Linn-Mar Football

Schmidt's 7 TDs help Lions roll

WATERLOO - When a football player puts in the time over the summer, working to get better, they think about having the perfect game.

Linn-Mar's senior duo of Ryan Schmidt and Trevor Noble had that kind of night Friday at Memorial Stadium in Waterloo.

Noble caught three touchdown passes from Schmidt and returned an interception for a score for a 24-point performance.

Schmidt finished with four TD tosses and ran for three of his own as the Lions dropped Waterloo West, 63-28, earning the Class 4A District 5 title and first-round home game in the playoffs.

The No. 6 Lions (7-1, 4-0) host Jefferson next Friday in the regular-season finale, but even if they were to lose, they hold the tiebreaker over second-place Cedar Falls, whose only district loss was last Friday at Linn-Mar.

"The district championship has been our goal since the beginning," Noble said. "Nobody thought (after going 2-7 in 2013) that we could do it. Look today, we did it. I'm proud to be a part of this team. It's a great group of guys."

The game was an offensive carnival. There was over 1,000 yards of total offense as both teams moved the ball up and down the field. The difference was the key turnovers forced by the Lions, twice taking the ball away inside the red zone.

Noble had the third takeaway and it gave the Lions a much-needed cushion.

West took the opening kickoff and drove the ball down the field to score. Schmidt tied the game on a 59-yard run and then connected with Perrion Scott on a 16-yard swing pass to give the Lions a 14-7 lead. West tied it on a 2-yard Devon Moore run early in the second quarter.

Schmidt tallied his second touchdown on a 3-yard run with 6:59 left in the first half. Then it was Noble's time to shine. On the first play after the kickoff, he jumped a corner route and picked off a Moore pass. He raced untouched 55 yards for the score.

"Our defense didn't play the best tonight," Noble said, "but we have relied a lot this year on turnovers and it helped us again tonight.

Read more...

Saints host Regina in premier battle

All of the Class 4A football teams in the Metro area refused to play Xavier when the Saints dropped to Class 3A this year, so the Saints had to get creative and find some willing partners.

They succeeded beyond anyone's wildest imagination.

Xavier will host Iowa City Regina Friday night at Saints Field in an intriguing showdown of state powers.

The Saints reached the Class 4A finals in 2012 and 2013 before the advent of district play in Eastern Iowa allowed them to drop safely into their proper enrollment bracket in Class 3A. The Regals, meanwhile, are the premier program in Class 1A and have won four straight state titles under Coach Marv Cook.

Regina saw its 56-game winning streak come to an end against Solon - a Class 3A club - in the season opener this year, but the Regals have won six straight games since then and are averaging 43.4 points per game.

Read more...

Linn-Mar jumps to 6th in football poll

The Linn-Mar Lions climbed three spots to No. 6 in the Class 4A football rankings Sunday by the Des Moines Register.

The Lions (6-1) defeated Cedar Falls, 22-14, in a showdown for their district lead at Linn-Mar Stadium Friday night. Linn-Mar's only blemish this season was a loss to top-ranked Washington.

The Warriors (7-0) remained at the top of the Class 4A rankings with their 28-6 triumph at Prairie Friday night. Bettendorf (7-0) stayed in the No. 2 spot, followed by West Des Moines Valley, Dowling and Waukee.

The Xavier Saints (5-2) remain No. 5 in the Class 3A rankings with their 41-12 victory against Dubuque Wahlert. The Saints will have an intriguing game this Friday night when they host Iowa City Regina, which is ranked No. 1 in Class 1A and the defending state champ.

Pella (7-0) is ranked No. 1 in Class 3A, followed by West Delaware, Solon, Sioux City Heelan and Xavier.

CLASS 4A

1. Washington (7-0), 2. Bettendorf (7-0), 3. West Des Moines Valley (6-1), 4. Dowling (6-1), 5. Waukee (6-1), 6. Linn-Mar (6-1), 7. Ankeny Centennial (6-1), 8. Ankeny (5-2), 9. Fort Dodge (6-1), 10. Johnston (5-2).

CLASS 3A

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

Linn-Mar stuffs Cedar Falls, 22-14

When Linn-Mar played at Cedar Falls last season, the Tigers were able to run at will.

In Friday night's game at Linn-Mar Stadium, they couldn't run at all.

A fired-up Lions defense held the Tigers to minus-10 yards on the ground and the offense made enough timely plays that resulted in a 22-14 homecoming victory at Linn-Mar Stadium.

The victory clinched a Class 4A playoff spot for the No. 9 Lions (6-1 overall, 3-0 in District 5). They can secure no worse than a tie for the district title with a win next Friday at Waterloo West. Cedar Falls dropped to 5-2, 2-1.

Many of Linn-Mar's defenders in Friday's win were on the field last year when the Tigers ran for 449 yards in a 56-28 win.

"We came out here fired up ready to play Lion football," said senior defensive back Adam Stolley, who had a key interception. "We went 2-7 (last year) and that sucked for all of us.

Read more...