Defense carries Cedar Rapids Kennedy to another win, 21-3 over Jefferson

CEDAR RAPIDS - Kennedy's defense had Jefferson's number most of the game Friday night at Kingston Stadium.

Despite the defensive domination, the Cougars held just a 7-3 advantage midway through the fourth quarter.

So the defense simply took things into their own hands. Senior Brock Hromidko stepped in front of a short Noah Vawter pass with 7:23 remaining in the game and rumbled 13 yards into the end zone to give Kennedy some breathing room.

And when Cairron Hendred went in to score on an 8-yard run, it sealed the deal as Kennedy came away with a hard-fought 21-3 victory before a good crowd at Kingston.

The victory lifted Coach Brian White's Cougars to 3-1 on the season while Brian Webb's valiant J-Hawks fell to 1-3.

The defenses were the story of the night as both teams made stands to stop the other from scoring.

Kennedy grabbed a 7-0 lead with 2:09 left in the first quarter when sophomore fullback Cade Parker went over from 6 yards out. Parker, just a sophomore, had an impressive game, carrying seven times for 69 yards.

Fellow sophomore Hendred also had a big game. He carried 25 times for 111 yards against a strong Jefferson defense that simply wore down in the end.

The J-Hawks drove twice inside the Kennedy 20, only to turn the ball over on downs. Senior Matthew Storm had some nice carries for Jefferson, carrying nine times for 56 yards before having to leave the game in what appeared to be concussion protocol. He spent the second half with his pads off sitting on the bench.

Jefferson was only able to muster 183 yards of total offense, compared to 294 for Kennedy. Kennedy's defense got a big lift from Zakary Packingham. He was consistently in Vawter's face for most of the game. The Jefferson quarterback completed 10 of 23 passes for 86 yards, but had three passes picked off by the Cougar defense.