Week 8 roundup

A pair of area teams guaranteed themselves a spot in the Iowa high school football playoffs over the weekend with a pair of victories.

Sigourney-Keota and Mid-Prairie join Washington as the three area teams who have claimed a playoff spot before the end of the season, with two more looking to vault themselves into that discussion in the final week of the season.

A recap of Friday?s action is below.

Mid-Prairie rallies to defeat West Liberty

West Liberty jumped out to a 14-0 lead in the first half, and the one-win Comets seemed to be in full control of the game.

The Mid-Prairie football team changed things around in the second half, rattling off 43 points to claim a 43-20 victory, the first in three contests for the Hawks.

Junior running back Ricky Vargas carried the ball 22 times for the Hawks, accumulating 185 yards and three scores in the contest, followed by senior Nolan Faselt?s 47 rushing yards and a score.

Senior quarterback Ryan Cortum completed six of his nine attempts for 125 yards and a touchdown, with his favorite target on the night being senior receiver Blake Schwarz, who caught four passes in the game for 109 yards and a touchdown.

Sophomore Karson Gingerich completed his only pass in the contest for a 15-yard score with Carter Reiner.

Caleb Runquist led the team with eight tackles in the game, while junior Levi Duwa had 7.5 tackles with three coming for a loss.

Mid-Prairie sits at 6-2 overall, while sitting at 3-2 in the district with an important game with Mediapolis coming up on Friday night. The two teams have both clinched a playoff spot, but the winner of the game will take the No. 3 seed from the district, which will set up an easier contest in the opening playoff game.

Kickoff for the Hawks will be at 7:30 p.m. at home for senior night.

Sigourney-Keota surges into the playoffs

On the Cobras? senior night, the Sigourney-Keota football team cruised their way into clinching a playoff spot with a 58-28 victory over Columbus on Friday night.

Senior running back Peyton Crawford led a trio of Cobra running backs who ran for over 100 yards in the contest. Crawford had 228 yards and four touchdowns in the game, while sophomore Luke Greiner finished with 114 yards and two scores. Junior Jacob Wickencamp had 111 yards on the ground with a score to his credit.

Greiner had three completions in the game for 106 yards and a 25-yard touchdown pass to Crawford.

Senior Lane Boender finished the night with a team-high 15.5 tackles including a sack, followed by Crawford?s 7.5 tackles.

For Columbus, senior running back Mauricio Ramirez had 212 rushing yards and three touchdowns for the Wildcats in the loss, while junior quarterback Carter Colby had 58 yards on the ground.

Colby also completed 13 passes for 120 yards for a touchdown, with sophomore Abel Mena catching eight passes for 75 yards and a 10-yard touchdown.

Sophomore Nick Hernandez had eight tackles to lead the Wildcats, followed by Ramirez?s 7.5 tackles.

The Wildcats will look to end their year at home against Eddyville-Blakesburg-Fremont on Friday night, while Sigourney-Keota will travel to West Marshall for the regular season finale.

WACO falls to Pekin

The Warriors were unable to guarantee a playoff spot in a loss at Pekin on Friday night, but will get another chance this week.

WACO fell to 3-5 with a 3-3 district record, and sits at fourth in the Class A, District 6 standings, with a game against Danville coming up.

In the game against Pekin, senior Bryce Achen ran for 237 yards and a score in the contest, while junior Jackson Roth completed eight of his 18 passes for 118 yards and a touchdown.

Senior receiver Jorge Chacon had two touchdown catches totaling 68 yards in the game.

Sophomore Jason Sammons led the team with six tackles, while Achen and junior Hunter Leichty each had fumble recoveries in the game.

WACO?s game against Danville (2-4 in the district) could provide the boost they need to get into the playoffs, while New London (3-3 in the district) takes on Lone Tree (4-2 in the district). If Lone Tree and WACO win, the Warriors will be in the playoffs.

The home kickoff against Danville will be at 7 p.m.