L-S football dominates through the air, routs BGM to advance in playoffs

SULLY — A record-setting night in the passing game and a dominant third quarter propelled the Lynnville-Sully football team to a second-round playoff win over BGM on Friday night.

The Class A No. 10 Hawks advanced to the quarterfinals for the second time since 2022 after dispatching the rival Bears, 51-26.

Connor Deal set a new school record with seven passing touchdowns and Jack Bowlin tied a school record with four receiving touchdowns.

The Hawks also turned a single-digit halftime margin into a 30-point lead following a 22-0 third quarter. BGM won the fourth 12-7.

It was Lynnville-Sully’s second win over the Bears this season. In the regular-season meeting, the Hawks won by 21 and outscored BGM 21-0 in the second.

Deal’s first four TD passes went to four different receivers. He connected with Bowlin for a 10-yard TD pass play in the first and Dawson James’ two-point conversion run put the Hawks in front for good.

Beau Burns scored a pair of rushing TDs in the first half, but L-S led 22-14 at the break following TD passes from Deal to Gavin Fisk and Landyn Fisk in the second period.

The 21-0 third started with a 21-yard TD pass from Deal to JD Richards. It ended with a pair of scoring passes to Bowlin. The first one covered 34 yards and the second went for 20.

Nathan Findley scored a pair of rushing TDs for BGM (7-3) in the fourth, but a fourth TD pass to Bowlin finalized the victory. The final TD strike from Deal to Bowlin covered 43 yards.

Deal finished 11-of-18 through the air for 183 yards and seven touchdowns with no interceptions. The previous school record for passing TDs in a game was five set by Nick Cross in 1999.

Deal’s 19 passing TDs this season ranks fifth in Class A and his 182.7 rating is fourth. Deal threw more TD passes on Friday than he threw all of last year in 86 attempts.

Bowlin caught seven passes for 139 yards and four TDs, which tied Jeremy Van Soelen’s record set in 1997.

Bowlin’s 45 catches are tied for fourth in Class A, and he ranks third with 722 receiving yards and tied for first with 10 receiving TDs.

Gavin Fisk ran for 35 yards on eight carries and caught a 3-yard TD pass and Landyn Fisk hauled in two passes for 15 yards, including a 12-yard TD catch.

James rushed for 46 yards on 14 carries and grabbed one pass for eight yards and Richards’ lone catch was the 21-yard TD.

Bowlin led the L-S defense with 10 tackles. Henry Sharp added eight tackles and two tackles for loss, James had eight tackles, Michael Spooner totaled five tackles and two tackles for loss, Gavin Fisk contributed five tackles and Richards produced four tackles.

Landyn Fisk and Jace Johnson each finished with three tackles, Burt Johnson snagged an interception and Trace Carlson and Kimball Elliott each recovered a fumble. The Johnson pick was the team’s 10th of the season.

The Hawks (9-1) had a 16-14 advantage in first downs, and L-S committed eight penalties for 89 yards. BGM totaled 66 penalty yards and was flagged for nine penalties.

Lynnville-Sully has scored 35 points or more in eight of the team’s 10 games.

Burns led BGM with 131 rushing yards and two TDs on 29 carries. He also threw for 77 yards and one interception.

Findlay gained 99 yards and scored two touchdowns on nine carries and Zachary Clayton led the BGM defense with eight tackles.