Fairley helps Cougars beat his old LM team

By Jim Ecker

CEDAR RAPIDS – Cael Fairley is happy he transferred from Linn-Mar to Kennedy for his final year of high school football.

The Cougars are mighty glad as well.

Fairley passed for two touchdowns and set up the winning score with a clutch run to the 1-yard line as Kennedy held off Linn-Mar, 21-17, in a controversial and exciting game at Kingston Stadium Friday night.

Fairley played for the Lions last year and transferred to Kennedy for personal reasons.

“He’s a great kid,” Kennedy Coach Brian White said on the Ecker Sports Report scoreboard show on KGYM after the game. “He’s one of the smartest kids I’ve been around.”

White said Fairley hopes to attend the Naval Academy next year.

Fairley completed 13 of 19 passes for 178 yards, with both of the TD throws going to Tate Welsch on plays that covered 62 and 26 yards in the first half.

Linn-Mar led, 17-14, with a little more than two minutes left in the game when Kennedy faced a 4th-and-5 at the Linn-Mar 14-yard line. The Lions knocked away the fourth-down pass, but Linn-Mar was called for a personal foul on the play.

An official told White that a Linn-Mar player was penalized for leading with his helmet into the intended receiver.

The penalty gave Kennedy a first down at the Linn-Mar 7 with 2:05 left. Linn-Mar Coach Duane Orr argued the call for several minutes with the lead official, but the call stood.

Fairley ran for six yards to the 1-yard line and Paul Kaump scored on the next play. The PAT made it 21-17 with 1:43 left.

Linn-Mar was faced with 4th-and-10 at its own 12-yard line, but Derek Roling completed a pass to Deklan Thoms and Thoms lateraled  to Lucas Crawford for a 40-yard gain to the Kennedy 48.

Linn-Mar got all the way to the Kennedy 18 with 7.4 seconds left, but two passes into the end zone were incomplete and the Cougars escaped with the victory.

Bradley Duncan-Porter scored on a 7-yard run for Linn-Mar in the second quarter. Hud Turner, one of the toughest 5-foot-7 tailbacks in the state, tallied on a 56-yard run in the fourth quarter when he bounced off tackles, spun away from others and dashed into the end zone as the Lions took a 17-14 advantage.

Duncan-Porter kicked a 30 yard field goal for Linn-Mar.

Kennedy squared its record at 2-2.

Linn-Mar, playing a tough schedule, fell to 0-4 with a two-point loss to Prairie, a three-point loss to Ankeny Centennial and now a four-point loss to Kennedy.

Linn-Mar         0   7   3   7 – 17
Kennedy          7   7   0   7 – 21 

K – Cael Fairley 62 pass to Tate Welsch (Alexander Malcolm kick)
LM – Bradley Duncan-Porter 7 run (Duncan-Porter kick)
K – Fairley 26 pass to Welsch (Malcolm kick)
LM – FG Duncan-Porter 30
LM – Hud Turner 56 run (Duncan-Porter kick)
K – Paul Kaump 1 run (Malcolm kick)