Golden Hawks earn All-State accolades

By Jeff Yoder
Posted 11/28/22

Three Golden Hawk athletes have received all-state recognition for individual and team success over the fall sports season. 

Mid-Prairie seniors Braden Hartley and Cain Brown were named to the all-state football second team by the IPAWA while sophomore Dakota Mitchell received third-team all-state volleyball recognition from the IGCA.

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Golden Hawks earn All-State accolades

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Three Golden Hawk athletes have received all-state recognition for individual and team success over the fall sports season. 

Mid-Prairie seniors Braden Hartley and Cain Brown were named to the all-state football second team by the Iowa Print Sportswriters Association and the Iowa Football Coaches Association. Golden Hawk sophomore Dakota Mitchell received third-team all-state volleyball recognition from the Iowa Girls Coaches association. 

Hartley, who was named to the second team as a running back, finished sixth in Class 2A with 1,398 rushing yards for the season. He scored 14 touchdowns on the ground to move into the top 10 in the Mid-Prairie record books in both career touchdowns (25) and career rushing yards (1,989). His single-season rushing total ranks seventh in program history. 

Brown was a second-team selection at defensive back, where he led the team with 50 tackles and four interceptions. As a receiver, Brown also finished in the program’s top 10 in both career receiving yards (810) and receptions (50). His nine touchdown catches are tied for third in the Golden Hawk record books. 

“We know going in that they were going to be good, but I think they were even more valuable to both sides of the ball than we thought,” said Mid-Prairie coach Pete Cavanagh. “And for them, it was  consistency.

“Braden, offensively, every game was very consistently good. He was kind of our workhorse and then Cain on defense was kind of the centerpiece and put everything together, made a lot of tackles and had some interceptions. Really, without those guys it's tough to do what we were doing. We kind of centered everything around them.”

Hartley had 219 rushing yards, while Brown led the team with nine tackles in a 23-20 win over Sigourney-Keota on September 2. A win that looked better every week as the Cobras went 8-3 with an appearance in the 1A state quarterfinals. 

The Golden Hawks earned a postseason victory as well, defeating Northeast on the road 7-6 on October 21. Hartley carried the ball 40 times for 163 yards and scored the winning touchdown in the fourth quarter. Brown and Golden Hawk secondary held the Rebels to 79 passing yards, well below the team’s average over 200 yards per game entering the contest. 

Mid-Prairie finished the season 6-4 with two losses to 2A state runner-up Williamsburg. The Golden Hawks’ team success allowed Hartley and Brown to be recognized for their individual efforts. 

“That comes first before they're even considered and the thing is, they're both team first guys,” Cavanagh said. So it's nice that they're recognized because of the team, as a result of their work.”

The Golden Hawk volleyball team aso reached the round of 16 in the postseason, falling to 3A state champion Assumption in the regional final.

Mitchell’s 630 digs this season rank second in 3A and fourth in the state overall. She has 1,093 for her career. 

Mid-Prairie coach Sherry Evans said that Mitchell had a sensational season. 

"Dakota’s work ethic during season as well in the off season definitely contributes to her success and it filters to the teams success," Evans said. "She’s a coachable athlete and willing to try anything we have challenged her to do and applies the little things. This honor of All-State is well deserved! We are so proud of Dakota! "

With Mitchell's defensive contributions, tge Golden Hawks swept conference rivals West Branch and Wilton on the way to a second place finish in the RVC South during the regular season and in the tournament as well. 

In the postseason, Mid-Prairie swept Washington and Davis County to reach the regional final, finishing the year with a record of 27-12.