Linn-Mar Football

Forsyth plans to keep roaring with Lions

Bob Forsyth has found a home at Linn-Mar High School after having a half-dozen other jobs.

He never wants to leave.

Forsyth, 50, is the successful football coach at Linn-Mar. His wife, Dawn, is a former Linn-Mar athlete and cheerleader. Their three children are enrolled in the Linn-Mar school district.

This is exactly where he wants to be.

"This is my last stop," Forsyth said Wednesday after practice. "As long as they'll have me here, this is where I want to be.

"We're done moving," he said. "It's such a great school district and such a great community, and I want my kids to all graduate from here."

That's good news for Linn-Mar football fans, who would hate to lose him. The Lions are 6-0 and ranked No. 3 in the state heading into Friday's game against Cedar Rapids Washington at Kingston Stadium.

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Ho-hum, Lions roll again, 41-7

Any win is a good win, and winning on homecoming is always special for high school athletes, but there was really nothing special about the Linn-Mar Lions' 41-7 thumping of the Dubuque Senior Rams Friday night at Linn-Mar Stadium.

The No. 5 Lions (6-0) did what they have done all year long, racking up points and yards en route to an easy win.

Linn-Mar rolled up 500 yards of total offense and showed off an explosive, balanced attack against Dubuque Senior (1-5). The Lions rushed for 269 yards, including 157 from senior Mitch Wantock. Senior Mark Atwater moved the ball through the air, throwing for 223 yards and four touchdowns.

“We just click. When we blocked things right we really hit, they pass protected pretty well all night.” Atwater said. “Andy (Henry) got open and we just throw to him. There were some balls that weren’t thrown great and he just made plays on them.”

After failing to get any points on the opening drive of the game the Lions scored on four straight possessions to take command.

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Jer Garman scores 2 TDs for North Dakota

GRAND FORKS, N.D. - Jer Garman rushed for 93 yards and two touchdowns Saturday as North Dakota topped Black Hills State, 53-19, in the 46th Annual Potato Bowl USA.

Garman, a freshman from Linn-Mar, carried the ball 16 times and scored the first two touchdowns of his college career with runs of 2 and 3 yards.

The game was witnessed by 8,545 fans at the Alerus Center.

No.6 Lions pounce on Prairie, 44-14

Linn-Mar Coach Bob Forsyth preached all week in practice that he wanted his team to come out strong in its upcoming game against Prairie.

Come Friday night, the word "strong" proved to be a bit of an understatement.

Led by senior gunslinger Mark Atwater, the sixth-ranked Lions ran out to a 37-0 halftime lead and cruised to a 44-14 victory over Prairie at John Wall Field.

“Our coaches and our kids did a great job of getting ready this week,” Forsyth said. “We wanted to come out and explode and get at it right away.

"We knew this was a big rivalry with Prairie and we wanted to just get going and the kids were able to do that," he said. "We were able to get our jayvee team in there in the second half so it really worked out well.”

Atwater was stellar despite playing only two quarters. He hit 13 of 19 passes for 176 yards and two touchdowns, and rushed for 33 yards and another score.

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