Mid-Prairie holds off Wilton in 2A-6 district football battle

WELLMAN

After a fourth quarter in which Mid-Prairie’s Lenox Miller had intercepted a pass and recovered a fumble, and Kale Miller had kicked what turned out to be a game-winning 33-yard field goal, Golden Hawks head coach Daren Lambert had perhaps the biggest run of the night last Friday.

Wilton had scored a touchdown with just 49 seconds left on a gutsy 35-yard scoring pass thrown by quarterback Gunner Edwards as he escaped a Mid-Prairie defensive blitz.

The score pulled the Beavers to within one point, 20-19, in a game that may actually determine the Iowa 2A-6 district championship a month from now, even if this was the 2A-6 opener.

Tie game?

Nope.

When the Beavers quickly lined up for a two-point try and a potential game-winning play in the midst of fast-moving confusion, Lambert sprinted down the sideline yelling for a timeout.

“Timeout, timeout, timeout!”

He got it.

And a minute later, the Golden Hawks defense stuffed Wilton running back Noah Gray at the 2-yard line, clinching Mid-Prairie’s second consecutive win over Wilton as the Golden Hawks, two-time defending district champs, ran off the field in celebration.

“That two-point conversion, that was something special right there,” Mid-Prairie’s Nolan Jergens said.

“We stayed locked in,” said Golden Hawks junior Lenox Miller.

The 20-19 victory kicked off a five-game district schedule for the Golden Hawks, who face another challenge this Friday night at West Liberty, a team coached by Mid-Prairie alum and former University of Iowa Hawkeye star Jason Dumont that has won three of its first four games this season.

The win extended Mid-Prairie’s district winning streak to 13, dating back to the 2023 season.

“It’s a huge game,” senior quarterback Brooks Weber said. “This is one of the tougher teams in the district and it’s our first district game. To start off with a win is huge.”

Remember last year? Mid-Prairie defeated Wilton by one point in 2025 and advanced to the quarterfinals of the 2A playoffs. Wilton didn’t lose again until the semifinals of the 2A state playoffs at the UNI-Dome.

That’s just one reason Lambert bolted down the sidelines to call timeout. One play. It’s a win or a loss, and maybe a district title at stake.

“I was going to call a timeout no matter what,” Lambert said. “You kind of want them to break the huddle to see personnel, where they’re going to throw guys. I was waiting as long as I could to see what they were going to get so we could get a look.”

Even after the timeout, the Beavers still went for two points instead of kicking a PAT to force overtime.

“They had the momentum,” Lambert said. “I was not surprised one bit.”

Those in the Golden Hawks defensive huddle heard two words: “Lock in.”

“Earlier in the week, we were on our heels and we were nervous and we were just not ready,” Lenox Miller said, referring to a tight 49-41 win at Sigourney Keota. “This week, we put our foot down and we were like, ‘We’re going to do this. We got this.’”

The game-deciding play provided the drama in a game that featured a bizarre 60-yard scoring pass, and the only Mid-Prairie TD in the second half, when Jergens was left uncovered.

The Golden Hawks trailed 13-10 when the unthinkable happened on a night featuring tight defenses and a field slowed down by recent rain. Jergens somehow slipped behind Wilton’s defensive backfield and was wide open by at least 15 yards when Weber noticed him. Easy. Weber lofted a long pass in his direction.

“I was scared,” Jergens said.

Jergens caught it and then danced alone into the end zone for a 60-yard scoring play and a 17-10 Mid-Prairie lead with 6 minutes left in the third quarter.

“I’m just so thankful for Nolan, a speedy wide receiver who can get open,” Weber said. “All the credit to him. That was a great catch and a great route by him.”

“Nobody was near me,” Jergens said, “so I kind of jogged into the end zone.”

For the fourth consecutive game, the Golden Hawks scored first on a 25-yard scoring pass from Weber to Carson Humphrey in the opening quarter.

However, Wilton senior quarterback Gunner Edwards tied the game 7-7 with a 9-yard TD run in the second quarter and passed for two touchdowns in the second half, including the 35-yarder to Bryer Putman under heavy defensive pressure from the Golden Hawks with 49 seconds left.

Edwards rushed for 145 yards and passed for 189 yards. Lenox Miller halted a Wilton drive with an interception of an Edwards pass midway through the final quarter.

Mid-Prairie kicker Kale Miller had a perfect night, hitting two field goals and two PATs. His 33-yard field goal with 7:20 left in the game provided the winning points.

Weber passed for 236 yards and 2 TDs, pushing his state-leading TD pass total to 12. Five Golden Hawks caught passes, including Bronx Miller, who caught a career-high six passes for 63 yards.

BY THE NUMBERS

MID-PRAIRIE 20, WILTON 19

Wilton            0    7    6    6    --  19

Mid-Prairie    7    3    7    3  --   20

M-P: Carson Humphrey 25 pass from Brooks Weber (Kale Miller kick)

W: Gunner Edwards 9 run (Quincy Sawvell kick)

M-P: Miller 40 FG

W: Bryer Putman 17 pass from Edwards (kick failed)

M-P: Nolan Jergens 60 pass from Weber (Miller kick)

M-P: Miller 33 FG

W: Putman 35 pass from Edwards (run failed)

PASSING LEADERS

Wilton, Gunner Edwards, 15-31-189, 2 TD, 1 INT; Kinnick Maine, 0-1-0; Mid-Prairie, Brooks Weber, 20-27-236, 2 TD, 1 INT.

RUSHING LEADERS

Wilton, Edwards, 18-145, 1 TD; Noah Gray, 10-33; Mid-Prairie, Ryan Henry, 11-8; Tommy Miller, 1-14; Weber, 13-minus 11.

RECEIVING LEADERS

Wilton, Bryer Putman, 5-87, 2 TD; Oliver Grings, 3-30; Maine, 2-21; Mid-Prairie, Bronx Miller, 6-63; Kendrick Kos, 5-6; Kale Miller, 4-26; Carson Humphrey, 3-62, 1 TD; Nolan Jergens, 2-79, 1 TD.

TACKLING LEADERS

Wilton, Thatcher Murguia, 7; Corban Burford, 6; Noah Gray, 4; Koy Smith, 4; Mid-Prairie, Cecil Kelley, 9.5; Kendrick Kos, 6.5; Lenox Miller, 5, INT, FR; Caedyn Huston, 5; Carson Humphrey, 4.