Prairie knocks off No. 7 North Scott

CEDAR RAPIDS — Where Matt Sacia's eyes went, the Cedar Rapids Prairie defenders followed.

Prairie forced seven turnovers, and backup quarterback Dakota Simonsen hit Jojuan Simpson for a 3-yard touchdown pass for the winning points in a 13-7 upset of No. 7 North Scott in a Class 4A non-district football game Friday night at John Wall Field.

'Our coaches tell us, keep sawing away,' said Coen Brown, who harvested two of the Hawks' four interceptions as Prairie evened its record at 2-2. 'We read (Sacia's) eyes. Where he went, that's where we went.'

Prairie's go-ahead drive straddled the third-quarter break, and came despite the injury of quarterback Trey Beckman, who — according to Coach Mike Morrissey — suffered a probable concussion.

With Beckman out, the march consisted of a steady diet of Keagan Pinter.

After Beckman went out scrambling for a first down, Pinter rambled for 10, 14 and 20 yards on three straight carries to get the Hawks close.

'I was out of breath a lot there on that drive,' Pinter said.

'This is amazing. Maybe this gets the train rolling for us.'

Three plays later, Simonsen hit Simpson with 10:45 remaining. The PAT kick failed, but it didn't matter.

The rest was up to Prairie's defense, and the Hawks came through. North Scott (3-1) did not invade Prairie territory in the fourth quarter.

The seventh and final turnover came on the final play of the game, one of those desperation lateral deals.

'Seven (takeaways), that's unbelievable,' Morrissey said. 'We had a lot of kids step up.'

The first half featured more turnovers (count 'em, nine — including six by North Scott) than points (seven).

North Scott moved the ball effectively early, collecting seven first downs in the first quarter and driving inside the Prairie 35 on each of its first three drives. Each time, though, the Lancers coughed it up, twice on interceptions and once on a fumble.

Prairie wasn't able to get much going offensively until late in the half. Pinter broke loose on a run up the middle for a 54-yard touchdown.

Sam Drysdale's PAT gave the Hawks a 7-0 lead, and that's how it stood at intermission.

Pinter finished with 160 yards on 18 carries.

North Scott got even on its first possession of the second half, marching 35 yards in three plays. Kier Brown's 11-yard TD run made it 7-apiece.

Sacia completed 19 of 30 passes for 161 yards.

Prairie opens 4A District 6 action next week at Burlington. North Scott hosts Dubuque Senior in its 4A District 8 debut.

l Comments: (319) 368-8857; jeff.linder@thegazette.com