Jefferson will play ‘home’ postseason game at Cornell

The possibility of a postseason tripleheader at Kingston Stadium in Cedar Rapids is officially out of the question.

Cedar Rapids Jefferson will play its first-round playoff game Wednesday at Cornell College in Mount Vernon, athletics director Chris Deam said in an email Friday.

Kickoff time has not been determined. The IHSAA will release pairings late Friday night.

The J-Hawks (6-3) earned the right to host the opening round via a 43-16 win over Linn-Mar on Thursday that vaulted them to second place in Class 4A, District 5.

But Kingston Stadium will already be the site of two first-round games as Cedar Rapids Kennedy and Cedar Rapids Washington finished as champions in Districts 5 and 6.

'Jefferson is excited to play on the Cornell campus, the Cornell Athletic staff there has been great to work with,” Deam said.

This is the second straight playoff appearance for Jefferson, which finished with a winning record for the first time in 15 years. The J-Hawks are seeking their first playoff win since 1993.

'We're preparing for any situation that they put us in,” Jefferson's Valentino Green said after Thursday's win. 'I feel like we do deserve to play (at Kingston), but we could have played better ... We put ourselves in this situation, so we'll have to go with it.”

Deam said Thursday night he would call the IHSAA Friday to plead his case to play at Kingston, but Jefferson was forced to find a neutral site.