John Bohnenkamp for Pen City Current Sports
DONNELLSON — It was a touchdown for the seniors.
Grant Myhre’s weaving 22-yard touchdown run in the final two minutes of Central Lee’s 51-7 loss to Mediapolis on Friday night was about getting the last points for the Hawks’ senior class.
“I'm happy for the seniors that were able to contribute by getting a first down and getting in the end zone at the end,” Central Lee coach Doug Dodds said. “I mean, that was great to see for them. I mean, those guys have done a lot of work this year to get us to this point. I was happy for them. That's a little consolation prize.”
It was a lone bright spot on a dark night for the Hawks (3-5 overall, 0-5 Class 2A District 5), who lost quarterback Cory Jones to a serious injury in the second quarter.
Jones, who was injured after being sacked deep inside Central Lee territory, was face down on the ground, motionless, after the hit. He was taken by ambulance to Southeast Iowa Regional Medical Center in Fort Madison for evaluation.
Dodds said he didn’t have an update on Jones after the game.
The Hawks, already down 28-0 at that point, were clearly shaken by Jones’ injury.
“That’s a tough thing to come back from,” Dodds said. “He's a senior leader. We really value and appreciate him as a person and a player. So I mean, that was tough.”
The Hawks couldn’t contain Mediapolis (6-2, 5-0). The Bulldogs led 37-0 at halftime before adding two more touchdowns in the second half.
Jackson Hutcheson rushed for three first-quarter touchdowns for the Bulldogs, who had 292 yards of offense.
“They’re just a physical football team who can get athletes into space,” Dodds said. “It’s always tough to match up against that. I think their depth came into play a little bit tonight. We just got worn down — the war of attrition, as some might say, kind of caught up with us a little bit, I thought.”
Jones’ injury, combined with Kayden Calfee being out for the game after getting injured last week, left the Hawks without a varsity quarterback. Landon Lowenberg finished the first half as quarterback, and running back Chase Johnson ran the offense from the quarterback spot in the second half.
The Hawks opened the season strong with three non-district wins, but couldn’t sustain the momentum into district play. Still, Dodds liked what developed in his first season as head coach.
“I'm very proud of our kids,” Dodds said. “The leaps and bounds of improvement … I know that people are going to look at the record at the end of the year and say, nah, but no, they're they've improved so much. Not only as football players but as people as the year went on, and that’s exciting to see.
“We’ve improved so much. Just improvement all throughout the program. Our young guys, our older guys. We’ve got guys that can step in and do multiple jobs. We’re proud of that.”
Comments
No comments on this item Please log in to comment by clicking here