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Mid-Prairie falls short against Van Meter
Golden Hawks lost 28-21 in Class 2A quarterfinal
Southeast Iowa Union offers audio versions of articles using Instaread. Some words may be mispronounced.
WELLMAN - For a second straight season, Mid-Prairie football came painfully short of making its first ever trip to the UNI-Dome. The venue that hosts the Iowa high school football semifinals and championships alluded the Golden Hawks after a 28-21 defeat to Van Meter on Friday.
Mid-Prairie finished shy of its deepest playoff run in school history after Van Meter rallied from a 21-7 halftime deficit. The Bulldogs, who reached the 2A semifinals in 2024 and won three state titles in the three seasons prior, leaned on that experience to keep one of the highest scoring teams in 2A out of the end zone in the second half and turned Mid-Prairie over three times.
“That gave them some good field position and then on the flip side, when we did get the ball back we had long fields to go and get (points),” Mid-Prairie coach Daren Lambert said. “So, when you face tough teams, you know it’s going to be hard. So credit to them. They got the job done.”
The Golden Hawks had an opportunity to reclaim the lead after Van Meter tied the game at 21. Junior quarterback Brooks Weber launched a pass to Carson Humphrey in the back of the end zone. Humphrey attempted to make a contested catch over a Bulldogs defender, but a referee near the play ruled that Humphrey didn’t hang onto the ball as he crashed to the ground.
Mid-Prairie’s defense initially held up in response. Van Meter’s next two drives ended with a punt then an interception by senior senior Hudson Ehrenfelt after the Golden Hawks defensive front swarmed into the Van Meter backfield and forced quarterback Henry Lounsbury into a hurried heave down the field.
However, the Golden Hawks couldn’t cash in the takeaway or rediscover their offensive groove after a strong first half. Mid-Prairie was held to just 57 yards rushing and Weber was sacked four times. Van Meter sealed the win with a 15-yard touchdown run by Christian Williams with 1:32 left before intercepting Weber on Mid-Prairie’s final drive.
“Van Meter’s just a well-oiled machine,” Weber said. “They’ve been doing this for a long time. They’ve got a bunch of state championships in the past 10 years. So they’ve been doing this for a while and they know what they’re doing. They made great adjustments and we just couldn’t execute late in the game to get the job done.”
Despite the loss, Mid-Prairie showed in the first half why it will continue to remain at near the top of Class 2A. Weber completed two touchdown passes to build Mid-Prairie’s early lead. He found Kendrick Kos with a 23-yard touchdown to make it 21-7 in the second quarter and hit senior Kaden Kos with a seven-yard pass to give Mid-Prairie a 14-0 lead in the first.
The Golden Hawks’ second touchdown was set up after a high snap on a Van Meter punt attempt gave Mid-Prairie the ball on Van Meter’s 18-yard line. The Bulldogs didn’t advance into Mid-Prairie territory until there were 11 seconds left in the first quarter.
Mid-Prairie took a 7-0 lead with a 48-yard punt return touchdown by Ehrenfelt. The Golden Hawks all-time leader in career touchdowns fielded the kick with a defender closing in, made a crafty spin move and raced through a crowd to the end zone.
Ehrenfelt finished his outstanding Mid-Prairie football career with 70 total touchdowns. The do-it-all player for the Golden Hawks went from a converted lineman in eighth grade to a human highlight reel on one of 2A’s best scoring offenses.
“I wanted to be a guy that could potentially be a game changer,” Ehrenfelt said. “So that’s what I did and it’s awesome. It’s a great feeling making these plays and seeing everyone getting excited.”
Ehrenfelt and Kaden Kos, who both earned 2A All-State selections last season, wrap up memorable careers along with eight other Mid-Prairie seniors. The Golden Hawks finished the campaign 9-2, matching their best record since the 2013-14 season.
Mid-Prairie will have big shoes to fill next season. The younger members of the Golden Hawks saw firsthand what it takes to remain at the high level Mid-Prairie has reached over the past two years.
“They mean the absolute world to me,” Weber said. “Coming in here, I didn’t really know much, obviously never played varsity before, but they taught me so much and I appreciate them so much. They couldn’t have helped me out more.”
The future remains bright for the Golden Hawks. Weber is able to return for his senior season after throwing 1,989 yards and 30 touchdowns. Ryan Henry wrapped up a promising sophomore campaign rushing for 294 yards and four touchdowns and had three sacks on defense. Juniors Humphrey and Nolan Jergens combined for 15 receiving touchdowns. Four of the Golden Hawks top five leading tacklers are all eligible to return.
The Golden Hawks came agonizingly close to reaching the UNI-Dome for the first time. The defeat will sting, especially for a talented and record-breaking group of upperclassmen. Their impact, however, won’t stop at the end of the season, and the defeat serves as motivation for the next crop of Mid-Prairie stars to carry the standard the departing players established.
“You’ve got to go earn success,” Lambert said. “We talk about it all the time, and when you’re in it and being successful and winning district titles and playing in state quarterfinal games and big moments, it pushes you to show up in June and July and to do what you need to do day after day to go out and get it.”
