ALBIA
The absolute joy of an unbeaten district football season for Mid-Prairie came in the final minutes of last Friday’s 42-7 win at Albia.
Hudson Ehrenfelt, a junior running back …
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ALBIA
The absolute joy of an unbeaten district football season for Mid-Prairie came in the final minutes of last Friday’s 42-7 win at Albia.
Hudson Ehrenfelt, a junior running back who is being recruited to play in college, had already scored three touchdowns and was done for the night.
Senior quarterback Brady Weber had scored twice.
And that’s where Tatem Telfer entered the picture. Telfer, a senior receiver who has verbally accepted a baseball scholarship to Arkansas State with pitches topping 90 mph, had never scored a touchdown.
So when the Golden Hawks drove deep into Albia’s end of the field in the late moments of the game, head coach and offensive coordinator Daren Lambert was determined to get Telfer his first score in varsity football by calling his number in a series of running plays.
“Five times,” if that’s what it took, Lambert said later, laughing.
It took just one play. Telfer’s 3-yard run with 3:05 remaining finished off the Golden Hawks scoring and gave the senior a moment he had never had.
Telfer’s touchdown was the final act in a season that delivered a Golden Hawks unbeaten district record for the first time since 2008 and a 2A-5 district championship.
“First time in 16 years for this school. And for me being on a football team, my first district win was the first win that I’ve had on a football team for three years,” said Telfer, who was a quarterback his sophomore year for a winless team at Cardinal High School before transferring to Mid-Prairie. “So, yeah, this season’s been amazing and these five wins have been incredible.”
After losing their first three games to Wilton, Iowa City Regina and Sigourney Keota, all teams ranked among the top seven in 1A and headed toward the playoffs, the Golden Hawks won all five district games and emerged this week at No. 9 in the 2A statewide rankings.
“They knew how close we were in all three of those (non-district) games and they knew how good a football team we could be,” Lambert said. “You just had to win the process. An entire season is the process. Those first three games are going to be challenging and teach you a lot, and they did that. It’s how you respond to that adversity and these guys responded by winning the next five games.
“Just extremely proud and excited for them,” Lambert said.
“It feels amazing,” Ehrenfelt said. “This is my first-ever district win (title). We’re going to get another one next year.”
But now, the Golden Hawks head into the 2A playoffs with a home game Friday against Union and another home game next week if they win Friday.
“This one feels good,” Weber said. “We’ve kind of already put this one behind us and we’re ready.”
“Our next goal is the Dome,” said Ehrenfelt, referring to the semifinal and final rounds that will be played at the UNI-Dome in Cedar Falls.
Union, which is located in La Porte City, finished the season in fourth place in 2A-6 with a 2-3 record in district play, 3-5 overall. The Knights lost 14-0 to West Marshall last week, but had won two consecutive games prior to that, including a 42-6 victory at Vinton-Shellsburg.
“Union is a very athletic team that is strong defensively and presents a balanced attack on offense,” Lambert said. “Like most teams at this point of the year, they will be a strong opponent. We will need to play well to have success this Friday,” Lambert said.
As a team, Union has rushed for 703 yards and 11 touchdowns with an assortment of running backs. Ehrenfelt, whose 22 rushing TDs rank fourth in Mid-Prairie single-season history, has rushed for 1,079 yards.
Ehrenfelt’s first touchdown at Albia was vintage Ehrenfelt. He took a handoff from Weber, avoided some would-be tacklers in the middle of the defensive line, then sprinted untouched for a 6-yard score less than four minutes into the game.
He added a 4-yard touchdown run later in the opening quarter and a 12-yard scoring run in the third quarter.
The Golden Hawks scored touchdowns on their first three possessions. After Ehrenfelt’s first touchdown gave Mid-Prairie a 7-0 lead, Weber made it 14-0 midway through the first quarter with an 8-yard scoring run. Weber added a 4-yard TD run in the final quarter.
Albia answered Mid-Prairie’s quick start with a 9-yard scoring pass from Luke Wynn to Rowen Archer, but the Golden Hawks defense slammed the door shut after that. Senior lineman Conner Wiles came up with a huge stop on a fourth-down play late in the first half.
While Mid-Prairie’s offense has averaged more than 40 points a game in five district wins, the team’s defense has played dominantly and given up more than one touchdown just once. The Golden Hawks defense ranks No. 1 in their district and is among the top 15 in the state.
“It’s incredible,” Wiles said. “Just being able to be undefeated and beat the teams like one of the teams we lost to last year, Mepo. And just being able to manhandle the rest of them.”
GAME STATS
MID-PRAIRIE 42, ALBIA 7
Mid-Prairie 21 0 7 14 -- 42
Albia 0 7 0 0 -- 7
M-P: Hudson Ehrenfelt 6 run (Kale Miller kick)
M-P: Brady Weber 8 run (Miller kick)
M-P: Ehrenfelt 4 run (Miller kick)
A: Rowen Archer 9 pass from Luke Wynn (Rafael Scheiwe kick)
M-P: Ehrenfelt 12 run (Miller kick)
M-P: Weber 4 run (Miller kick)
M-P: Tatem Telfer 3 run (Miller kick)
INDIVIDUAL LEADERS
Passing: M-P, Brady Weber, 10-18, 71 yards, 0 TD, 1 INT; A, Luke Wynn, 11-22, 61 yards, 1 TD; Conner Pickerell, 0-1, 0 yards.
Rushing: M-P, Hudson Ehrenfelt, 29-143, 3 TD; Weber, 8-22, 2 TD; Tatem Telfer, 1-5, 1 TD; Blake Swart, 1-9; A, Parker Hemann, 7-34; Spencer Maddison, 3-10; Kael Hutchinson, 1-2.
Receiving: M-P, Telfer, 8-46; Ehrenfelt, 1-14; Swart, 1-11; A, Rowen Archer, 5-20, 1 TD; Gage Chance, 2-30; Pickerell, 2-12.
Tackling leaders: M-P, Conner Wiles, 7; Hershberger, 5.5; Tommy Miller, 4.5; Kaden Kos, 3.5.
This week: Union at Mid-Prairie, 2A playoff.