Week 9: Gridiron season roundup

For each area team that isn?t Sigourney-Keota, Friday night marked the end of the season on the gridiron.

However, for four of those teams, the season ended on a high note.

Washington blew out Fort Madison (the story can be found in Monday?s Journal), while Mid-Prairie and Columbus ended their seasons with victories.

Highland took a loss in their final game, but ended the year above .500, while WACO finished its first season in eight-man competition.

Mid-Prairie 35 ? Mediapolis 7

The Golden Hawks hit the road for their final game of the season, and put together a nice showing.

Senior running back Ricky Vargas finished his football career with a strong rushing performance, picking up 265 yards and three touchdowns, while junior Keaton Duwa notched 108 rushing yards and a pair of scores.

Junior quarterback Karson Gingerich picked up 57 yards passing in the contest, as Mid-Prairie finished its season at 5-4.

Vargas was also strong defensively for the Golden Hawks, as he led the team with 9.5 tackles.

On the season for the Golden Hawks, Vargas was one of the top running backs in Class 2A, leading his district with 1,304 rushing yards, scoring 20 touchdowns and averaging 7.5 yards per carry, while also finishing fifth in the district in tackles, with 51 (10 tackles for a loss).

Duwa will be among the top statistical returners for the Golden Hawks, after rushing for 629 yards and 10 touchdowns in 2016, with Gingerich penciled in for his senior season under center.

In his first season as Mid-Prairie quarterback, Gingerich had 651 yards through the air, with seven touchdowns and three interceptions.

Columbus 48 ? Van Buren 0

The Wildcats saw a six-game losing streak end in the season finale against Van Buren on Friday night.

Columbus sent its seniors out with a blowout victory over the Warriors, which saw four Wildcat seniors find the end zone.

Ruben Paz notched three touchdowns in the game, picking up a punt return (60 yards), kickoff return (80 yards) and rushing score (38 yards) on the day, while also notching six extra points.

Carter Colby led his team in rushing for his final game as the Wildcat quarterback, picking up 61 yards and a touchdown, while senior Ricky Briones ran in a score and senior Daniel Fuentes also found the end zone.

Junior Nick Hernandez made his mark defensively, earning a fumble recovery  and returning it 26 yards for a touchdown.

The Wildcats end 2016 with a 2-7 record, and will lose its top offensive playmaker in Colby, who led the team in passing and rushing.

Columbus will bring back its two top tacklers from 2016 next year, with Hernandez (52.5 tackles, three tackles for a loss) and Abel Mena (46.5 tackles) penciled in as seniors on next year?s squad.

Wapello 41 ? Highland 14

The season didn?t end ideally for the Highland football team, but despite a 41-14 loss to the Indians, the Huskies finished the year with a positive record.

At 5-4, the Huskies improved their win total from last season and will look to carry that momentum into 2017.

On Friday against Wapello, the Huskies struggled to get much offense going, led by senior quarterback Jake Wood, who was held to 138 passing yards, while Bill Burton led the team with 55 rushing yards.

Wood had 27 rushing yards with a pair of scores on the day.

Trent Lasek led the squad with 74 receiving yards in the contest in his final football game.

Wood finished his senior season as the third-best statistical passer in the district, picking up 1,203 yards and 15 touchdowns on the year, with his top target, Lasek, leading the district with 555 yards and six touchdown receptions.

One of the top returners for the Huskies will be sophomore Trey Lasek, who picked up 799 yards on the ground this year, finishing fifth in the district, while notching eight touchdowns.

Iowa Valley 52 ? WACO 38

WACO fell in their final contest of the season, dropping a game to eventual playoff qualifier Iowa Valley.

The Warriors were able to move the ball well in the contest, with sophomore quarterback Wyatt Harbison picking up 199 yards through the air and four touchdowns.

His top target was sophomore Colton Horak, who picked up 133 receiving yards and four scores, while adding 116 rushing yards and a touchdown.

Gabe Black finished his WACO career with 97 rushing yards and a score, while Matthew Leichty had four catches for 50 yards and a touchdown.

Black was strong defensively as well for the Warriors, notching 12.5 tackles to lead the team.

The Warriors finished the season with a 3-6 record in their first year as an eight-man football team.

Looking to the future, the Warriors will have a number of talented returners, with Harbison and Horak penciled in to return.

Horak was the district?s top athlete in total offense, picking up 1,676 combined receiving and rushing yards to go with 27 total touchdowns.