March 28, 2024

Engle’s field goal fuels Hawk playoff train

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WINFIELD — Noah Engle lined everything up and took position. Kobe Fisk awaited the snap of the football. A good snap to Fisk for a perfect hold, and Engle kicked the ball true.

Celebration broke out as the football went end over end through the uprights with eight seconds remaining in Monday’s Class A playoff game. Engle’s 34-yard field goal lifted the Lynnville-Sully’s Hawks to a 29-28 lead.

A tackle by Sage Ehresman on the ensuing kickoff, and Fisk intercepting a pass on the final last-ditch effort by host Winfield-Mount Union secured the Hawks the one-point victory. The Hawks handed the eighth-ranked Wolves their first loss of the season.

Lynnville-Sully (8-3) advances to the third round of the Class A playoffs Friday. The Hawks face No. 9 Mount Ayr (9-2) at 7 p.m. at Mount Ayr.

“Noah stepped up big time. I told him this one really counts. He told us just before we broke the huddle that this one was for all of us,” Fisk said of Engle. “Their crowd was roaring, but when that thing went through the uprights — boy, their side was silent and our side erupted. It was so intense.”

Lynnville-Sully’s train keeps moving. Fisk said the team looks at the playoffs as if they were on a train and everybody’s season comes to an end.

“We’re staying on the train,” Fisk said.

Junior quarterback Tyler Van Zante engineered two straight scoring drives in the final eight minutes of the game after the Hawks fell behind 28-20. Van Zante finished the game completing 20-of-33 passes for 259 yards and one touchdown.

Sage Ehresman pushed over the goal line at the 2:57 mark of the fourth quarter for Lynnville-Sully. On the two-point conversion run they needed to tie the game, Ehresman was stopped by the Wolves’ defense, leaving it 28-26.

“Our defensive coordinator, T.J. Cunningham looked at me and said we were going to get three stops and get the ball back. I just smiled and said ‘let’s do it,’” Lynnville-Sully head coach Mike Parkinson said.

The Hawks attempted an onside kick, but the football went out of bounds allowing the Wolves to take over at their own 35-yard line. Even after giving up five yards on a penalty, the Hawks held on defense forcing Winfield-Mount Union to punt the football.

Lynnville-Sully had the football with 2:04 on the game clock. The Hawks’ final drive began at their own 26-yard line. Van Zante found Fisk, who had 10 catches for 178 yards on the night, for a 15-yard pass play.

Ehresman caught back-to-back passes to move the Hawks down to the Wolves’ 22-yard line. After three plays, it was up to Engle, who had missed an earlier field goal attempt and an extra-point kick in the game.

“I got really emotional before the kick,” Engle said. “Coach (Justin) Hagedorn wanted to talk to me over the headset during the timeout. He told me he believed in me. My teammates believed in me. I just give it to God, who gave me the ability to do this.”

Engle said the offensive line for Lynnville-Sully did a great job all night and provided him with the time to kick the field goal.

“This win means the train keeps going. We don’t want to get off until it gets to Cedar Falls,” Engle said.

Ehresman, the Hawks’ senior running back, rushed for 172 yards on 38 carries and had three catches for 34 yards. Ehresman put the Hawks on the scoreboard first, capping a three-play drive after Fisk caught a 38-yard pass from Van Zante. Ehresman scored from one yard out with 10 seconds left in the first quarter.

Engle’s extra-point kick made it 7-0.

Winfield-Mount Union marched to the Lynnville-Sully 13-yard line. In hurry-up mode on a third-and-one, Wolves’ quarterback Kolt Rossiter fumbled the snap and Lynnville-Sully recovered the football. The Hawks gave it right back on a fumble.

This time the Wolves finished with a 3-yard touchdown run by Bryce Robinson at the 8:03 mark of the second quarter. Lynnville-Sully denied a two-point pass to stay in front 7-6.

The Hawks couldn’t respond, punting the ball back to the Wolves with 5:25 on the clock. On a third-and-10 play, Rossiter hooked up with Zach Davis on a scoring-pass play that covered 76 yards. Rossiter ran in the two-point conversion for a 14-7 lead with 4:45 left in the first half.

At halftime, the Wolves led the Hawks 14-7.

“They are big and physical, and we just had to find what would work for us,” Parkinson said.

What worked in the middle of the third quarter was handing the ball to Ehresman. Ehresman squirted through traffic at the line of scrimmage and dashed 44 yards. Engle’s kick tied the game a 14-all with 6:13 left in the period.

Lynnville-Sully’s defense made a stop, and the Hawks’ offense was in business again. Van Zante found Colton Arment twice on passes to move the chains. Arment had four receptions for 42 yards in the game.

The Hawks were at the Wolves’ 29-yard line as the fourth quarter began. Following an incompletion on third down, Lynnville-Sully went on a fourth-and-nine play. Fisk was all alone after WMU defenders fell on the play, and Van Zante’s pass was right on target for a 29-yard scoring play.

Lynnville-Sully was up 20-14 with 11:46 remaining in the game. The Wolves scored quickly on back-to-back long pass plays to Garret Baker — 49 yards and 80 yards. A two-point conversion pass on the second touchdown was knocked down by the Hawks to keep it at 28-20.

“These guys don’t quit. We found a way to win tonight,” Parkinson said. “Tyler stepped up. He used his feet when he needed to and he put the ball on the money all night for our receives to make the catches. We had a couple of big drops, but we had some unbelievable catches.”

Parkinson said the Hawks did a nice job on the defensive line and the Hawk linebackers played well against the run. The Wolves’ Robison was held to 97 yards on 27 carries. That was all WMU got on the ground.

Rossiter went 8-of-17 passing for 251 yards with three touchdown and two interceptions. Baker made six catches for 159 yards.

“We made some mistakes in pass coverage. We had two freshmen on the field all night playing on defensive back field because of injuries,” Parkinson said. “All these guys left it all out on the field.”

Ehresman and Dylan Roozeboom each were credited with seven tackles. Ryan Hofer had six tackles. Fisk had an interception while Ehresman made an interception and a fumble recovery. Freshman Gage Vander Leest recovered a fumble.

“Our kids rode out the waves of momentum tonight. We had the ball at the end. Our passing game was a nice complement to our running game tonight. I’m glad we practiced it and I’m glad we practice kicking field goals.”

Lynnville-Sully 7-0-7-15—29

Winfield-Mt. Union 0-14-0-14—28

L-S — Ehresman 1 yd run (Engle kick)

WMU — Robison 3 yd run (pass failed)

WMU — Davis 76 yd pass from Rossiter (Rossiter run)

L-S — Ehresman 44 yd run (Engle kick)

L-S — Fisk 29 yd pass from Van Zante (kick failed)

WMU — Baker 49 yd pass from Rossiter (Rossiter run)

WMU — Baker 80 yd pass from Rossiter (pass failed)

L-S — Ehresman 2 yd run (run failed)

L-S — Engle 34 yd field goal

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