Iowa City High topples No. 1 Cedar Rapids Kennedy in Iowa high school football playoffs

CEDAR RAPIDS — It wasn’t a Gatorade shower, more like a Gatorade sprinkle.

As Mitch Moore answered postgame questions, his son Carter doused him from behind with whatever was left from a 20-ounce bottle.

You earned it, Dad. You too, Little Hawks.

Darren Richardson rushed for 227 yards and three touchdowns, and seventh-ranked Iowa City High took it to No. 1 Cedar Rapids Kennedy, 32-13, in a Class 5A football quarterfinal game Friday night at Kingston Stadium.

“I’m not really satisfied,” Richardson said. “We still have more work to do.”

The Little Hawks (10-1) advance to face No. 2 Southeast Polk (10-1) in the semifinal round at 4 p.m. or 7 p.m. next Friday at the UNI-Dome, Cedar Falls.

It is City High’s first trip to the Dome since 2010.

“I’m proud of this community, this coaching staff and this team,” said Moore, in his first year as City head coach. “These kids believe in themselves, in the process and in each other.

“They’re not afraid of adversity. They can handle it.”

They handled it when Kennedy (10-1) cut a 20-0 deficit to 20-13. They handled it when they drove to the Cougars’ 1-yard line early in the fourth quarter and were stopped short.

Instead of letting the momentum swing further in Kennedy’s direction, City forced a three-and-out, got the ball back at the Cougars 27 and scored four plays later on Richardson’s 2-yard run to make it 26-13.

Mini-crisis averted.

“We got back within a score, and we shot ourselves in the foot a couple of times,” Kennedy Coach Brian White said. “You can’t do that against a high-quality football team, and City High certainly is that.”

Working with a fast tempo and behind a strong offensive line, City High scored on three of its first four possessions on its way to a 20-0 advantage.

Jamari Newson scored on a 15-yard pass from Drew Larson, then Joey Bouska and Richardson tallied on runs of 6 and 3 yards.

“People can’t keep up with our tempo,” Moore said. “That’s the way we practice. You can’t just start that tempo on Friday night.”

Richardson said, “I’m really proud of our O-line. Without them, I don’t do anything.”

Kennedy quarterback Carson Blietz hooked up for touchdown passes to Brenden Linde (9 yards, in the second quarter) and Cyrus Courtney (19 yards, in the third) to get the Cougars back in it, but the fourth quarter belonged to the Little Hawks.

“We had a little adversity there, but we stayed with it,” City’s Ben Kueter said. “That’s what you’ve got to do in the playoffs.

“This has been our goal for the last nine months. It might be a shock to some people, but it’s not a shock to us.”

City High finished with 475 yards of total offense, compared to 205 for Kennedy.

“We’re a good football team,” White said. “But we weren’t good enough tonight.”

Iowa City High 32, Cedar Rapids Kennedy 13

AT KINGSTON STADIUM

TEAM STATISTICS

First downs: ICH 20, CRK 15

Rushes-yards: ICH 48-330, CRK 38-108

Passing yards: ICH 145, CRK 97

Passing: ICH 9-13-2, CRK 9-22-2

Total yards: ICH 475, CRK 205

Fumbles-lost: ICH 1-0, CRK 0-0

Punts-average: ICH 1-51.0, CRK 5-33.6

Penalties-yards: ICH 6-70, CRK 7-56

SCORING SUMMARY

Iowa City High 14 6 0 12 — 32

C.R. Kennedy 0 7 6 0 — 13

ICH — Jamari Newson 15 pass from Drew Larson (Kongalo Mwenemkamba kick)

ICH — Joey Bouska 6 run (Mwenemkamba kick)

ICH — Darren Richardson 3 run (run failed)

CRK — Brenden Linde 9 pass from Carson Blietz (Luke Bradley kick)

CRK — Cyrus Courtney 19 pass from Blietz (kick failed)

ICH — Richardson 2 run (kick failed)

ICH — Richardson 3 run (pass failed)

INDIVIDUAL STATISTICS

Rushing

City — Darren Richardson 27-227, Joey Bouska 10-31, Ronnie Major 5-10, Drew Larson 2-3, Quinton Tran 3-0. Kennedy — Jazan Williams 23-84, Colin Flannagan 5-23, Alex Koch 2-5, Isaiah Morgan 1-4, Hayden Klett 1-4, Carson Blietz 6-(minus 10).

Passing

City — Tran 5-6-0-77, Larson 4-7-2-68. Kennedy — Blietz 9-22-2-97.

Receiving

City — Jamari Newson 5-91, Richardson 2-24, Gable Mitchell 1-17, Major 1-13. Kennedy — Brenden Linde 3-22, C.J. Coker 1-28, Cyrus Courtney 1-19, Morgan 1-14, Klett 1-7.

Comments: jeff.linder@thegazette.com