WELLMAN

Having not lost a game since the middle of September, expectations were flying high for the No. 9 in 2A Golden Hawks going into the postseason and in round one of the playoffs, Mid-Prairie did not disappoint.

In front of their home faithful, Mid-Prairie dominated the second half after a slow start to secure a 35-7 playoff win over Union Community on Oct. 25.

“Once they figure it out, it’s sometimes earlier in the game, sometimes it takes a little bit, but the second they figure it out, it’s just a well-oiled machine, it’s so fun to watch,” Mid-Prairie football head coach Darren Lambert said about his team’s defensive effort against Union.

“They’re prepared, they’re flying around, they’re calling things out and those guys are just going out making plays. It comes from great preparation from all the coaches on the assistant side, and Coach Yoder preparing those guys defensively.”

Before the Hawks took control of the game in the second half, this postseason contest started with the visiting Union Knights delivering the first punch.

Getting the ball on offense to start the game, the Knights drove down the field to take a quick 7-0 lead off a two-yard rushing touchdown, run into the endzone by senior Andrew Sadler.

“It was a tough start. They came out firing. I don’t know that we’ve given up an opening touchdown in the last five or six weeks,” coach Lambert said. “That’s one of the models that we talked about. Adversity may hit, don’t flinch. We constantly say, “Don’t flinch.” That first half, there were moments in time where they had the momentum, but we kept clawing back.”

While the Hawks were held scoreless in the first quarter, they began the second quarter with a Hudson Ehrenfelt rushing TD to tie the game.

With the game knotted up at seven a piece, punting became all the rage with both teams locking in on defense, but with under a minute left a Union punt led to a game changing play for Mid-Prairie.

Setting up the Hawks in prime scoring position, freshman Cash Cole became the spark Mid-Prairie needed on offense, returning a punt for 33 yards. This led to Brady Weber making a pinpoint throw on the run to his fellow senior Ace Peck for a go-ahead 17-yard receiving TD.

“Big punt return special teams play. A freshman doing his thing and then making a play in the corner of the end zone,” coach Lambert said about the punt return from Brown and the TD catch from Peck right before half time.

“That was a great momentum booster. Ace had such a great catch there, and just a great play,” Brady Weber said about his TD pass to Peck.

A momentum booster was an understatement. Not letting their foot off the gas pedal, the Hawks added 21 points to their lead and held Union scoreless for the rest of the game.

“I think we did a good job of staying composed. That first quarter was pretty tough. [Union] go out and get an opening score and it kind of gets you really locked in,” Weber said. “I think we did a really good job as a team of staying locked in and then scoring 35 unanswered points. I think our guys just played our tails off tonight. I’m really proud of them.”

Scoring his second rushing TD in the third quarter was Ehnrefelt. The standout junior ended the game with a team high 99 rushing yards on 27 carries.

In the final quarter, the Hawks scored a pair of TDs and both were exciting in their own right.

Serving as a testament to everything going Mid-Prairie’s way in the second half, Weber fumbled the ball on a run, but it was recovered and brought in for a TD by teammate Blake Swart, his first of the season.

“That play, we go a fake sweep to Hudson, because we like to utilize that play a lot, so it’s great blocking, good open hole, saw a defender coming, kind of got jerked by the face mask and fell down,” Weber said about the play where Swart recovered a fumble for a TD.

“Ball comes out, and I heard the refs talking, they made it sound like the other team had the ball. I didn’t see Blake running, so I was like, “I was down. I was down.” And then I hear, “Touchdown, Blake Swart.” And I was like, “Touchdown. Let’s go.” It was just a great thing to hear.”

The final TD Mid-Prairie scored came on a designed play for an offensive lineman to reach the end zone and Mid-Prairie executed it wonderfully. Weber connected with Peck for a three-yard completion and then Peck pitched the ball back to Landon Kos who made a successful diving attempt for a TD, the first of his career.

“Right situation just worked out perfectly, and it’s exciting for [Landon] and he had to make a great play there,” coach Lambert said about the play Kos scored a TD. “Ace had to make a great catch, hold the ball and get a great pitch in there while he’s getting hit. Diving in the corner of the end zone, guys dream of doing that and you don’t get that opportunity as an offensive lineman a whole lot.”

On the night, Weber completed 13 passes on 18 attempts for 127 yards and two TDs. On defense, both Brown and Gentry Bontrager nabbed an interception in the fourth quarter. When it came to tackles, Kaden Kos led the Hawks with 12.5 total tackles. 

Next for Mid-Prairie (6-3) is a rematch at home against Mediapolis (5-4) in the second round of the 2A playoffs on Nov. 1.