Washington beats Prairie despite injured QBs

CEDAR RAPIDS — He threw five touchdown passes in the first half of the sophomore game, then made it an unexpected half dozen a little later on Thursday night.

That's pretty good, right?

Bryan Kunde wasn't the reason Cedar Rapids Washington beat Cedar Rapids Prairie, 39-14, at Kingston Stadium. But you've got to give the kid credit for doing alright in an emergency appearance for the fifth-ranked Warriors.

Starter T.J. Vogel injured his knee last week in a win over Ottumwa and didn't dress for this one. Drew Dostal got the start and played terrific (throwing TD passes on Wash's first two possessions) until taking a lick and injuring his sternum in the second quarter.

Enter Kunde, a kid who practiced with the varsity only once this week. He threw a touchdown pass to Isaiah Nimmers in the third quarter to help Wash (6-1) clinch a Class 4A playoff spot.

'There's a lot of stuff we'll need to work on, but you've really got to hand it to the kid,' said Washington Coach Paul James. 'That's a pressure situation. You're on a top-five team in the state, all these guys have had a lot of experience, and you're the new kid. Our captains, I thought, did a good job of keeping everyone together and on task.'

'My teammates, the linemen, receivers and all the backs just told me to relax and be confident,' Kunde said. 'They said 'Just be comfortable and be ready to play. You're good.' They made it possible for me.'

You can play five quarters in a night, in case you were wondering, which is why Kunde was able to play in both the sophomore and varsity games. He completed 3 of 6 passes for 49 yards and was intercepted once.

James said he anticipates both Vogel and Dostal to be available for Washington's game next week at Iowa City High.

'I did decent, I guess,' Kunde said. 'I'm just a sophomore, don't want to sound cocky or anything.'

The Warriors rushed for 225 yards and got back-to-back fumble returns for touchdowns in the fourth quarter to cinch it. The first was 66 yards by defensive back Ian Thomas, the second 13 yards by linebacker Matt Ackerman.

Prairie (2-5) was down just 26-14 and driving when Thomas came up with his big play. On fourth down, Hunter Johnson caught a quick backward pass from Tyler Nunemaker near the sideline that he ran upfield but was stripped of by Wash's Tavian Patrick.

'I saw the play coming,' Thomas said. 'TP got the strip. I was screaming 'Strip, strip, strip' the moment he made contact with that guy. After that, I picked up a nice block and just got to the end zone.'

Nunemaker was sacked for a loss on Prairie's ensuing possession and fumbled, with the ball bouncing up to Ackerman. The Hawks quarterback was injured on the play and did not return.

He threw for 63 yards and ran for 56 in Prairie's unique single-wing offense. The Hawks' TDs came on a 3-yard pass from Nunemaker to Jake Pinter and a 15-yard Johnson run.

Nimmers had two touchdown grabs for Washington and O'Rien Vance one. Patrick accounted for the Warriors' other score on a 15-yard run.

l Comments: (319) 398-8259; jeff.johnson@thegazette.com