Physical Hawks cruise past rival North Mahaska in road matchup

NEW SHARON — Lynnville-Sully’s football team opened its Class A District 6 contest against North Mahaska with a six-play, 64-yard touchdown drive.

And then stopped the Warhawks’ first two offensive plays behind the line of scrimmage.

That set the tone for what was to come as the Hawks dominated the final three quarters during a 39-6 road win over their rivals.

“It was really big for us,” L-S senior Jack Bowlin said about the defensive start. “They are our rivalry school so we wanted to set the tone right away. They had one scoring drive, but we shut them down well and they struggled to run the ball.”

North Mahaska scored its only points late in the first quarter to pull within 7-6, but the Hawks won the second quarter 21-0 and outscored the Warhawks 14-0 in the final half.

Lynnville-Sully held North Mahaska to 2.1 yards per carry. The Warhawks gained 46 yards on 22 carries, and the Hawks totaled 6.5 sacks and 12.5 tackles for loss in the win.

“First and foremost, we want to stop the run,” Lynnville-Sully head football coach Mike Parkinson said. “We put a lot of pressure on the back end guys because we stopped the run. They had a lot of footballs thrown at them, and I thought they did a good job.

“I expected a team that’s 3-1 to put up a good fight, and they definitely did. It was a good ball game.”

North Mahaska was coming off a game four days earlier. Its originally scheduled game against Martensdale-St. Marys was pushed back to Monday, Sept. 22, due to the tragic death of a recent graduate.

The Warhawks rushed for 310 yards and averaged 14 yards per carry in that home win.

Their first offensive drive of the game resulted in back-to-back runs of -3 yards and then a sack for -5 yards on third down forced the Warhawks to punt.

Lynnville-Sully’s opening drive started with a 21-yard run by JD Richards and ended with a 22-yard TD run by Dawson James.

The Hawks punted on their second offensive possession, and North Mahaska drove down the field for its only points of the game.

The Warhawks drive covered 78 yards in 11 plays. They converted a pair of third downs after Ryan Groom connected with Dane Van Mersbergen on a 16-yard pass play and then Groom rumbled 16 yards on the ground for another first down.

Another third-down conversion run by Groom set up his 19-yard pass to Dylan Meland and a 22-yard TD pass to Tyson Ferguson. The extra point was no good and L-S still led after one quarter.

Bowlin returned the ensuing kickoff 31 yards to give L-S a short field. The Hawks then marched 54 yards in seven plays. The big play was a 27-yard run by Gavin Fisk and the drive ended with a 15-yard TD on a screen pass from Connor Deal to James.

James rushed for 36 yards and two TDs on nine carries and caught one pass for 15 yards and another score.

The Hawk senior was forced into playing quarterback last week out of necessity, and the only position he hasn’t played on offense during his career is center.

“He’s a special kid. A kid you can move anywhere really,” Parkinson said. “He played QB last week out of necessity and did a great job. I want to find ways to use him. He’s versatile and for his size, he’s really quick, too. He can do everything.”

Wyatt Mathis ended the Warhawks’ next drive with his first sack of the night. It resulted in a loss of 11 yards and forced a punt.

The Hawks needed only three plays to go 65 yards on their next drive. All three snaps were passing plays from Deal to Bowlin. Bowlin gained 29 yards on the first pass, took a wide receiver screen 18 yards on the next play and then out-jumped a pair of North Mahaska defenders in the end zone for an 18-yard touchdown.

Bowlin finished with 79 yards and the TD on five catches and Deal was 7-of-12 through the air for 93 yards, two touchdowns and one interception.

“We knew they were in man,” Bowlin said. “It was one-on-one so I knew I had to catch it. (Deal) put his faith in me, and I was able to come down with them and made those plays.”

After the Hawks (4-1, 3-0 in the district) forced another three and out on defense, Bowlin returned the punt 63 yards to the North Mahaska 1-yard line.

Fisk scored on the next play to put Lynnville-Sully in front 25-6 with 5:26 to play in the first half. He gained 124 yards and scored two TDs on 16 carries.

North Mahaska ran 10 plays on its next drive, but the Hawks registered two sacks to halt the possession.

Mathis’ second sack of the night forced a third down and James got to the North Mahaska quarterback on fourth down later.

James finished with 5.5 tackles, two sacks and four tackles for loss and Mathis added four tackles, two sacks and three tackles for loss.

“When we realized they weren’t going to run it anymore, I just went to a speed rush move,” Mathis said. “I was beating my guy off the edge and then when the QB steps up, I go back inside and was able to get some sacks and some pressures there. It allowed the other guys to get sacks, too.”

The Hawks went three and out on their final possession of the first half, but North Mahaska lost yardage on its last drive of the second quarter.

The Warhawks (3-2, 2-2) then opened the third with another three and out on offense. That drive featured a batted pass at the line of scrimmage by Mathis.

The only points of the third came on an 11-play, 63-yard drive by Lynnville-Sully. All 63 yards came on the ground. The only play that went for more than six yards was a 24-yard sprint by Fisk. James capped the possession with a 1-yard TD run.

Fisk finalized the Hawks’ final scoring drive in the fourth. Lynnville-Sully marched 46 yards in five plays.

Fisk opened the drive with a 25-yard run and ended it with a 4-yard TD run.

“I like how we can mix it up,” Mathis said. “We get big plays on the ground, and then we can make a big play down field with our receivers.”

The L-S defense got two more three and outs before the TD drive and forced a fumble on the Warhawks’ possession after the score.

The Hawks went to their backups the rest of the way. Burt Johnson gained 28 yards on three carries and Richards had 25 yards on his two carries earlier in the game.

Lynnville-Sully, which improved to 13-2 against North Mahaska since 2010, rushed for 224 yards on 38 carries. The Hawks had a 15-7 advantage in first downs.

“I feel like we have an answer to everything we see, and our guys did a good job executing,” Parkinson said. “The guys up front are doing a nice job, we have them in the right positions and the scheme fits them. Those guys make it go.”

It was the Hawks’ third straight win over their rivals, and they’ve won four of the past five in the series.

Fisk contributed eight tackles and 1.5 tackles for loss for L-S. Henry Sharp totaled 5.5 tackles and one sack, while Bowlin tallied 3.5 tackles and 1.5 sacks and recovered a fumble. Richards also had 2.5 tackles.

Groom led North Mahaska with 46 rushing yards, 58 passing yards and 39 receiving yards. Chance Angle led the Warhawk defense with a game-high 12.5 tackles and three tackles for loss. North Mahaska totaled two sacks and 10 tackles for loss.

“Our run defense has been pretty solid all year, especially against running backs,” James said. “The QB runs have hurt us though.”

Notes: Lynnville-Sully committed only two penalties for 20 yards. North Mahaska had six penalties for 43 yards. … While Deal returned from injury, James continued to line up at quarterback for Wildcat formations. He said playing multiple positions hasn’t really been that difficult. “I just really love football so watching it is not a problem,” James said. “I just like to imitate what others do I guess.” … Besides a dominant offense and defense, the Hawks also made a few big plays on special teams. That part of the game was made a priority coming into the season. “I feel like that was a big gap last year,” Parkinson said. “We spend a lot of time on special teams. Our coordinators do a great job on it. I don’t hardly work with it at all. I make sure it’s in our practice plans I guess.” … Jace Johnson missed his second straight game with an injury. He has nine catches for 136 yards and four TDs so far this fall and also has returned a kickoff for a score. Parkinson said there’s a chance he could return this week when the Hawks face state-ranked Madrid at 7 p.m. on Oct. 3 in Sully. ... North Mahaska honored its 2005 state championship team at halftime.