Linn-Mar Football

No. 6 Lions roll; Jeff makes playoffs

Good football teams get big plays when they need them from their key players.

Linn-Mar is a good football team and its key players on offense have been Trevor Noble and Ryan Schmidt. The senior tandem came to the front when the Lions needed them most in Friday's regular-season finale against Cedar Rapids Jefferson.

Schmidt and Noble hooked up for four touchdown passes as the Lions rallied from a 14-7 deficit to win going away, 42-21, on a foggy Friday night at Linn-Mar Stadium.

The Lions (8-1, 5-0) had already locked up the Class 4A District 5 title after Week 8. Coach Bob Forsyth's team will host a No. 4 seed Davenport Central in a first-round playoff game on Wednesday night.

Jefferson (4-5, 2-3) got into the playoffs as a No. 4 seed. The J-Hawks will be on the road against a No. 1 seed and unbeaten Bettendorf on Wednesday night.

Noble, who caught three TD passes and returned an interception for a score in last week's win at Waterloo West, said the Lions weren't overlooking the J-Hawks.

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3 Metro teams seek playoff berths

It will be interesting to see how many high school football teams with 2-and-7 records make the Class 4A playoffs this year.

The Kennedy Cougars will make the 32-team field with a 2-7 mark if they defeat Waterloo West at Kingston Stadium Friday night, but they're not the only ones who could advance with a 2-7 record.

Iowa City High, Clinton and Mason City also could "earn" spots in the Class 4A tournament with 2-7 marks. That would be an improvement for Mason City, which qualified a few years ago with a 1-8 record.

We can thank - or blame - the district format for all this. The only results that count are district games. The non-district games are simply exhibitions, as far as making the playoffs, so it's a lot easier to make the playoffs now.

You can lose all of your non-district games, finish fourth in your district with a wobbly record and march into the playoffs at 2-7 (and sometimes even 1-8).

Under the old conference format, it normally took at least four victories to make the playoffs, although occasionally a team would slip through with a 3-6 mark. The schools voted for this system, so now everyone has to live with it.

Washington, Linn-Mar and Xavier have clinched playoff berths. The top-ranked Warriors are 8-0 and rolling along. The sixth-ranked Lions are 7-1, with the only loss to Washington. The Saints are 5-3, but have struggled on offense in their losses to Dowling (24-2), Western Dubuque (7-6) and Iowa City Regina (21-7) with only one touchdown on offense.

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Schmidt, Noble share Metro Spotlight Award

Linn-Mar seniors Ryan Schmidt and Trevor Noble are the co-winners of the Metro Spotlight Award for high school boys this week, the Metro Sports Report announced Sunday.

Schmidt and Noble shared the spotlight Friday night when the sixth-ranked Lions smashed Waterloo West, 63-28, in a district football game in Waterloo.

Schmidt, a 6-foot-5, 230-pound quarterback, passed for four touchdowns and ran for three scores as he collected 398 yards of total offense.

Noble caught three touchdown passes for 135 yards and scored on a 55-yard interception return.

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Warriors stay No. 1 in football poll

The Washington Warriors remained at the top of the Class 4A football rankings Sunday by the Des Moines Register.

The Warriors and Bettendorf Bulldogs are both 8-0 heading into the final week of the regular season. They are the only undefeated teams in Class 4A.

Washington defeated Iowa City High, 28-7, Thursday night and plays this Friday at Burlington.

The Linn-Mar Lions (7-1) stayed in the No. 6 spot in the Class 4A poll after defeating Waterloo West, 63-28. Linn-Mar's only setback this season was to Washington. The Lions host Jefferson Friday night.

The Xavier Saints (5-3) fell from No. 5 to No. 10 in Class 3A after losing to Iowa City Regina, 21-7, Friday. The Saints host Marion Friday night.

CLASS 4A

1. Washington (8-0), 2. Bettendorf (8-0), 3. West Des Moines Valley (7-1), 4. Dowling (7-1), 5. Waukee (7-1), 6. Linn-Mar (7-1), 7. Ankeny (6-2), 8. Southeast Polk (5-3), 9. Pleasant Valley (5-3), 10. Lewis Central (7-1).

CLASS 3A

1. Pella (8-0), 2. Solon (7-1), 3. Sioux City Heelan (7-1), 4.Waverly-Shell Rock (6-2), 5. Dallas Center-Grimes (7-1), 6. West Delaware (7-1), 7. Clear Creek-Amana (7-1), 8. Carroll (7-1), 9. Humboldt (7-1), 10. Xavier (5-3).