Albia knocks out Hawks

The Mid-Prairie defense looked ready to pull off the upset on Monday night.

The Hawks allowed just over 200 yards of total offense to the No. 1 ranked Albia Blue Demons, but that wasn?t enough, as Albia flexed its muscles on defense and special teams to pull out the second-round victory over the Golden Hawks, shutting out Mid-Prairie 42-0.

?They only had 230 yards of offense, so our defense played great,? Mid-Prairie head coach Pete Cavanaugh said. ?I thought we were physical and matched them that way. We just had missed opportunities on offense and special teams.?

One of the missed opportunities for Mid-Prairie happened early on in the game, after both teams traded punts.

A halfback pass from senior Nolan Faselt to junior Levi Duwa set Mid-Prairie up at the Albia 11-yard line, but a pair of penalties pushed the Golden Hawks back.

Mid-Prairie eventually faced a fourth-and-four, but was unable to convert, turning the ball over on downs. Albia responded with a 95-yard touchdown drive to put its first points on the board.

?I thought we could get deep with Terrhyn (Jacoby) and we figured they?d load the box up with the run,? Cavanaugh said. ?We wanted to pass early and it set us up early, but we couldn?t finish. It?s been that story all year. We?ve struggled in the red zone and it?s a credit to (Albia). They are a good team.?

The Hawks were forced to punt the ball on the ensuing drive, but a strong defensive front, including a sack by Levi Duwa, put Albia into a third-and-21. Albia tossed a screen pass that was nearly picked off by the Hawk defense, focing a punt.

The punt was muffed by Mid-Prairie, and despite being picked up by the Hawks, it was fumbled again as Mid-Prairie attempted to advance the ball, giving Albia the ball at the 7-yard line.

Two plays later, the Blue Demons scored, making it 14-0.

?Before the turnover we could have had that interception on the screen,? Cavanaugh said. ?That?s just missed opporunities. When you are playing a good team like that, you have to play almost perfect. It just didn?t happen.?

Albia put another touchdown on the board headed into halftime, making it 21-0 at the break.

In the second half, Mid-Prairie forced an Albia punt, but the Blue Demons responded in kind, and returned Mid-Prairie?s punt 80 yards for a touchdown.

Mid-Prairie was forced to punt on its next drive, but Albia returned it 70 yards, setting up a 16-yard touchdown drive to initiate the 35-point running clock.

An intereception return for a touchdown for Albia made it 42-0 and put the exclamation point on the game for the Blue Demons as Mid-Prairie saw its season end at 8-3.

Mid-Prairie only mustered 140 yards of offense in the game, rushing for 63 yards and passing for 77.

Faselt led the way with 40 rushing yards, adding a 40-yard pass to his credit, while senior quarterback Ryan Cortum completed three passes for 37 yards and an interception.

Defensively, Faselt led the way with nine tackles, followed by Cameron Tolander?s seven tackles.

The Hawks will say goodbye to 16 seniors on its roster.

?They?ve meant a lot,? Cavanaugh said. ?Just from a standpoint of them being good kids to be around. We realized last year that we had to put some time in, and I thought they really responded and did a good job this year. Who knows where we?d be without these guys. We just had a tough draw.?

With a lot of experience gone heading into 2016, Cavanaugh said the team will need to work hard heading into the offseason.

?I haven?t even thought about next year,? Cavanaugh said. ?We had some sophomores and juniors get some experience this year, but we have to work. Albia works hard and that?s how you become successful.?