Baxter football coach Rob Luther said there is no extra plans to allow senior Travis Lindemoen to set two new all-time receiving records in front of the home fans on Friday night.
But there is no doubt the all-time 8-man records for receiving yards and receiving TDs in a season are both within reach.
Lindemoen will be one of nine seniors honored before the game in the Bolts’ final home contest of the season. During the game, he could make history, needing 196 yards and four TDs to eclipse two different records.
“We actually joked with him that we are going to find ways to not get him the ball,” Luther said. “His answer was that he didn’t care as long as we won the game. He’s not a me kid. It’s been incredible what he has done in seven games, but he’s also had good passes thrown to him and good blocks made for him.”
Lindemoen will try to surpass Coon Rapids-Bayard’s Jacob Esdohr’s 1,398 receiving yards, which he set in 10 games back in 2010.
The current TD record is 26 set by Daniel Duysen of East Mills. Duysen needed 12 games to do that in 2011.
Luther will not see the first part of the game as he will be attending his son Trent’s Senior Night at Ankeny High School. It will be the first time he will miss part of a game since he’s been on the sidelines at Baxter and CMB in the last 21 years.
“This is something I wanted to do and feel I need to do,” Luther said. “I hate missing part of our game, but I need to be a Dad, too. I won’t miss the game. I hope to be in town by halftime.”
The eighth-ranked Bolts (6-1) enter the night on a five-game win streak. They are averaging 63 points during that stretch and will face a Springville team which has surrendered 56 points per game in its current five-game losing streak.
Springville (2-6) has struggled to find its way since running back Henry Hoogland went down with an injury. Hoogland leads Springville with 634 rushing yards and 14 TDs, but he is not expected to play Friday night.
“They are still finding their way on offense,” Luther said. “They have struggled since (Hoogland) went down. But they’ve lined up in several different formations and run a lot of trick plays so we’ll have to be focused and ready and then be prepared to adjust as the game goes on.”
Focus is not something Luther has had issues with this year. The Bolts got through the toughest part of their schedule with just one loss to No. 2 Remsen-St. Mary’s. They are now fully healthy and have enjoyed their first year in 8-man football.
“They are a pretty hungry group even though we can’t play in the playoffs,” Luther said. “We are excited to be playing at home. The weather ruined last week’s game. The guys are having fun together and enjoying the transition.”
Senior Braydon Aker leads 8-man with 1,937 passing yards and 34 TD passes. He’s also rushed for 500 yards and scored 11 rushing TDs.
Senior Devin Carson leads the defense with 56 tackles, two fumble recoveries and two interceptions, and he’s also rushed for 350 yards and nine scores on offense. Lindemoen has three interceptions, too.
“I would rather have Travis set the records in front of 500 fans rather than 50 fans on the road next week, but I also would love to find a way to get all nine seniors in the scoring column in some way. That would be better for us than the records this week because its Senior Night.”
The way the Bolts’ offense is playing during their five-game win streak, accomplishing both may be entirely possible.
Baxter and Springville play a half of junior varsity football starting at 5:45 p.m. That may push back the varsity kickoff to 7:15 p.m. Kickoff is scheduled for 7 p.m.
PCM (6-1, 5-0) at Davis County (1-6, 1-4)
A win against Davis County locks up a second straight Class 2A District 6 title for PCM. It also will guarantee the Mustangs of a second straight 8-1 regular season as Clarke has already forfeited its Week 9 matchup.
PCM enters the week with six straight wins. The Mustangs are 5-0 in district play and outscoring those opponents 273-48. The PCM starters have not played a full game since Week 1.
Still, the Mustangs have the fifth most points in 2A with 295 and their 11 fumble recoveries ranks second in the class.
Davis County, whose mascot also is the Mustangs, defeated Clarke 44-0 in Week 5. Besides that game, the team is averaging 8.3 points per game and allowing 42 points per contest.
Davis County has passed for only 290 yards and two TDs in seven games. The Mustangs have gained 1,075 yards on the ground and are averaging 153 rush yards per game.
Leading the offensive attack is senior Collen Allen, who has gained 411 yards and scored three touchdowns. Quarterback JR Zeitler has thrown for 159 yards, rushed for 295 and recovered four fumbles on defense. Zeitler has scored three total TDs, two on offense and one on defense.
Davis County has intercepted eight passes on defense, three coming from Reegan Warning. Warning also has two fumble recoveries and hauled in the other two passing TDs for the team.
Colfax-Mingo (4-4, 3-2) at BGM (2-5, 2-3)
One year after winning only one game, the Tigerhawks can guarantee themselves of a non-losing season with a road victory over BGM on Friday.
The winner of this game between South Iowa Cedar League rivals will likely finish fourth in Class A District 5.
Colfax-Mingo enters the game on a three-game winning streak, and BGM has lost three straight.
The Bears are done with the toughest part of their schedule. Four of BGM’s five losses have come to No. 5 Lynnville-Sully (32-7), No. 8 Gladbrook-Reinbeck (38-13), No. 3 Hudson (21-14) and Belle Plaine (42-13), which enters Friday at 6-1.
If the Tigerhawks win a fourth straight game, they’ll have to slow down Keegan James and Noah Beck.
James enters the week ranked five in Class A with 1,020 rushing yards and 13 rushing TDs, which ranks tied for third. He’s also the team’s leading receiver with 13 catches for 159 yards and another TD.
Beck has rushed for 314 yards and four scores, returned a kickoff for a score and has three interceptions on defense. He also could be used as a quarterback in the wildcat formation.
BGM ranks first in Class A with 14 fumble recoveries, but Colfax-Mingo is tied for fourth with 12 fumble recoveries. Zarek Hill and Alex Lewis both have three to rank tied for fourth in the class.
Hill and Lewis are also two of the top receivers in the class. The Tigerhawks are the top passing team in Class A thanks to Reegan Van Dyke’s 1,487 passing yards. Van Dyke also leads the team with 341 rushing yards and he has combined for 22 TDs.
Defensively, Hill ranks first in the class with seven interceptions and also has 34 tackles, one sack and two defensive TDs. Senior Jake Dunsbergen has a team-high 60 tackles.
Lynnville-Sully wraps up district title
The Hawks won their two biggest games of the season in back-to-back weeks, knocking off previously unbeaten and state-ranked Pekin in Week 6 and then handing New London its first loss in Week 7.
Those two wins clinched the Class A District 6 title for the Hawks, who are idle this week before playing at Montezuma (3-3 overall, 2-2 in district play) in the final week of the regular season.
Lynnville-Sully is 7-0 overall and 5-0 in district play. New London travels to Pekin on Friday, and that game will decide the runner-up position in the district.