Pleasant Valley too much offensively for Cedar Rapids Prairie in 38-21 win

CEDAR RAPIDS — Getting zero defensive stops of your opponent gives you zero chance to beat that opponent.

Thus Cedar Rapids Prairie fell to Pleasant Valley, 38-21, on another very warm September football Friday night at John Wall Field.

Pleasant Valley had the ball offensively six times in this game. It scored points all six times: five touchdowns and a field goal.

PV came in ranked eighth in Class 5A by The Gazette. Prairie was No. 10.

“We could have maybe scored 50, but they would have scored 51,” said Prairie Coach Kyle Knock. “I don’t know. I know our offense played well, moved the ball really well at times. But you feel that pressure that you’ve got to score every time. We’re young and still learning ... the glories of 5A football.”

Prairie (2-2) was coming off a humongous home victory last week over three-time defending 5A champ Southeast Polk. You wondered how the Hawks would respond mentally and emotionally to such a win, and the answer was actually pretty well.

Prairie took the opening kickoff and drove 80 yards on nine running plays, the touchdown coming on a 2-yarder from Talan Jackson. The extra point made it 7-0 right away.

“Well, we talked about (the SEP game) a lot this week,” Knock said. “One of the things I’ve preached since I got here is that you earn everything you get. You earn the wins just like you earn the losses. I told the kids last Monday that last week was in the rear view. It was awesome, it was a fun experience, we did something a lot of other teams over here wish they could do, beat a powerhouse like Southeast Polk. But it’s over.”

What makes Pleasant Valley (3-1) so difficult offensively is its unique double-wing offense. It’s one you just don’t see anymore in today’s big-school prep football.

You’ve got a quarterback under center and a running back behind him. Most times, you’ll have a pair of tight ends to go with the regular five offensive linemen up front.

Then there are two slot players on either side of the line who can go in motion and take pitches for runs, or occasionally sneak downfield for passes. Quarterback Harrison Fierce runs the show with aplomb.

He had three TD runs in the game and a 21-yard touchdown pass to slotback Ben Birkel. PV rushed for 286 yards, 136 of them and a TD coming from tough little 5-foot-6 running back Elijah Rodney.

“Huge win for us,” said Pleasant Valley Coach Rusty VanWetzinga, whose son, Joey, is a two-way lineman who has committed to the University of Iowa. “Our schedule has been tough, and Prairie is a very good team. I was very impressed by them on film, their physicality. We had some bumps in the road this week, some illness. We rely on a lot of the same guys, and we are cognizant of that. But up front is where we are tough on both sides of the ball.

“That’s kind of our M.O. a little bit: moving the chains, keeping the ball, clock possession team but taking shots when they’re open. We’ve been pretty successful so far up to this point doing that, and we put the ball in the end zone.”

Prairie’s other two touchdowns were on pass plays. Starting quarterback Wyatt Eash threw one to sophomore Tae Alexander at the end of the first half, and backup QB Owen Marxen threw one to Drew Bennis late in the fourth.

Those two also are sophomores.

Pleasant Valley 38, Cedar Rapids Prairie 21

(At John Wall Field)

Pleasant Valley 7 14 7 10-38

C.R. Prairie 7 7 0 7-21

Team Statistics

First Downs - Pleasant Valley 20, Prairie 17. Rushes-Yards - Pleasant Valley 52-284, Prairie 33-138. Passing - Pleasant Valley 4-7-0-70, Prairie 12-18-0-158. Total Yards - Pleasant Valley 354, Prairie 296. Punts-Average - Pleasant Valley 0-0, Prairie 1-27.0. Fumbles-Lost - Pleasant Valley 1-0, Prairie 4-2. Penalties-Yards - Pleasant Valley 1-3, Prairie 2-10.

Individual Statistics

Pleasant Valley - Rushing: Elijah Rodney 22-136, Harrison Fierce 15-89, Micah Herlich 7-52, Ben Birkel 3-9, Joey VanWetzinga 2-4, Team 3-(minus) 6. Passing - Harrison Fierce 4-7-0-70. Receiving - Ben Birkel 2-47, Elijah Rodney 1-16, Max Schmeltzer 1-7.

Prairie - Rushing: BJay Bush Jr. 12-82, Wyatt Eash 9-29, Talan Jackson 6-18, Denzil Green 1-8, Quinton Alexander 2-6, Brandon Brune 1-2, David Fason 2-(minus) 2. Passing - Wyatt Eash 11-16-0-118, Owen Marxen 1-2-0-40. Receiving - Drew Bennis 3-58, Denzil Green 5-52, David Fason 3-33, Tae Alexander 1-15.

Comments: (319)-398-8258, jeff.johnson@thegazette.com