Mid-Prairie hosts postseason district rematch

Mid-Prairie football will be less than a month removed from its last matchup against Mediapolis when the two sides face off Friday. The Golden Hawks beat the Bulldogs 65-21 on Oct. 10 to clinch the Class 2A District 6 championship.

The two sides will play for even higher stakes after they drew one another in Pod C of the 2A playoffs. Mid-Prairie overcame a feisty North Fayette Valley side in the first round, while Mediapolis upset Centerville on the road.

The Bulldogs (5-4) will look to carry that form and produce a better result than the lopsided regular season loss to Mid-Prairie. Mediapolis responded well to the defeat with a 35-0 drubbing of Central Lee before it’s 28-13 victory over the Big Reds.

Mid-Prairie (8-1) will have to prevent a Bulldogs defense that stepped up massively to limit Centerville. The Golden Hawks will lean on an offense that has scored 57 touchdowns this season, the most among 2A teams.

Mediapolis sacked Centerville quarterback Mack Murdock 5.5 times and picked him off twice in its upset win. The Bulldogs rank third in Class 3A with 72 tackles for loss this season.

Kyler Crow leads the team with 55 tackles, including 19.5 for loss and seven sacks. Nathan Schmidgall is second with 52 tackles. Benjamin Gerst and Parker Holsteen have combined for 6.5 sacks this season.

Despite Mediapolis’ strengths on defense, it was the Golden Hawks unit that shined in the first matchup between these two teams. They held Holsteen, Mediapolis’ leading rusher, to just 32 yards on 12 carries. Holsteen had 107 yards and two touchdowns against Centerville.

Mid-Prairie also picked off Mediapolis quarterback Quincy King three times. He was limited to just 9 of 17 for 158 yards and didn’t find the end zone through the air.

Making King uncomfortable when he drops back to pass will be critical again for Mid-Prairie. King went 14 of 22 for 171 yards and two touchdowns against Centerville. Senior Gannon Gunn hauled in both touchdown receptions on the way to six catches for 99 yards. Gunn leads the Bulldogs in receiving with 592 yards.

The Golden Hawks’ early takeaways in the first matchup set up their offense with short fields. Mid-Prairie has been opportunistic on defense all season with 12 fumble recoveries, including two scoop-and-scores. It also has 10 interceptions, two of which have been returned for touchdowns. Junior Carson Humphrey has four of those INTs, including a 74-yard pick-6 against Mediapolis.

Mid-Prairie quarterback Brooks Weber threw three first-half touchdown passes in the first bout with the Bulldogs before he was sidelined with a finger injury. Weber remained out for Mid-Prairie’s regular season finale against West Burlington Notre Dame, but was efficient in his return last week, going 12 of 17 for 162 yards and three touchdowns to help Mid-Prairie avoid a first round upset.

Senior Hudson Ehrenfelt was held to just 74 yards against North Fayette Valley, but still found the end zone, which increased his career total to 67, the most by a Mid-Prairie player in school history. Ehrenfelt set that record against Mediapolis, finishing the game with one rushing touchdown, a pair of touchdown catches and passing TD when he took over for Weber in the second half.

Sophomore Ryan Henry is also a weapon at running back for the Golden Hawks. Henry has 247 yards and four touchdowns season, including five carries for 92 yards and a TD against North Fayette Valley.

Kaden Kos is a threat in all three fazes for Mid-Prairie. The senior has racked up 998 all purpose yards and leads Mid-Prairie in tackles (72), TFL (14) and is tied for the most sacks (3).

Kickoff between Mid-Prairie and Mediapolis is set for 7 p.m. Friday at Mid-Prairie High School Football Field/Track. The winner will face the winner between Van Meter (7-2) and Roland-Story (7-2).