Hawks’ dozen receive Class A District 6 honors

SULLY — Facing a 14-0 halftime deficit, Lynnville-Sully’s football team rallied to defeat visiting New London, 19-14, in Class A District 6 play with two weeks remaining in the 2016 regular season. It is a game Lynnville-Sully head coach Mike Parkinson points to as testament to the character of the Hawk football squad.

The Hawks were a balanced team with offense and defense in 2016. They had 12 players receive postseason honors from Class A District 6 coaches — six offense and six defense. The truth is most of the Lynnville-Sully players played on both sides of the football during the season.

Defensively, the Hawks allowed 8.7 points per game in their 8-2 season. They were 6-1 in district play, losing to Montezuma in the final regular-season game. Lynnville-Sully held defending Class A champion Gladbrook-Reinbeck to its second-lowest scoring output of the season in a first-round playoff loss, 13-6.

Gladbrook-Reinbeck plays for a second straight Class A title Thursday against Bishop Garrigan at the UNI-Dome.

Two major cogs in the Hawk defense were senior linebackers Ryan Hofer and Dylan Roozeboom. Hofer, 6-foot-1 inch and 175 pounds, was named the Class A District 6 Defensive MVP. Roozeboom, senior defensive back Caden Dunsbergen and junior defensive back Carson Dunsbergen were selected to the All-Class A District 6 first team with Hofer.

Also garnering All-Class A District 6 first team honors were senior offensive lineman Trevor Squires, junior wide receiver Brevin Hansen and junior running back Sage Zylstra.

Named to the All-Class A District 6 second team were junior defensive lineman Jesse Van Wyke and sophomore running back Evn Squires. Earning District 6 honorable mention honors were junior and senior quarterbacks Eliiah Collins and Tyler an Zante and junior defensive lineman Corey McCoy.

Hofer led his team and District 6 in tackles with 53 solo tackles and 19.5 assisted tackles. He had 16 tackles for loss, one quarterback sack and one fumble recovery. Roozeboom, 5-foot-9 inches and 180 pounds, racked up 26 unassisted tackles, 15.5 assisted tackles, 2.5 quarterback sacks and five tackles for loss.

Carson Dunsbergen had 28 solo tackles, 5.5 assisted tackles. The 5-10, 155-pound defensive back had two interceptions and four tackles for loss. Caden Dunsbergen, 5-foot-9 inches and 150 pounds, made 24 solo tackles and seven assisted tackles from his defensive back position.

Trevor Squires was a 5-foot-8-inch, 220-pound senior offensive lineman for the Hawks this season. Lynnville-Sully was second in the district in passing offense — 91-of-164 for 1,226 yards — third in rushing offense — 368 carries for 1,639 yards — and second in scoring — 288 points.

The 5-foot-9-inch, 170-pound Zylstra led the district in rushing with 770 yards on 133 carries with a 5.8-yard per carry average. He had nine rushing touchdowns and 10 2-point conversion runs for 64 points.

Hansen was the Hawks’ leading receiver as the 5-foot-9 inch, 135-pound junior caught 39 passes for 469 yards, which as second-best in District 6. He had six touchdown catches.

Zylstra also was Lynnville-Sully’s third-leading tackler with 27 solo tackles and 16 assisted tackles on defense. He had 13 tackles for loss and five quarterback sacks. Hansen was the Hawks’ placekicker, hitting 21-of-23 extra-point attempts and hitting 1-of-2 field goal attempts. Hansen scored 68 points for the season.

Van Wyk and Evan Squires on the all-district second team as a defensive lineman and a running back, respectively.

Evan Squires (5-foot-10 inches, 200 pounds) ended up 10th on the district rushing chart with 439 yards on 105 carries and seven touchdowns and one 2-point conversion run.

Van Wyk, who is 6-foot-2 inches and 190 pounds, finished with 13 solo tackles and 16 assisted tackles. He had seven tackles for loss and three quarterback sacks.

Lynnville-Sully made the most of the talents of two quarterbacks late in the season. Van Zante, a 6-foot, 170-pound senior, started the season but was injured. Collins, a 5-foot-10 inch, 155-pound junior, stepped in and led the Hawks. At the end of the season, both players used their talents to put the Hawks into the Class A playoffs.

Collins finished second in District 6 with 790 yards passing, going 57-of-108. He had 13 TD passes and four interceptions. He rushed for 85 yards on 32 carries.

Van Zante was fifth in the district with 419 yards on 33-of-52 passing. Van Zante had two TD passes and six interceptions, and he rushed for 32 yards on 11 carries.

McCoy was one the top tacklers for the Hawks from his defensive end spot. The 6-foot-4 inch, 180-pound junior had six quarterback sacks and six tackles for loss. He had 24 solo tackles and 6.5 assisted tackles.

Contact Jocelyn Sheets at
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