March 28, 2024

Hawks upset No. 7 Braves in district play

SULLY — Rain and wind pushed football teams to rely on their running games Friday night.

Lynnville-Sully’s Hawks were coming off a disappointing outing and loss a week ago at Colfax and facing Class A’s seventh-ranked Montezuma Braves in Class A District 7 play Friday. They proved to be better in the mud than the visiting Braves.

With a 37-yard field goal by Noah Engle at the 1:36 mark of the third quarter, the Hawks broke a 7-all tie and would go on to upend the Braves, 10-7.

“This was a huge win for our guys. Our players just willed this win tonight,” Lynnville-Sully head coach Mike Parkinson said. “It was a sloppy, muddy field, and our guys managed the weather very well. We took care of the football. Those two things were big. Our center Isaac Collins did a great job snapping the ball in the game.”

Parkinson said the Hawks had a nice drive early in the game but didn’t score. Montezuma scored first on a 10-yard touchdown run by Ryan Maschmann with 10 seconds left in the first quarter. Brody McKeag kicked the extra point.

Lynnville-Sully answered in the second period. Kobe Fisk tallied a 1-yard touchdown run with 3:54 left in the quarter. Engle tied it with the extra-point kick.

“We controlled things against a very good Montezuma team. Our defense played lights out. We held Montezuma to less than a 100 yards rushing. That’s big,” Parkinson said.

It was a defensive play that gave Engle the opportunity for the go-ahead field goal. Montezuma had a bad snap on a punt and Lynnville-Sully tackled the punter. Three plays later, Engle booted the 37-yarder through the uprights.

The Hawks put the ball in the hands of senior running back Sage Ehresman, who rushed for 140 yards on 30 carries on the muddy field. Carson Losure had 49 yards on 16 carries and caught three passes for 50 yards.

Tyler Van Zante was 2-of-4 passing for Lynnville-Sully for eight yards. Both passes were caught by Caden Dunsbergen. Evan Squires gained 30 yards on nine carries.

The Hawk defense had four takeaways — two fumble recoveries and two interceptions. Fisk recovered a fumble and made an interception late in the game to stop a Brave drive. Jack Hardin, a defensive lineman, had an interception in the first half. Trevor Squires recovered a fumble.

Dylan Roozeboom led the Hawk defense with 10 tackles. Nose guard Kyle Van Dyke had six tackles and Corey McCoy had five tackles. Roozeboom and Ehresman each had a quarterback sack.

Parkinson pointed to the play of the Hawks’ defensive line, which include Van Dyke, Jack Hardin, Jayson Hardin, Trevor Squires, McCoy and Evan Squires, as key to the victory.

Lynnville-Sully (2-2, 1-1 district) hosts Iowa Valley on Friday.

Montezuma  7-0-0-0—7

Lynnville-Sully  0-7-3-0—10

Montezuma — Maschmann 10 yd run (McKeag kick)

Lynnville-Sully — Fisk 1 yd (Engle kick)

Lynnville-Sully — Engle 37 yd field goal

Contact Jocelyn Sheets at
641-792-3121 ext. 6535
or jsheets@newtondailynews.com