard toss to Cody Nichols, brought Liberty to within one score.

After an unsuccessful onside kick from the Lightning, Prairie was able to run out the clock

Knock credited Kelley, Payne and Phillips for their ability to keep the Hawks in control.

“Those guys lead this group,” he said. “They are electric and we have to find more ways to get the ball in their hands. If we do that, we are going to be in good shape.”

The Hawks (3-2) return home next Friday to host Ankeny while the Lightning (1-4) will host Cedar Rapids Washington.

Cedar Rapids Prairie 38, Iowa City Liberty 30

At John Wall Field

ICL CRP

First downs 21 18

Rushes-yards 26-77 30-225

Passing yards 363 229

Comp-Att-Int 27-51-2 13-20-1

Punts-Avg. 1-36.0 1-52.0

Fumbles-lost 0-0 1-1

Penalties-Yards 7-78 9-102

IC Liberty 0 6 16 8 — 30

CR Prairie 14 7 14 3 — 38

CRP — Apollo Payne 39 pass from Will Phillips (Brady Stiffler kick)

CRP — Payne 49 pass from Phillips (Stiffler kick)

CRP — Casey Kelley 44 run (Stiffler kick)

ICL — Dallas Miller 6 pass from Graham Beckman (kick blocked)

CRP — Kelley 35 run (Stiffler kick)

ICL — Owen Drapeaux 6 run (Beckman run)

CRP — Kelley 50 run (Stiffler kick)

ICL — Mason Waterberry 4 pass from Beckman (Sutton Koller pass from Beckman)

CRP — FG Stiffler 30

ICL — Cody Nichols 6 pass from Beckman (Beckman run)

CRP — (Stiffler kick)

CRP — (Stiffler kick)

INDIVIDUAL STATISTICS

RUSHING - Liberty: Owen Drapeaux 9-39, Graham Beckman 4-8, Sutton Koller 12-38, Cody Nichols 1-(minus 7). Prairie: Casey Kelley 23-209, Will Phillips 3-10, Collin Velky 2-10. Team 3-(minus-4)

PASSING - Liberty: Graham Beckman 27-51-2-363. Prairie: Will Phillips 13-20-1-229.

RECEIVING - Liberty: Sutton Koller 9-113, Dallas Miller 10-141, Collin Decker 4-41, Cody Nichols 4-78. Prairie: Apollo Payne 7-139, Casey Kelley 3-54 , T.Y. Pour 1-14 Denzil Green 1-3, Bryce Kravitz 1-19 .