Prairie holds off Davenport Central to set up Week 5 showdown at Iowa City West

CEDAR RAPIDS — A week after suffering a broken leg in a game against Clinton, Levi Usher was back at John Wall Field.

Though less nimble and fleet of foot, the senior gracefully accepted his crown as Homecoming king and looked on as the Class 4A No. 9 Cedar Rapids Prairie Hawks (4-0) downed Davenport Central (2-2), 35-21.

'This gets us motivated for (No. 2) Iowa City West next week,' Izaak Lindgren said. 'We know it's going to be a battle, but we've seen that we can play without Levi on defense and all around on offense.

'So, it's going to be a great game.'

Keegan Simmons got the Hawks on the board with a 2-yard scramble, but Davenport Central countered when Jatoviay Hill burst through the line and rumbled 26 yards for a touchdown to knot the game at 7-7.

Not to be outdone, Simmons slipped through the middle, danced between two linebackers and managed to stay on his feet, stumbling into the end zone for a 20-yard touchdown to give Prairie a 14-7 lead.

'He's a special back,' Prairie Coach Mark Bliss said. 'He's got great size, speed and vision. He'll be able to take his skills to the next level.'

The Blue Devil passing attack appeared poised to tie the game in the second quarter, but DeLaRosa overthrew receiver Nate Tyson and Prairie's Jaylynn Smith made the interception in the back of the end zone. The Hawks wasted no time after the turnover, as Braxton Zimmerman bounced to the outside for 49 yards to give Prairie a 21-7 lead.

'All of our backs are really physical,' said Simmons, who finished with 218 yards on 29 carries and four touchdowns. 'And with our offense, it confuses them because they don't know who is going to get the ball.'

The Blue Devils just wouldn't go away. Hill scored his second touchdown of the game with 11:55 to play to cut the Prairie lead to 28-21. However, the Hawks chewed up 5:02 off the clock before Simmons' fourth score sealed the win.