Cedar Rapids Prairie wins a ‘track meet’ against Iowa City West for a spot in Class 5A playoffs

IOWA CITY — It was an all-out track meet Friday night at Trojan Field.

Cedar Rapids Prairie was a step faster.

Four touchdowns from Casey Kelley highlighted the evening for the Hawks (5-4) as Prairie clinched a spot in the Class 5A playoffs with a 45-38 win over Iowa City West (4-5).

Kelley carried the ball 28 times for 256 and had touchdown runs of 53, 91 and 4 yards, plus a 92-yard kickoff return.

“It was a crazy game, a fun game — those are the best games to have,” Kelley said. “It was fast. You go out there, have a couple one-play touchdowns, go sit down on the bench, watch what happens and you’re right back up.”

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Photos: Cedar Rapids Prairie vs. Iowa City West football

Collin Velky got on the board first for Prairie with a 1-yard TD late in the first.

Max Schwieger then picked off a Jack Wallace pass on the first play of the second quarter. On the next play, Kelley sprinted in for a 53-yard score.

Kelley showed off his wheels again midway through the second.

Pinned inside the 10, Kelley took an inside handoff, bounced it outside and sprinted to the end zone for a 91-yard touchdown, giving Prairie a commanding 21-0 lead.

“Oh my gosh, it was like a track meet,” Prairie Coach Kyle Knock said. “And they have some track stars. But this kid right here (Kelley), he’s pretty special. We’re getting him back healthy and we’re going to make a run with him carrying the ball.”

The Trojans scored with 27 seconds left in the first half as Santana Miller pushed through for a 1-yard TD.

Just as West had gained some momentum, T.Y. Pour took the ensuing kickoff 85 yards for six, giving the Hawks a 28-8 lead heading into intermission.

Kelley took the opening second-half kickoff 92 yards for another TD.

It wasn’t enough to break West’s spirit.

Izaiah Loveless hauled in a 35-yard TD from Jack Wallace. Wallace then connected with Damari Lacy for a 15-yard score.

After a Brady Stiffler 31-yard field goal made it 38-23, Loveless and Wallace connected again from 61 yards out to bring it within a score at 38-30.

Kelley was too much, though, adding his fourth TD on a 4-yard run with 2:05 remaining.

Wallace added a late TD to round out the scoring. He completed 28 of 45 passes for 448 yard and three passing touchdowns.

The win gives Prairie its 26th postseason appearance — first under Knock in his inaugural season at the helm.

“You know, with the schedule we had to go through, with learning a new offense, defense, new coaching staff, it’s pretty awesome,” Knock said. “We’ve still got something to play for.

“That’s a really good Iowa City West team. They have a lot of talented kids. We knew it would be a battle. Our kids rose to the top and I’m proud of them.”

Cedar Rapids Prairie 45, Iowa City West 38

AT TROJAN FIELD

TEAM STATISTICS

First downs: CRP 15, ICW 26

Passing yards: CRP 69, ICW 448

Rushing yards: CRP 312, ICW 142

Comp-att-int: CRP 5-13-0, ICW 28-45-2

Fumbles-lost: CRP 0-0, ICW 1-1

Total yards: CRP 381, ICW 590

Punts-average: CRP 6-33.5, ICW 2-42

Penalties-yards: CRP 9-85, ICW 6-60

SCORING SUMMARY

CRP 7 21 7 10 — 45

ICW 0 8 15 15 — 38

CRP — Collin Velky 1 run (Brady Stiffler kick)

CRP — Casey Kelley 53 run (Brady Stiffler kick)

CRP — Casey Kelley 91 run (Brady Stiffler kick)

ICW — Santana Miller 1 run (Ashton Honore 2-pt. conversion)

CRP — T.Y. Pour 85 kick return (Brady Stiffler kick)

CRP — Casey Kelley 92 kick return (Brady Stiffler kick)

ICW — Izaiah Loveless 35 pass from Jack Wallace 1 run (Evan Anderson kick)

ICW — Damari Lacy 15 pass from Jack Wallace 1 run (Wallace to Zion Shaw 2-pt. conversion)

CRP — Brady Stiffler 31 field goal

ICW — Izaiah Loveless 61 pass from Jack Wallace 1 run (Evan Anderson kick)

CRP — Casey Kelley 4 run (Brady Stiffler kick)

ICW — Jack Wallace 1 run (Wallace run 2-pt. conversion)

Individual Statistics

Rushing - CRP: Casey Kelley 28-256, Collin Velky 3-7, Wyatt Eash 4-(minus 6), T.Y. Pour 1-18, Denzil Green 2-37. ICW: Jack Wallace 8-47, Butali Butali 7-3, Marquise Rose 2-4, Ashton Honore 9-27, Santana Miller 4-38, Erik Caperon 1-10, Todd Rent 2-3.

Passing - CRP: Will Phillips 5-13-0-69. ICW: Jack Wallace 28-45-2-448

Receiving – CR: Denzil Green 1-11, T.Y. Pour 1-6, Casey Kelley 1-16, Collin Velky 2-36. ICW: Izaiah Loveless 8-160, Erik Caperon 3-93, Mason Goering X-X, Mason Woods 9-112, Todd Rent 1-10, Ashton Honore 1-2, Butali Butali 2-36, Damari Lacy 1-15, Zion Shaw 1-2, Mason Goering 1-7, Nick Caylor 1-11.