Carlson powers Prairie to win over Jefferson

CEDAR RAPIDS – Cedar Rapids Prairie head football coach Mike Morrissey got drenched with Gatorade and mobbed by players.

He took it with a smile and the game ball that his team presented to him. He gave it right back.

The Hawks earned their first win under Morrissey, topping Westside rival Cedar Rapids Jefferson, 29-17, in a Mississippi Valley Conference Valley Division football game Friday night at John Wall Field.

Morrissey said his first Gatorade shower proved to be as cold as advertised.

“That was awesome,” said Morrissey, who was hired in March and took over for Craig Jelinek, who retired after 22 years as Hawks head coach. “I appreciate that from my guys, and hopefully I can get a few more in the future.”

The Hawks have a cornerstone victory to build on, and the first one can lead to bigger things. If anything, it showed the hard work during the season has finally resulted into something tangible. They are 1-6 overall and 1-3 in the MVC Valley, notching their first win since beating Jefferson, 35-7, this weekend last year.

“It feels nice to get this first win,” Morrissey said. “Our kids definitely earned it, and they deserve.

“It's big for them from a mental standpoint, putting in so much work. The dedication that they've shown throughout this season for it to finally pay off here tonight it's going to go a long way with our program, with our kids.”

Prairie has knocked on the door of a win previously, but this time they were able to finish the deal.

“We've been working for it all year,” Brayton Carlson said. “We've been close a couple times. Tonight we just capitalized.”

Carlson was a vital part of Prairie's success against the J-Hawks. He scored two touchdowns and nabbed two interceptions for the Hawks.

Both of Carlson's touchdowns came in the second half, when Jefferson started to show life rallying from a 16-0 halftime deficit.

In the final minute of the third quarter, after the J-Hawks cut the Prairie lead to 16-9, Carlson hauled in a 54-yard touchdown pass from Jace Hanna, putting Prairie up for good.

Jefferson was driving again early in the fourth when Carlson intercepted Layne Sullivan deep in Prairie territory. Five plays later, Carlson took a handoff on a sweep to the right, turned the corner to see a gaping hole in the J-Hawk defense and was off to the end zone. Carlson finished with 97 rushing yards and 79 receiving.

“We've been working all week on those running plays,” Carlson said. “Finally, I cut one back outside and followed my blockers.”

Carlson's first interception came in the first quarter, leading to an Austin Reutzel 40-yard field goal and a 10-0 lead. He had a good scouting report during the week.

“They've been running a lot of out-routes,” Carlson said. “I'm pretty good on jumping those.”

Hanna sparked Prairie early, connecting on his first five passes including three on the opening drive.

Prairie needed just six plays to cover 80 yards, gaining more than 10 yards on four of them. Hanna lofted a fade pass to Jared Edmonds in the back right corner for a 19-yard TD and a 7-0 lead less than 2:30 into the game.

Hanna had two touchdowns and 214 yards passing. Morrissey called Hanna and Carlson great competitors.

“Jace played outstanding tonight,” Morrissey said. “He played hard and did a great job.

“(Carlson)'s a great kid and outstanding young man”.

Jefferson managed only one yard of total offense in the first half without a pass completion. They rebounded in the second half.

The J-Hawks scored a safety to ignite them in the third. They returned the ensuing kickoff to the Prairie 35, and found the end zone when Sullivan hit Aaron Gruwell, who worked behind the defenders for a 20-yard TD.

Jefferson added a second touchdown in the final seconds when Sullivan hit Taylor Birkicht with 4.4 remaining.

The J-Hawks (0-7, 0-4) continue to struggle, owning a 20-game losing streak. Jefferson hasn't won in more than two years, beating Dubuque Senior, 20-13, on Sept. 25, 2009, for its last victory.

TEAM STATISTICS

CR Jeff.

CR Prairie

First downs

9

16

Rushes-yards

30 - 44

37 - 194

Passing yards

127

226

Comp-Att-Int

12 - 22 - 3

13 - 23 - 1

Total yards

171

408

Fumbles-lost

1 - 0

2 - 1

Punts-average

7 - 35.4

3 - 38.7

Penalties-yards

5 - 50

12 - 88

Rushing:

 CR Jeff. –

Austin Short 11-21 ,

Layne Sullivan 11-13 ,

Drake Allen 4-12 ,

Kyle Mann 3--1 ,

Team 1--1

 CR Prairie –

Brayton Carlson 8-97 ,

Cam rathje 12-37 ,

Zach Witte 5-31 ,

Jace Hanna 7-22 ,

Tristan Beyer 2-11 ,

Peyton Wagner 1-2 ,

Team 2--6

Passing:

 CR Jeff. –

Sullivan 12-22-3-127

 CR Prairie –

Hanna 12-22-1-214 ,

Wagner 1-1-0-12

Receiving:

 CR Jeff. –

Christian Knox 5-65 ,

Aaron Gruwell 2-28 ,

Timauntay Jones 2-13 ,

Ryan Spellerberg 1-11 ,

Hunter Kloubec 1-8 ,

Taylor Birkicht 1-2

 CR Prairie –

Carlson 4-79 ,

Carson Goodale 2-45 ,

Austin Dellamuth 2-43 ,

Jared Edmonds 3-35 ,

Witte 1-12 ,

Wagner 1-12

CR Jeff.

9

8

–

17

CR Prairie

10

6

6

7

–

29

CRP - Edmonds 19 pass from Hanna (Austin Reutzel kick)

CRP - FG Reutzel 40

CRP - FG Reutzel 24

CRP - FG Reutzel 30

CRJ - Safety

CRJ - Gruwell 20 pass from Sullivan (Andrew Patience kick)

CRP - Carlson 54 pass from Hanna (kick failed)

CRP - Carlson 69 run (Reutzel kick)

CRJ - Birkicht 2 pass from Sullivan (Patience kick)