Suffocating defense lifts Ankeny past Cedar Rapids Prairie in Iowa high school football playoffs

CEDAR RAPIDS — The defending champs? Yep, they are still very much doing that defending thing.

Ankeny scored three consecutive touchdowns in the third quarter and got a relentless defensive effort overall to topple Cedar Rapids Prairie, 37-7, Friday night in a surprisingly lopsided Class 5A playoff quarterfinal at John Wall Field.

The Hawks (10-2) won the 4A state title last season and are still in Iowa’s largest class after the state added an 11-player class this season. They incurred a pair of tight regular-season losses but looked every bit the part of a championship team here, reaching next week’s semifinals at the UNI-Dome in Cedar Falls.

Ankeny came into this game ranked third, Prairie fourth. Their RPIs also were virtually identical: Ankeny fifth and Prairie fourth.

But this was not a close ballgame. Not at all.

“I know it’s something crazy, man,” said Ankeny linebacker Nick Eaton. “We’ve got an opportunity to do something that no Ankeny school has ever done. This was the (win) we needed to pull us to those next games and play in the Dome, baby. Go get another one.”

Everyone has heard of quarterback J.J. Kohl, the junior quarterback with a multitude of big-time college scholarship offers. The 6-foot-6 junior, the son of former Iowa State kicker Jamie Kohl, has been offered by Iowa State, Iowa, Florida State, Missouri and others because of his size and tremendous arm.

Running back Colin Kadolph also is well known, a Division II Minnesota State commit who runs with burst and an ability to cut on an absolute dime. Kadolph had 117 yards rushing and two touchdowns, Kohl threw for 111 yards and a TD to Brady McCullough that gave their team a 7-0 halftime edge.

But, really, it was defense that won this game for Ankeny. The Hawks stuffed Prairie’s rushing attack, forcing a bunch of Brandon Vlcko pass attempts.

The problem there, outside of being one-dimensional offensively, was Vlcko found immense pressure virtually the entire game, a bunch of blitzes resulting in him being sacked eight times and knocked to the ground probably another eight times after getting off passes. The kid took a beating, yet kept getting up and chucking it, showing his toughness.

“The first half, we shot ourselves in the foot plenty of times,” said Vlcko. “You just can’t do that against a good team like Ankeny … They played really well and stopped us in all aspects, really.”

Prairie finished with exactly 1 yard rushing, with Vlcko completing 28 of 40 throws for 263 yards, including a 48-yard TD pass to Elijah Ward late in the third quarter.

The Hawks had a long touchdown pass early in the second quarter called back because of a holding penalty. In the second half, they blocked an Ankeny punt that bounced downfield and off a Prairie player, giving Ankeny the ball right back.

“We couldn’t get out of our own way tonight,” said Prairie Coach Mark Bliss. “Some games, you just shake your head and say ‘What the heck?’ We couldn’t get a break to save our life tonight.”

Kadolph’s 23-yard touchdown run capped a scoring drive that began the second half for Ankeny. Prairie went three and out, a short punt into the wind giving the Hawks possession at the Prairie 39.

Kadolph eventually burst over the middle 17 yards for a TD and a 21-0 lead. Prairie drove to the Ankeny 31 on the ensuing possession, but a short pass deflected off the hand of a Prairie receiver and to defensive back Will Cornwell, who ran it back 66 yards for a pick-6 and ballgame.

An airmailed punt snap out of the end zone in the fourth and a 9-yard touchdown run by backup running back Nate Nessa provided Ankeny’s other points.

“The goal was to shut down that overload stuff, get rid of the single wing and make them spread the ball out. We did that well tonight,” Eaton said. “They came back and passed the ball on us pretty decently, but that’s what we’re used to in the CIML (Central Iowa Metro League). We see a lot of spread, so that played right into our ballgame.”

This was a disappointing end for Prairie (9-3), which overcame the suspension of multiple starters for the first three games of the regular season. The Hawks’ losses were by three points to Cedar Falls on a last-second touchdown and by a point to Southeast Polk, a field goal at the end of the game blocked.

Prairie was seeking its first trip to the state semifinals since 1981.

“We have some great young men in our program. I am proud of their efforts tonight, all season long,” Bliss said. “These seniors, I’ve watched them since they were in eighth grade, and they are just special, special young men. They are going to go on and do great things in life. I just feel horrible for them that we just couldn’t find a way to get to the Dome. It’s been 40 years since Prairie has been to the semis, and we were hoping this was the team. But it just didn’t happen tonight.”

Ankeny 37, Cedar Rapids Prairie 7

At John Wall Field

Ankeny 7 0 21 9-37

C.R. Prairie 0 0 7 0- 7

Team Statistics

First Downs - Ankeny 11, Prairie 13. Rushes-Yards - Ankeny 25-137, Prairie 32-1. Passing Yards - Ankeny 111, Prairie 263. Completions-Attempts-Interceptions - Ankeny 8-15-0, Prairie 28-40-2. Total Yards - Ankeny 248, Prairie 264. Punts-Avg. - Ankeny 3-32.0, Prairie 5-30.6. Penalties - Ankeny 6-40, Prairie 6-55. Fumbles-Lost - Ankeny 1-1, Prairie 3-1.

Individual Statistics

Rushing - Ankeny: Colin Kadolph 19-117, Nate Nessa 2-23, J.J. Kohl 1-0, Team 3-(minus) 3. Prairie: Jake Walter 3-15, Makelle Taylor 9-14, Brandon Vlcko 20-(minus) 23.

Passing - Ankeny: J.J. Kohl 8-15-0-111. Prairie: Brandon Vlcko 28-40-2-263.

Receiving - Ankeny: Brady McCullough 3-38, Maddox Ward 1-37, Jeremiah Kruger 1-19, Will Hinrichs 1-16, Colin Kadolph 1-1. Prairie: Elijah Ward 7-137, Gabe Burkle 5-37, Jake Walter 5-33, Trey Peterson 1-25, Makelle Taylor 3-19, Lonnie Melvin 1-7, Mason Trpkosh 1-5.

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