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Washington Evening Journal
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Golden Hawks fly after half
Mid-Prairie comes back to drop Demons in Washington County showdown
Southeast Iowa Union offers audio versions of articles using Instaread. Some words may be mispronounced.
WELLMAN — The highlights didn’t take long to get going in Wellman on Friday night, when Mid-Prairie hosted Washington in a renewal of a rivalry that took an eight-year vacation.
In the first showdown between Washington County foes since 2017, it was Class 2A’s sixth-ranked Golden Hawks that made more plays down the stretch, pulling out a wild season opener 50-35.
Mid-Prairie had to rally back from what looked like a pretty sizable early deficit to do so. Washington came out swinging in the first quarter and led 22-6 after the first period of play.
“Great teams respond in difficult moments,” said Mid-Prairie head coach Daren Lambert. “That's what we want to be, and that's what we did tonight.”
Washington immediately marched down the field to score first on a 15-yard rushing touchdown by Kael Williams, and then found the end zone again before the Mid-Prairie offense could even touch the ball.
Up 7-0 early on, Washington senior Carson Ryan caught a fumble, which popped out of Golden Hawk hands on the ensuing kickoff. That set up another touchdown drive, which ended when Williams hit Nic Stone on a 1-yard touchdown pass, and then rushed in the two-point conversion to make it 15-0.
Mid-Prairie scored quick on its first offensive possession, cashing in on a 4-yard Hudson Ehrenfelt touchdown run, but the Golden Hawks couldn’t convert for two, making the score 15-6.
Then, Ryan made Mid-Prairie pay on special teams again, this time returning a kickoff 90 yards down the Golden Hawk sideline for a touchdown. After the extra point, Washington held a 22-6 lead with five minutes still remaining in the first quarter.
“It was a little nerve-wracking for us,” said Ehrenfelt. “But we stayed in there, and we did what we needed to do.”
Once the second quarter got underway, it was a whole different ballgame. New Golden Hawk starting quarterback Brooks Weber threw his first touchdown pass, a 12-yard strike to Nolan Jergens, and then hit Kaden Kos for the two-point conversion, to cut it to 22-14. Then, Ehrenfelt returned a punt 55 yards to the end zone, and another conversion by Kos tied things up at 22-22.
Washington would never lead the game again. With 30 seconds left in the opening half, Mid-Prairie’s Tommy Miller dashed into the end zone for a short touchdown run, set up by Ryan Henry’s blocked punt on special teams, and Mid-Prairie never looked back.
The Golden Hawks brought the lead to 43-22 after a second touchdown reception by Jergens, but Washington did have a big last gasp in it’s lungs, cutting the lead back down to two scores on a deep touchdown catch by Liam Roberts, and then recovering an onside kick to start the fourth quarter with the ball, down 43-29.
The game-sealing turnover happened with 7:38 remaining in the game, as Mid-Prairie’s Carson Humphrey picked off a pass in the end zone to stifle a Washington chance.
The Golden Hawks hit 50 points on another touchdown run by Ehrenfelt. Washington’s Grant Whisler scored a touchdown rush at the buzzer, but it was too little, too late.
“We started off really hot. There weren't a lot of things we could do wrong in the first quarter,” said Washington head coach Kelly Williams. “Then, there was a bit of a lull we hit in that second. Ultimately, we just got gassed, and that falls on me.”
Ehrenfelt went for 136 yards and three scores on the ground, to go along with his punt return touchdown. Weber finished the game 13-for-16 throwing the ball, for 136 yards, two touchdowns and an interception.
Five different Golden Hawks caught passes in the win. Jergens’ two catches for 47 yards and two scores led the way. Gentry Bontrager caught two balls as well, going for 32 yards in the victory.
Defensively, Henry led Mid-Prairie with 6.5 tackles. Kos had a forced fumble. Jack Sorrell recovered a fumble, and Carson Humphrey picked off one pass.
For Washington, Williams threw for 138 yards, two touchdowns and one interception, and also led the team with 103 rushing yards and one score.
Whisler finished the game with 62 yards rushing, along with a touchdown. Clayton Evan ran for 48.
Roberts’ touchdown catch went for 49 yards, which put him atop the Demon receivers in terms of yards. Carson Brown caught four of the 10 Washington completed passes, and finished with 45 yards receiving.
Blaine Rees led the Demon defense with nine tackles. Ryan recovered a fumble, and Caden Greiner had one interception.
The win for Mid-Prairie ended a seven-game losing streak in the rivalry. The Golden Hawks (1-0) will play at Alburnett (1-0) this week.
Washington is now 0-1 on the year. The Demons will play on the road again this week, this time facing Independence (1-0).
