March 19, 2024

Hawks’ defense solid in fifth straight victory

SULLY — A little more than two minutes were gone in the game and Class A seventh-ranked Lynnville-Sully found itself behind 6-0 at home Friday night. Visiting Winfield Mount Union’s Broc Miller intercepted a pass returning it 47 yards for the touchdown.

“We came out a little flat, but the guys responded well,” Hawk head coach Mike Parkinson said following the Hawks’ 44-6 win. “We played outstanding defense the whole night. Our offense got on track, especially in the second half.”

Lynnville-Sully answered with a 96-yard scoring drive capped on a 25-yard TD pass from Elijah Collins to Brevin Hansen to close out the first quarter. The 2-point conversion run by Sage Zylstra put the Hawks in front for good, 8-6.

Collins connected with Caden Dunsbergen midway through the second period for a 34-yard TD pass play and Hansen kicked the extra point. Zylstra, who finished with 161 yards on 20 carries, broke off a 40-yard scoring run three minutes later.

The Hawks were up 22-6 at halftime.

“At halftime, I challenged our guys to be the more physical team on the field. We’ve been that the first four games of the season,” Parkinson said. “Our guys answered my challenge in the second half. We played hard and controlled the game.”

The Hawks rolled up 415 yards of total offense while holding Winfield Mt. Union to 45 total yards.

Dylan Roozeboom had nine tackles for Lynnville-Sully. Ryan Hofer and Zylstra each had six tackles.

Gage Vander Leest scored the first of his two touchdowns with 9:15 left in the third quarter. Hansen caught the 2-point conversion pass from Collins.

Five minutes later, Zylstra found the end zone for the second time in the game on a 3-yd run with Hansen kicking the extra point.

Finishing the scoring with 52 seconds left in the game was a 1-yard touchdown run by Vander Leest, who had 25 yards on 10 carries in the game. Evan Squires ran for 26 yards on seven carries.

Collins was 10-of-18 passing for 107 yards. He also ran for 46 yards on 11 carries. Caden Dunsbergen made two catches for 41 yards, and Hansen caught four passes for 50 yards.

Lynnville-Sully (5-0) is 3-0 in Class A District 6 play, and plays at 7 p.m. Friday at Pekin.

Winfield Mt. Union 6-0-0-0—6

Lynnville-Sully 8-14-15-7—44

WMU — Miller 47 yd interception return (PAT failed)

L-S — Hansen 25 yd pass from Collins (Zylstra run)

L-S — Caden Dunsbergen 34 yd pass from Collins (Hansen kick)

L-S — Zylstra 40 yd run (Hansen kick)

L-S — Vander Leest 1 yd run (Hansen pass from Collins)

L-S — Zylstra 3 yd run (Hansen kick)

L-S — Vander Leest 1 yd run (Hansen kick)

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