Beyer, Kennedy knock off Washington, 21-7

CEDAR RAPIDS - It's so rare, especially at the Class 4A level, when one single player can dictate the outcome of a football game. Especially one that's not a quarterback or a running back.

Truth be told, Shaun Beyer was a little bit of both of those things Friday night. Along with a tight end, a hybrid defender, a punter and the snapper on points after touchdown.

He wasn't the lone reason third-ranked Cedar Rapids Kennedy toppled No. 4 Cedar Rapids Washington, 21-7, in a playoff quarterfinal before approximately 8,000 fans at Kingston Stadium. Plenty other members of the Cougars 'Family” had hands in the big win.

But you can't doubt the kid's super influence. You catch a long touchdown pass and run back an interception 88 yards for a touchdown on the final play of the first half, and you've made a difference, if not THE difference.

'Yeah, his name was Tim Dwight,” Kennedy Coach Brian White said, when asked if he'd seen one guy be so influential in a game. 'That's the last time Kennedy was in the semifinals. He took over in the second half of that game for City High and ended our season (in 1993). I'm not saying Shaun is Tim Dwight, but Shaun is a special kid.”

Special enough to be offered a scholarship by Nebraska earlier in the week. He's 6-foot-5, an athlete and can run.

What else is there? Well, he punted six times for a 46-yard average.

Beyer didn't play much of the second half because of a tweaked right knee. White said he wanted to rest his star for the semifinals as much as he could, though he would have gone back in had Washington (10-2) crept closer.

That never happened.

'He is obviously an excellent player, and his skills showed up tonight,” Washington Coach Paul James said. 'His skills seem to just keep getting better and better. His speed, his strength, his athleticism, his ability to punt the ball. Whatever he does, he does extremely well.”

Kennedy (12-0) got a strong return of the opening kickoff by Matt Gardner, taking advantage of a short field to produce a very early touchdown. Tailback Tyler Dralle (who had 109 yards on 32 carries) scored from 17 yards out.

Late in the quarter, Beyer got open over the top and hauled in a 61-yard bomb from quarterback Nick Duehr to make it 14-0 Cougars. Washington countered with 1:20 left in the first half, when QB T.J. Vogel hooked up with Drew Dostal for a 22-yard TD that cut the lead to seven.

Washington forced a Kennedy punt and passed the ball to the Cougars 44 with under a second left. Vogel then threw a Hail Mary that Beyer - basically playing center field - picked off and ran up the sideline all the way back.

That essentially was your ballgame.

'We were playing it safe,” Beyer said. 'Coach said to knock it down, but I saw the field in front of me, so I decided to take a chance. Last play of the half and everything, what's the worst that could happen? Maybe run toward the sideline and get knocked out of bounds? I was trying to make a big play.”

'That really was a killer,” James said. 'You're in that spot, you are down, 14-7, and have a chance to tie it up. You've got to go for it. You don't just sit on the ball.”

Kennedy's defense took it from there, Washington never penetrated past midfield the second half, becoming one dimensional because of a lack of a running game.

The Warriors rushed for three yards, and Vogel was intercepted four times, the same number as in the regular-season game between the rivals, which Kennedy won, 28-24.

Vogel did throw for 207 yards. Kennedy had all of 48 yards in the second half, as Washington stacked the box to stop Dralle, but the Cougars didn't need any of those 48 yards.

'We knew we could do a good job stopping their run, but their passing game, we were a little worried about,” said Kennedy defensive back Brandon Niemeyer, who had his first two picks of the season. 'But we did our jobs and got it done.”

'Some games, things don't roll in your favor,” said Washington's Tavian Patrick. 'You've got to overcome adversity. I guess we did a poor job of overcoming adversity. That's what beat us tonight.”

Second-ranked Bettendorf (12-0) is the semifinals opponent for Kennedy, a game that will be played next Friday afternoon at 4:06 at the UNI-Dome in Cedar Falls.

'I have coached for 20 years, and this is absolutely the best night of my coaching career,” said White, a former Washington assistant in his second season as a head coach. 'I am so happy for our kids. They have worked so hard every day. They have put their heart and soul into this.”

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