Regular season gridiron roundup

When the dust settled from Friday night?s action, four area teams were left standing in the playoff picture.

Three of those teams (Washington, Sigourney/Keota and Mid-Prairie) knew they would be firmly entrenched in the playoffs coming into their game, and one needed to win to get in (Columbus).

With Washington having played on Thursday night (see Friday?s issue of The Journal for a full recap), the Demons picked up a two seed (one guaranteed home playoff game), and will host Solon on Wednesday night.

Roundups for all the other area teams can be found below.

Mid-Prairie dominates Mepo

The Mid-Prairie football team lost two straight in the middle of the year, but ended the regular season on a strong note, winning their final two games, including a 20-7 victory over Mediapolis on Friday night.

The Hawks had an early 63-yard touchdown run called back early in the second quarter, but a 44-yard pass from senior quarterback Ryan Cortum to Blake Schwartz set up a run by senior running back Nolan Faselt to start the scoring.

Mediapolis took a quick lead with a 79-yard touchdown pass, but Cortum found Schwartz to give the Hawks a 12-7 lead after a two-point conversion attempt came up short.

Faselt added another touchdown to his night in the second quarter, including the two-point conversion for Mid-Prairie, making it 20-7. After that it was all defense, as the Hawks went on to the victory.

Cortum finished the night with 116 yards and a touchdown, while Faselt carried the ball 31 times for 110 yards and two scores.

Schwartz tallied five catches for 160 yards and a score.

The victory puts Mid-Prairie at 7-2 on the season and puts them at third place in the district to end the regular season.

The No. 3 seed means a road game in the playoffs for the Hawks, and they will travel to face PCM, Monroe (7-2) on Wednesday night.

After a season-opening loss to Pella Christian, PCM won seven of their final eight games, with the only blemish in that stretch coming to top-ranked Albia.

Columbus cruises into playoffs

With a playoff spot on the line, Columbus stepped on the gas and didn?t let go on Friday night.

Taking on Eddyville-Blakesburg-Fremont, the Wildcats had a pair of kick returns for scores from senior running back Mauricio Ramirez in the first quarter, and a 34-point second quarter from the Columbus offense helped propel the Wildcats to the playoffs with a 68-22 victory.

Columbus had a touchdown run from junior quarterback Carter Colby to open the scoring, followed by Ramirez?s first return touchdown of the game, a 60-yard punt return. After EBF got on the board, Ramirez made them pay again with an 85-yard score to put Columbus up 21-8.

Ramirez opened the second-quarter scoring with a 14-yard catch from Colby, which was followed by Colby?s second of the game, a 21-yard pass to Ricky Briones.

Abel Mena busted off a 49-yard run to put Columbus up 42-8, and a Danny Fuentes 1-yard run made it 49-8.

After another EBF score, Ramirez caught a 40-yard pass from Colby to make it 55-14 at halftime.

With running clock in the third quarter, Ruben Paz picked up an 11-yard score, and after an EBF touchdown in the fourth quarter, Mena ran back the ensuing kickoff 82 yards for the score.

Ramirez finished the night with 129 yards rushing and 53 receiving yards, while Colby was 5-of-9 with three of his completions going for scores.

The victory made Columbus a No. 4 seed in the playoffs, and they will take on undefeated West Branch (ranked No. 3 in the state) on Wednesday night.

Sigourney-Keota claims No. 2 seed

With a shutout victory coupled with a Pella Christian loss on Friday night, the Sigourney-Keota football team was rewarded with a home game in the playoffs.

A 26-0 victory over West Marshall made the Cobras the No. 2 seed in their district as they enter the playoffs this week.

After starting the year at 2-3, the Cobras won their final four games of the season to earn the home playoff game.

Sigourney-Keota will host Hudson (7-2 on the season) in their first playoff game on Wednesday night.