Iowa high school football rewind: Independence uses second-half spurt to down North Fayette Valley

CEDAR RAPIDS — The Independence football team wasn’t necessarily in trouble, but it was definitely being tested.

The Mustangs trailed their season opener Friday night at North Fayette Valley late in the second quarter, 14-13. But a late scoring drive and a burst to start the second half helped Class 3A’s sixth-ranked team eventually post a 42-14 win.

“We did a lot of good things,” said Independence Coach Justin Putz. “For us to flip that game and go into the half up seven was huge. Great response giving us momentum going into the half. Then our guys really locked in.”

Quarterback EJ Miller passed for 282 yards and three touchdowns for the Mustangs. Do-everything Brady Kurt also accounted for three touchdowns.

He took a shovel pass 80 yards for a score to begin the third quarter, then intercepted a pass and returned it 23 yards for another. The 6-foot-2, 195-pound senior receiver-linebacker is committed to traditional FCS power South Dakota State.

“He’s just very dynamic with the ball in his hands,” Putz said. “He’s tough to bring down, he’s fast, he’s strong, has good vision, has good hands. On defense, he is just so versatile. We play him a little D-end, we play him a little linebacker, we play him at outside linebacker.

“We just let him play free and relaxed. He is such a good athlete, has good instincts. I always just say he makes winning plays. He is all over our game plan every week.”

SDSU has recruited him as a linebacker, by the way.

Independence has gone 48-13 since the 2018 season, including 7-3 last season. The Mustangs qualified for the playoffs in 3A last season, losing to Mount Vernon in the first round.

“We’re experienced,” Putz said. “We’ve got 20 seniors, a lot of them played last year. They’ve played in big games. We had a couple get away from us, but we also went out and won some big ones. These guys have always been successful, and more than anything they have bought in. They talk about how they want to do big things, but they’ve put in the work as well.”

9-TD night for Northeast’s Gavin Kramer

This was not an 8-player game. Repeat, not 8-Player.

Northeast’s Gavin Kramer accounted for nine touchdowns in his team’s 58-20 win Friday night over Bellevue. Yes, NINE TDs.

The senior quarterback completed 8 of 13 passes for 155 passes and three scores. But check out his rushing stats.

He ran 16 times for 297 yards and six touchdowns. That included a 92-yarder.

MFL MarMac gets clutch kick

Ben Krambeer kicked a 35-yard field goal in the fourth quarter to lift Class 1A No. 9 MFL MarMac past Crestwood, 9-7.

The Bulldogs are coming off a season in which they made it to the Class 1A state championship game, although they incurred a lot of key losses to graduation.

Eric Addy’s debut as Cedar Rapids Washington coach

The Eric Addy era at Cedar Rapids Washington didn’t get off to a winning start, although the Warriors did prove to be very competitive. They led Dubuque Hempstead after three quarters, 38-34, before falling 48-38.

Washington, which went 1-8 last season, had issues offensively last season but racked up just about 400 yards against Hempstead. Junior quarterback Grady McGuire threw for 166 yards and three touchdowns and rushed for 100 yards and two more scores.

Huge season-opening games in Class 5A

Parker DePhillips threw two touchdown passes as Class 5A third-ranked West Des Moines Dowling beat No. 6 Cedar Rapids Kennedy, 24-12.

The Maroons had a 17-0 lead at halftime and led 24-6 in the third quarter.

In another huge 5A game, second-ranked West Des Moines Valley got a late touchdown pass to surpass No. 5 Southeast Polk, 20-17. SEP is three-time defending 5A champion.

Braeden Jackson rushed for 237 yards and three touchdowns as Ankeny Centennial blew past No. 1 Ankeny, 31-10. He is the son of former Coe College All-American and NFL running back Fred Jackson.

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