Sat - 15 Sep
Written by Jim Ecker
Even kickers have to play in pain sometimes, but that's OK with Linn-Mar junior Austin Wolter.
Wolter got a second chance to be the hero in overtime Friday night and booted a 23-yard field goal to lift the Lions past Washington, 24-21, at Linn-Mar Stadium despite limping around before his big kick with a sore leg.
Wolter missed a 28-yarder on his first try in overtime, but the Warriors were called for running into the kicker and he got another shot. This time he nailed it and the Lions (1-3) celebrated their first victory of the season.
Wolter was not injured on his missed field goal, despite his contact with a Washington defender. Rather, the injury happened earlier in the game in the first quarter.
"On the first extra point I got a helmet right in the shin," he said. "It hurt the whole game, but I just got through it."
The game-winning boot made him feel a lot better. "When I hit it, I knew it was going through," he said.
Linn-Mar reached into its bag of tricks to tie the game, 21-21, with just 70 seconds left in the fourth quarter.
The Lions faced 3rd-and-goal at the 5-yard line when quarterback Rhys Davis pitched the ball to tailback Ross Lembeck for an apparent run to the right, but Lembeck stopped and passed the ball to Davis in the left flat for an easy touchdown. Wolter kicked the PAT and it was tied.
Davis found himself all alone as Washington's defense chased Lembeck the other way.
"When Coach called it, I think me and Ross just looked at each other in the huddle and said, 'This is it,'" said Davis. "If you don't catch it, you're the goat of the game.
"I saw the entire defense flow to the right. I saw the ball in the air and I was praying to the Lord above."
Washington went first in overtime, looking for a quick strike, but it turned into be a miserable sequence for the Warriors. Quarterback Mitch Blades survived two risky passes on the first two plays, but then Zach Martins came up with a big interception to get Linn-Mar's offense on the field in great shape at the 10-yard line.
Davis carried the ball on two straight plays to the 4-yard line, and Linn-Mar Coach Bob Forsyth called for a field goal on third down. Wolter pulled the kick to the left, but got his second chance when a Washington defender made contact and was called for a penalty.
"We had a tough call right there, I think," said Washington Coach Tony Lombardi.
Washington defeated Linn-Mar in a memorable playoff game at Linn-Mar Stadium last year, but both clubs suffered heavy graduation losses and bear little resemblance to their outfits from 2011. Friday's outcome left both teams with 1-3 records, but there was some emotion on both sides of the ball.
"Everybody knows we've got a little bit of bad blood with Washington with that postseason loss last year," said Davis. "I think we all had a personal score to settle."
The Warriors grabbed a quick 7-0 lead when JoJo McBride returned the opening kickoff 97 yards for a touchdown, but the Lions quickly tied the score 7-7 when Davis hit Matt Meier with a 2-yard touchdown pass on Linn-Mar's first possession.
The Lions took a 14-7 lead on a 2-yard run by Davis and carried that advantage into halftime.
Washington dominated the third quarter with Blades playing catch with Jason Oney, his favorite receiver who finished the night with 11 receptions for 155 yards. The Warriors tied the game, 14-14, on a quarterback keeper by Blades and grabbed a 21-14 advantage when Blades hit Oney with a 24-yard touchdown strike.
Linn-Mar drove 68 yards in the final minute of the fourth quarter and tied the game on Lembeck's pass to Davis, which completely fooled the Warriors.
"It was the best feeling ever," said Lembeck. "I just kind of threw it out there. It was a good play."
Lembeck also completed a 26-yard halfback pass to Meier in the second quarter to the 2-yard line, paving the way for Davis to score on his 2-yard run.
The Lions began the season with three straight losses, including a triple-overtime defeat at Dubuque Senior, a far cry from their perfect 9-0 record in the regular season a year ago.
"People on the outside don't know how hard it's been for us and these kids and for our coaches, starting the way we did," said Forsyth. "A lot of things were said about these kids, that they weren't like the other kids (from 2011).
"Sometimes it's hard just to get going, but this is a great group of kids, they really are vested in what we're doing. These kids are high-character kids, they're high-effort kids.
"We've been close, but we just haven't been able to get over the hump. I'm really proud of them."
Forsyth challenged his defensive unit Monday when he took away their regular practice jerseys after a loss at Waterloo West.
"I guess I'll have to give them back to them on Monday," he said with a smile. "We made them practice in freshman practice jerseys and we got after them a little bit this week. That's kind of an old but a goody trick, right?"
It worked. Blades completed 17 of 37 passes for 270 yards, but Linn-Mar's defense completely stopped Washington's running game. The Warriors rushed for only two yards in the entire game, with tailback Mitch Bredeson finishing with one yard on six carries and Blades netting one yard on 18 carries (counting sacks).
"We couldn't run the football. At all," said Lombardi, sitting on the floor of the visitor's locker room, his back against the wall.
He credited Linn-Mar's defense for stuffing his running game. "They played far faster than we did up front," he said.
Washington lost a touchdown in the second quarter when an illegal block negated a 32-yard interception return by Noah Dostal.
"I'm frustrated," said Lombardi. "I'm frustrated because I think this group of kids can execute better than we're executing right now.
"We're just not playing very well. That comes back on me," he said. "As always, I'll stay up all night and figure out what I can do better and how we can teach it better."
LINN-MAR 24, WASHINGTON 21 (OT)
CRW LM
First Downs 14 12
Rushing 24-2 40-150
Passing 17-37-1 11-22-2
Passing yards 270 125
Punts 6-31.7 6-34.0
Fumbles/Lost 1/0 1/0
Penalties 6-45 6-35
Washington 7 0 14 0 0 - 21
Linn-Mar 7 7 0 7 3 - 24
Scoring Plays
CRW - JoJo McBride 97 kickoff return (Riyad Ajram kick)
LM - Matt Meier 2 pass from Rhys Davis (Austin Wolter kick)
LM - Davis 2 run (Wolter kick)
CRW - Mitch Blades 1 run (Ajram kick)
CRW - Jason Oney 24 pass from Blades (Ajram kick)
LM - Davis 5 pass from Ross Lembeck (Wolter kick)
LM - Wolter 23 FG
Individual Statistics
Rushing
Washington: Bredeson 6-1, Blades 18-1.
Linn-Mar: Davis 20-60, Lembeck 10-51, Meier 2-30, Trabucco 6-14, Martins 1-2, Ramsey 1-minus 7.
Passing
Washington: Blades 17-37-1, 270.
Linn-Mar: Davis 9-20-2, 94; Lembeck 2-2-0, 31.
Receiving
Washington: Oney 11-155, McBride 2-46, Dostal 2-39, Bjornsen 2-30.
Linn-Mar: Schlotterback 3-62, Meier 3-50, Martins 2-2, Davis 1-5, Lembeck 1-4, Trabucco 1-2.
