They haven't always looked pretty and sometimes they've been their own worst enemy.

But the Linn-Mar Lions have been resilient through it all and now the Lions are just 48 minutes away from hosting a first-round playoff game.

Junior Neme Siaway scored a pair of touchdowns and the defense made some key stops as Linn-Mar defeated Waterloo West, 26-13, in a Class 4A District 5 showdown Friday night at Linn-Mar Stadium.

The win moved the Lions to 4-4 overall, 3-1 in district play, clinching a playoff berth for the second straight season. A victory Thursday night against Jefferson at Kingston Stadium would give the Lions a runner-up finish in the district and a home game the following Wednesday against the No. 3 team from a neighboring district.

Waterloo West (3-5, 1-3) played without starting quarterback Devon Moore, who suffered a broken leg in a 44-15 loss to Jefferson last Friday and with leading receiver Trey Burt also out with an injury.

Coming off an emotional win last Friday at Cedar Falls, the Lions appeared to be a little flat on Senior Night for 20 players taking the field for the final time in the regular season at home.

"I thought we practiced real well all week," Linn-Mar coach Bob Forsyth said. "For some reason, we just slept-walked through this game and I'm not sure why.

"Maybe it was a hangover from the Cedar Falls game," he continued. "I know we weren't in the right mind-frame to play a football game. I tell the kids you can't cheat the game of football.

"If you don't come out with high intensity you are going to be in trouble. We got in trouble today, but thankfully we were able to work our way out of it."

Linn-Mar jumped to a 14-0 lead, scoring twice over a two-minute span at the end of the first quarter and the start of the second.

Junior quarterback Reese Phillips connected with Daniel Gorsich on a 37-yard scoring strike in the final minute of the first quarter. After holding West on three plays, Linn-Mar blocked a West punt and took over at the Wahawk 8 where Siaway took it in from the 6.

West used some trickery late in the half to get on the board. A fake punt resulted in a 26-yard run by Levi Lenius to the Lion 15. John Draine took it in from the 10, trimming Linn-Mar's lead to 14-7 at the break.

"Outside of that play, our defense held them pretty well," Lion senior defensive end Sam Bries said. "I thought we came out and played pretty well in the second half until they had a late drive on us."

Linn-Mar went to a power package in the backfield with defensive regulars Jace Myers and Logan Hagmeier blocking for Siaway and Brennan McGaffe. Siaway broke loose for a 33-yard run after a muffed snap on a punt attempt gave the Lions good field position.

Two plays after his big run, Siaway scored his second TD of the game, giving Linn-Mar a 21-7 lead.

"That is a new offense we have put in," said Siaway, who rushed for 72 yards on 13 carries. "I just give credit to the line and the other blockers for opening the holes for me."

The Lion defense accounted for the next points as junior Alex Streicher led a host of tacklers dropping back-up quarterback Levi Lenius in the end zone for a safety.

Alexy Boehm closed the scoring for the Lions with a 33-yard field goal early in the fourth quarter.

Lenius scored on a 3-yard run with 6:49 left, but the Lions recovered an onside kick attempt and were able to hang on for the victory.

Now the Lions will turn their attention to Thursday's game against Jefferson. Both teams are safely in the playoffs, but seeding is still to be determined. A Linn-Mar win gives the Lions second place alone in the district behind Kennedy.

A win for Jefferson and a win by Cedar Falls over winless Waterloo East would result in a three-way tie for the runner-up spot and lead to tiebreakers being used to determine seeding.

"I know we're going to be super pumped for that game," Bries said. "We would love to have the chance to play another game here at home."

Despite winning and earning a playoff spot, Forsyth remained concerned about the mistakes that continue to hurt the Lions.

"We are still suffering from a lot of the same things that have hurt us," he said. "We had penalties, we struggled in the red zone. It's a lot of the same things we've done wrong, but we'll keep working on it.

"We have a great opportunity next week," Forsyth continued. "Jefferson is going to be a challenging opponent and we'll have to play better than we did tonight if we want to win."

LINN-MAR 26, WATERLOO WEST 13

.                              WW         LM

First downs                  10          17
Rushes-yards         36-148    36-165
Passing yards              35         186
Comp-Att-Int         5-19-2    15-29-1
Fumbles-lost               2-1         4-1
Punts-avg.             4-25.2    3-24.6
Penalties-yards          4-33       7-59

Waterloo West  0 7 0 6 - 13
Linn-Mar           6 8 9 3 - 26

Scoring plays

LM - Daniel Gorsich 37 pass from Reese Phillips (kick blocked)
LM - Neme Siaway 6 run (Phillips run)
WW - John Draine 10 run (Adijan Muhamedagic kick)
LM - Siaway 5 run (Alexy Boehm kick)
LM - Safety, Levi Lenius tackled in the end zone
LM - FG Boehm 33
WW - Lenius 3 run (run failed)

Individual statistics

Rushing

Waterloo West - Harrison Eighmey 4-46 John Draine 18-64, Levi Lenius 13-60, Team 1-(minus 22)
Linn-Mar - Brennan McGaffe 17-84, Reese Phillips 4-2, Josh Gassmann 1-2, Neme Siaway 14-77.

Passing

Waterloo West - Levi Lenius 5-19-2-35.
Linn-Mar - Reese Phillips 15-31-1-186.

Receiving

Waterloo West - Demetrius Caddell 1-10, John Draine 2-8, Jacory Spates 2-17
Linn-Mar - Daniel Gorsich 5-77, Josh Gassmann 5-39, Brennan McGaffe 1-13, Nemi Siaway 1-3, Kirby Kerr 3-54.