CR Jefferson 'couldn't execute' in loss to Waterloo West

CEDAR RAPIDS — First and goal from the five yard-line, Cedar Rapids Jefferson had the game-winning score in its sights.

Instead, the J-Hawks saw play-fake between quarterback Jesse Furrow and running back Tavian Rashed bounce to the ground, recovered by visiting Waterloo West, and their hopes for a comeback win dashed.

'I don't know if there's a word in the dictionary for that,' said Coach Brian Webb after Jefferson's 23-17 loss to West. 'It's really tough. I don't know, I'm kind of speechless.

'It's really tough to lose to a team I think we're better than, but they earned it and we didn't.'

A mistake-filled game from the get-go, Jefferson was playing catch-up from the opening series on.

West (3-4, 2-1) got 40 yards on a double reverse pass from Mitchell Paeper to Trey Burt, with the defender losing sight of his receiver and allowing him behind. That set up an eventual Devon Moore touchdown, and set the tone for the game for the J-Hawks.

Two fumbles in the redzone, a punt block return for a touchdown and three key drops by receivers left Jefferson (3-4, 1-2) on the outside looking in for playoff qualification as it stands after the game.

'We couldn't execute on offense, let up big plays on defense, had special teams breakdowns,' Webb said. 'Those equal losses. We had a chance on the last play. It was good coming down there (on the final drive), we just didn't execute when we needed to execute. That's a bad loss.

'You can't let teams like that hang around. It's just a recipe for disaster. It all accumulated into one thing tonight.'

Webb said the seeds for the loss were planted on Monday and Tuesday, in what he said were 'bad practices.'

'I thought it went wrong on Monday and Tuesday. We had bad days on Monday and Tuesday,' Webb said. 'We've got to come out and have good practices every day. I equate it to four quarters in a game. Monday's the first quarter, Tuesday's the second quarter and so on. You have to have four quarters of good practice, and we didn't have it.'

On the flip side, Waterloo West sits inside the playoff picture after their second win in their last three games — a key win as they face Linn-Mar next week.

Coach Lonnie Moore said the end of the game did a number on his heart, after a failed extra point on the go-ahead touchdown left hope alive for Jefferson.

A 20-yard pass play from Furrow to Mason Furnish, plus a 10-yard penalty added on didn't help. But when Moore saw his guys fall on the fumble at the end, he was able to breathe easy. He said Jefferson threw unique looks at his team that made the second half a struggle.

'Everything that could happen in one game happened tonight,' Moore said. 'I'm so proud of my kids though for their resilience. Throughout everything that was going on, the different look they gave us we weren't ready for, we were able to make adjustments, and our kids did a good job.'

But for Jefferson, it's a loss that stings bad, considering the path now laid out before them.

At 1-2 in District play, they need help in the way of two Waterloo West losses to have a chance at making the playoffs. Having a short memory is the only way forward for the J-Hawks, Webb said.

'This definitely sets us back in the District standings a little bit, but we've got to get healed up and see out mistakes and flesh this out,' Webb said. 'There's not much else to say (to the guys). The last play summarized the whole game.

'We just didn't execute when we needed to execute. Sometimes you play bad, and tonight we didn't play our best, I can tell you that. By a long shot.'

l Comments: (319) 368-8884; jeremiah.davis@thegazette.com