What looked like it was finally meant to be for the Mid-Prairie Golden Hawk football team, a trip to the UNI-Dome and the Class 2A State Semifinals, will have to wait a little longer. The No. 3 Golden Hawks built an early lead, but were upended at home 28-21 by No. 6 Van Meter in the quarterfinal round of the playoffs Friday. Early on, Mid-Prairie made plays and Van Meter made miscues as the Golden Hawks raced to a two score advantage. Senior Hudson Ehrenfelt returned the Bulldogs first punt 48 yards for a touchdown and Mid-Prairie was up 7-0, and Dwight G. Sattler Field was up for grabs. Late in the first frame, the Hawks got another break on special teams when a Bulldog snap sailed over the punter’s head and was downed in the red zone. Mid-Prairie went 17 yards on three plays, the final seven, a Brooks Weber to Kaden Kos connection to double the lead to 14-0 at the end of one.

The second started with a key defensive stop for the Golden Hawks on a Van Meter fourth down at the Mid-Prairie 25. The first play of the next drive was a Christian Williams interception that gave the ball back to the Bulldogs, who then went 17 yards in two plays, the final 13 on a Henry Lounsbury run to get on the board at 14-7. The Golden Hawk answer came on the next drive, 68 yards, six plays, the final 23 from Weber to Kendrick Kos for a sliding touchdown strike and Mid-Prairie was back up 21-7. The two sides traded punts until late in the second when Williams capped a three play, 45-yard drive with a one yard touchdown to make it 21-14. A 14 play, 37 yard Mid-Prairie drive right before intermission ended scoreless and the Hawks took a seven point lead to break.

Out of half, each team had two empty possessions, the second for Mid-Prairie ending with an Adam Boeck pick that started the Bulldogs at the Golden Hawk 32. Eight plays later Lounsbury threw his only scoring pass of the night, a 10-yarder to Brayden Fennessey to tie the game at 21. Defenses dictated the next quarter plus, that included a 13 play Mid-Prairie drive that ended on downs in the red zone. In a tie game to the final frame, the Hawks scored their only takeaway of the night, an Ehrenfelt INT in the red zone to turn away the Bulldogs. After a Mid-Prairie three-and-out inside the 10, Van Meter returned the punt to the Golden Hawk 26 and rode Williams all four plays of a drive that gave them their first lead of the night with 90 seconds to go. With the season and the Dome on the line, the Golden Hawks had one final possession with one time out remaining and Van Meter forced a turnover to end the game. Following the contest, Golden Hawk head coach Daren Lambert shared his thoughts on the fast start, the factors that decided the game, and his team’s accomplishments. “These games you want to steal momentum right away and we did that. Hudson (Ehrenfelt) exploded with a punt return. A dynamic play from him. It was exciting for everybody. Got the crowd involved. (Van Meter) has a great defensive line and linebackers. We knew we were going to see different stunts, blitzes and twists. We felt like we had to loosen them up with the pass so we could run the ball. We can throw the football around. We have great receivers. Kendrick and Kaden (Kos) made great touchdown catches. Brooks (Weber) had good throws to those guys. I’m proud of the fight the guys put up. Van Meter wasn’t going to give in and the last two quarters were going to be a fight. Credit to them, they were able to make plays and take advantage of opportunities they created. (Down the stretch) field position and some of the turnovers gave them a short-field. When you have to try to crack through a defense like theirs and go 75 yards, that’s a tough thing to do. (During the trophy ceremony and final huddle on the field), there’s a lot of emotions. The biggest thing you try to get to the guys is that really only one team gets to avoid the way that we feel tonight. Remind them that once this feeling fades away, you’ll be able to reflect on all of the memories created throughout the year and you can think about all of the great things that this team did.”

The Golden Hawks won the total yards battle 308-258, but lost turnovers 3-1. Bulldog leaders included Williams with 26 carries, 110 yards and a pair of rush scores. Lounsbury was seven of 19 throwing for 130 yards, with a rushing and passing touchdown. Brooks Weber was 19 of 39 throwing for Mid-Prairie with 209 yards, two touchdowns and three interceptions. Ehrenfelt finished with 205 all-purpose yards on 24 touches with a touchdown. Kaden and Kendrick Kos combined on 11 catches for 93 yards and a touchdown each. Caedyn Huston had nine tackles and Ehrenfelt an interception to lead on defense. Each team is now 9-2 as Van Meter advances to the UNI-Dome for next week’s 2A Semifinals and Mid-Prairie wraps up their year. The Golden Hawks say goodbye to 10 seniors including Peyton Fox, Gentry Bontrager, Jon Kinsinger, Josh Turner, Kaden Kos, Hudson Ehrenfelt, Keatyn Myers, Damian Vazquez, Cyris Christner and Joey Stacey.