Week 2 gridiron roundup

New London downs Columbus

NEW LONDON ? The New London and Columbus football teams put on a show for four quarters on Friday night, in a game that would see the Tigers pull off a 28-14 victory behind a bruising rushing attack.

The two teams traded touchdowns early. Columbus scored on a Carter Colby QB sneak and a 32-yard run by Maurico Ramirez and New London got their only passing touchdown of the game, a 26-yard strike from Blake Nehring to Jayden Flowers.

Halfway through the second quarter, the Wildcats had a golden opportunity to jump into a two-score lead, having the ball at the New London 15. The Tigers, however, forced a fumble that was recovered by Austin McBeth.

After the fumble recovery, McBeth would take over offensively. The Tigers fed him over and over, and the senior running back blasted through defenders, wearing the defense out on a long drive. Tyler Stevenson finished off the scoring drive on a crafty counter run play that went 30 yards for a touchdown.

After the ensuing Wildcat drive fell short, McBeth went back to work, leading New London down field again with run play after run play. He capped this one off himself, busting through for a 1-yard touchdown run after coming just short on the previous play. After two quarters of play, the Tigers led 21-14.

The Wildcats bit back at the start of the second half with a surprise onside kick and recovery. Not long after the recovery, Colby ran through the New London defense on a 45-yard quarterback keeper to the 3-yard line. Colby tried to punch it in himself but he was hit just short of the goal line and lost the ball. New London?s Justin Henecke fell on the fumble and the Wildcats came up empty again.

Late in the third quarter on fourth and short, Colby launched a ball to senior wide receiver Devon Henry, but he was unable to make a jumping catch, and the Wildcats turned it over on downs.

Columbus? Ruben Paz picked off Nehring in the red zone to stop the Tigers from pushing their lead to two touchdowns, but on the next New London possession, McBeth ran around the defense for a 59-yard touchdown run. Flowers and Stevenson had late interceptions for New London to ice the game.

?We gave them the ball too much to win the game,? said Columbus head coach Jeff Martin after the loss. ?We need to improve on ball security, mental toughness and closing the door on people if we want to win.?

Martin said the turnovers in their own red zone were their ultimate undoing. ?If we don?t give them the ball twice inside the 10, it might be a different story, but we did, so it?s not.?

McBeth finished the game with 176 yards on the ground and two touchdowns. Stevenson had a big game as well, with 136 yards on the ground with one score and 44 yards receiving. Nehring finished the game 8-16 for 81 yards, a touchdown and an interception.

Defensively, it was Cole Helmerson and Stevenson leading the group in tackles with 6.5 apiece. Keontae Luckett had 5.5 tackles as well.

On the Columbus side, Ramirez finished with 140 yards rushing and one touchdown. He also caught one pass for 20 yards. The Wildcats had just two pass completions, the other going for 36 yards to Paz. Colby was just 2-10 with 56 yards through the air, but had 68 yards and a touchdown on the ground.

Abel Mena had an impressive 11.5 tackles to lead the Wildcats defensively. Ricky Briones, Nick Hernandez and Ramirez each had six tackles. Tommy Pretz, John Rees and Trace Taylor had 5.5 apiece.

New London moved to 1-1 with the victory. They?ll travel to WACO (0-2) this week. Columbus, who fell to 1-1 with the loss, will host Highland (2-0) in their home opener.

?Story courtesy of Andy Krutsinger, Mt. Pleasant News

Mid-Prairie flies past CCA

The Mid-Prairie football team continued its success this season by cruising past Clear Creek-Amana on Friday night.

Four different Hawks found the end zone in the game, as Mid-Prairie took a 27-7 victory to down the Clippers.

Karson Duwa and Ricky Vargas ran touchdowns in for Mid-Prairie, while Levi Duwa caught a 13-yard touchdown pass from Ryan Cortum, while Nolan Faselt returned an interception 32 yards for a touchdown.

Vargas ran for 136 yards on the night, followed by Faselt?s 95 yards on the ground, while Levi Duwa had three catches for 39 yards.

Cameron Tolander led the defense with 11 tackles, and Levi Duwa had nine tackles with two sacks in the game.

Mid-Prairie has now outscored its opponents 81-29 in the first two games of the season, and will travel to face Louisa-Muscatine on Friday night.

Clear Creek-Amana will face Washington at Case Field on Friday.

Highland rolls past Iowa Valley

A strong defensive performance helped the Highland football team move to 2-0 with a 46-18 victory over Iowa Valley on Friday night.

The Huskies were led by a pair of defensive touchdowns, with Trey Lasek and Spencer Wieland each returning interceptions back to the end zone.

Overall, Highland forced five turnovers (three interceptions, two fumbles) en route to the win.

Trey Lasek added a rushing touchdown and a receiving touchdown in the game, while Trent Lasek caught 7 passes for 75 yards and a touchdown, while Tony Devereux caught his lone reception for seven yards and a touchdown.

Nick Sandburg rushed in a touchdown, while Tony Olguin had four rushes for 45 yards in the game.

Highland will look to keep the win streak going at Columbus when the two teams meet on Friday.