Cedar Rapids Prairie provides thunder in 43-19 win over Linn-Mar

MARION - It took them awhile to get started, but once the Cedar Rapids Prairie Hawks got things together, it spelled trouble for Linn-Mar.

Senior Keegan Simmons rushed for 165 yards and four touchdowns as the Hawks rolled to a 43-19 win Friday night at Linn-Mar Stadium in a game that was delayed for 1 hour and 40 minutes by lightning.

The win moves No. 9 Prairie to 6-1 overall, and 2-1 in Class 4A District 8 play. Prairie plays Burlington - which earned its first win Friday against Ottumwa - next week, and closes with Kennedy in a game that will likely decide the second playoff team from the district.

Linn-Mar falls to 1-6, 1-2.

The Hawks drove the ball right down the field after taking the opening kick. Simmons did much of the work on the drive, capping it with a 3-yard run.

Linn-Mar then got a 31-yard field goal from Austin Cochrane, but Prairie responded with a score on a trick play as Caleb Fuller took a lateral from Dalton Rayner and lofted a beautiful 33-yard TD pass to Caleb Fuller to make it 14-3.

The Lions then made a big defensive play, thwarting a fake punt deep in Prairie territory, but were stopped on a fourth-down play inside the Hawk 10.

Then came the lightning delay. After the delay, Simmons scored his second TD before halftime.

In the third quarter, Fuller was on the other end of a scoring pass, hauling in a 57-yarder from Rayner to put the game away.

Simmons followed with his third score on the first play of the fourth quarter.

The Lions got on the board on a 1-yard plunge from Ben Delagardelle before Simmons capped his big night with his fourth score, this one from 7 yards out.

Delagardelle added a second TD run with 2:48 left.

Linn-Mar plays next Friday night at No. 2 Iowa City West, which beat Kennedy, 34-20, last night.