The Kolache Bowl goes Prairie’s way comfortably, 48-7 over Jefferson at Kingston Stadium

CEDAR RAPIDS — You can rank schedule strength any number of different ways, use a mathematical formula of your specific choosing.

But however you want to slice it or dice it, Cedar Rapids Prairie has been through the meat grinder that way, if you will, this football season. Yet the Hawks have survived it, moving closer to a Class 5A playoff berth Friday night at Kingston Stadium by overwhelming Cedar Rapids Jefferson, 48-7, in the battle of west-side schools affectionately known as the Kolache Bowl.

Prairie is 4-3 but ranked 10th this week by The Gazette, if that gives you any indication of the uber-tough nature of the Hawks’ 2023 schedule. Grueling is an understatement.

They went into this week with a Ratings Percentage Index of 11th, as calculated by the Iowa High School Athletic Association. The top 16 schools in the RPI qualify for the postseason.

They’ve played four teams that were ranked in the top 10 at the time they played them, including No. 1 Southeast Polk. They lost a five-point game to Pleasant Valley and a three-pointer last week to Ankeny, both included in the current top 10.

“I’ve liked it,” said Prairie wide receiver-defensive back Apollo Payne. “It’s been a challenge, but it’s been nice to show the state that we can compete against high-level teams. Show that we’re a high-level team also.”

Kyle Knock is in his first year as head coach at the school and had no say in this schedule, inheriting it and dealing with it well. Next week is yet another toughie against top-10 Bettendorf, with a pretty good Iowa City West club to close it out.

“It’s been one of those things where you’re trying to develop a culture as a new coach and trying to win football games against very high-level teams,” Knock said. “We’ve managed it, we’ve gotten better every week. We were so close last week with Ankeny, were close with Pleasant Valley earlier in the season. We’re five or six plays away from being 6-1.

“But, yeah, we’re better because of the schedule. We’ll be more prepared come playoff time, if that opportunity arises. We’ll be ready to go because of it.”

Prairie has ridden the legs of running back Casey Kelley most of this season but he left the game early with an apparent ankle injury. Bryce Kavitz took his place and had a 118-yard, one-touchdown performance.

Fullback Collin Velky had three carries, all for TD: from 1, 2 and 6 yards. Then there was the passing game.

Quarterback Will Phillips completed 18 of 23 throws for 285 yards and three touchdowns, two to good-looking receiver Apollo Payne. He had seven catches for 103 yards.

But wideouts Denzil Green (five catches for 76 yards) and T.Y. Pour (five grabs for 100 yards) also played well in this game.

“Going into it, I was looking at the weather, 17-mile-per-hour winds,” Phillips said. “We were just working on the (runs), then we figured out the wind wasn’t as bad, so we started throwing it. The pocket was kind of collapsing, so I stepped up, and our receivers have really been feeling it lately.”

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Photos: Cedar Rapids Prairie vs. Cedar Rapids Jefferson high school football

You’ve got to keep in mind Prairie ran the unique single-wing offense under previous coach Mark Bliss, who had to step down from his position to help take care of a daughter who has been battling cancer. Knock is more ‘I’ formation, though there are a variety of other looks, including multiple receivers and a shovel pass that worked so well Friday.

“Since the summer, we’ve been working on it,” Payne said. “Me and Will, we’ve had a little bit of a connection since freshman year even. So it’s coming along.”

Prairie had 7-0 lead after the first quarter and extended its edge to 34-0 at halftime. A third-quarter touchdown made it 41-0 and got the continuous clock going.

Jefferson (4-3) avoided a shutout on a nice 37-yard touchdown pass from third-string quarterback Thierry Boyd to L.J. Nyenow Jr. late in the game. Bertin Gisubizo’s extra point provided the final score.

“We had a lot of guys banged up coming in,” Knock said. “Ankeny last week was a real physical game. We played the whole game tonight without our starting center. He got sick yesterday, so we had to move some parts around. Overall I’m proud of how we showed up. It could have been a little cleaner at times, but overall I was proud of the kids’ effort.”

Cedar Rapids Prairie 48, Cedar Rapids Jefferson 7

(At Kingston Stadium)

C.R. Prairie 7 27 7 7-48

C.R. Jefferson 0 0 0 7- 7

TEAM STATISTICS

First Downs - Prairie 21, Jefferson 7. Rushes-Yards - Prairie 28-170, Jefferson 22-37. Passing (Completions-Attempts-Interceptions-Yardage) - Prairie 18-23-0-285. Jefferson 5-15-1-109. Punts-Avg. - Prairie 0-0, Jefferson 5-33.2. Penalties-Yards - Prairie 5-40, Jefferson 3-15. Fumbles-Lost - Prairie 1-1, Jefferson 1-1

INDIVIDUAL STATISTICS

Rushing - Prairie: Bryce Kavitz 13-118, Casey Keller 6-29, Will Phillips 3-12, Collin Velky 3-9, Apollo Payne 2-5, Wyatt Eash 1-(minus) 3. Jefferson: Ishara Kalolero 9-21, Daunte Washington 6-15, Zack Robinson 1-15, Jeremiah Peiffer 1-9, Thierry Boyd 3-0, Team 2-(minus) 23.

Passing - Prairie: Will Phillips 18-23-0-285. Jefferson: Jeremiah Peiffer 3-9-0-57, Vernon Benda 0-2-1-0, Thierry Boyd 2-4-0-52.

Receiving - Prairie: Apollo Payne 7-103, T.Y. Pour 5-100, Denzil Green 5-76, Landon Meyer 1-6. Jefferson: L.J. Nyenow Jr. 4-94, Jermaine Robinson 1-15.

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