The 34 seniors on the Linn-Mar High School football team have stressed one word all year.

Finish.

Finish each game strong, finish the season strong, finish the year in the UNI-Dome with a shot at the state title.

They took a big step Friday night.

The third-ranked Lions whipped No. 5 Iowa City High, 17-12, at Linn-Mar Stadium to clinch the Mississippi Division title in the MVC and defeat the Little Hawks for the first time since 1994.

Linn-Mar started the 2009 season with a 6-0 record and began the 2010 campaign with a 7-0 mark, but the Lions faltered both times and fell short of their goals.

That's why "finish" became the motto this year.

Linn-Mar raised its overall record to 8-0 with one game left in the regular season and dropped Iowa City High to 6-2. The Lions finished 6-0 in the Mississippi Division and the Little Hawks ended 4-2.

"Monumental. Huge in our program," declared quarterback/linebacker Mark Atwater, who rushed for one touchdown and threw for another. "Since I've been here, it's the biggest win we've ever had.

"We just won a conference title and I don't think the feeling gets much better."

Linn-Mar tailback Mitch Wantock rambled for a career-best 201 yards, a statistic that jumped off the page because the Lions held Iowa City star Ronald Thompson to just 69 yards. Wantock lugged the ball 25 times, producing eight yards a pop.

"It's just great to beat such a good team," Wantock said after posing for pictures. "It shows how far our team has really come in the last couple of years.

"Our line played great, the defense played amazing. Shut them down."

Thompson began the game as the No. 1 rusher in Class 4A with 1,496 yards and an average of 213.7 per game, but the Lions gang-tackled him all night.

"I think it's a great effort by the kids," Linn-Mar Coach Bob Forsyth remarked. "There's no magic scheme or anything. We just played as hard as we could, and the kids were motivated."

The Lions stopped Thompson up the middle and also managed to contain speedy City High quarterback Jasper Washington on the perimeter, a rare feat against the Little Hawks.

"The kids did a great job in practice this week. We worked like crazy on that," Forsyth said.

"That's the way they get you. If you want to take away one, they'll get you with the other. We knew we had to take away both. Just a great effort by the kids."

The Little Hawks drove 78 yards on their first possession and controlled the clock for nearly 5 minutes, but the Lions stopped City High at the 3-yard line and held them to a field goal. That was a sign of things to come.

Linn-Mar grabbed a 7-3 led with a 79-yard drive, capped by Atwater's 6-yard touchdown on their first possession.

Iowa City High drove 74 yards and ate 7 1/2 minutes off the clock, but the Lions stiffened again at the 6-yard line and held the Little Hawks to a 23-yard field goal.

Instead of two touchdowns, the Little Hawks had two field goals. Instead of 14 points, they had six. Instead of having the lead, they were trailing a dangerous team on the road, 7-6.

"To me, it's the whole game," Forsyth said. "If they get ahead of you, it's hard. You can see the way they can squeeze the clock out on you."

Iowa City High Coach Dan Sabers is known for gambling on fourth down, but he ordered the first field goal on 4th-and-goal at the 3-yard line and kicked the second field goal on 4th-and-goal at the 6-yard line.

"We were doing what we wanted to do, but we weren't able to punch it in," Sabers said. "I thought that was very significant. Usually when we get down there, we're able to pound it in."

Sabers also punted four times Friday night, another rarity for the Little Hawks. They had punted only six times all season and regularly gambled deep in their own territory, but not against the Lions with the league title on the line.

One of City High's rare punts pinned Linn-Mar at its own 6-yard line in the third quarter, with the Lions still clinging to that 7-6 lead. That's when the Lions sprung a secret weapon on the Little Hawks.

Linn-Mar fullback Nick Trabucco, who had carried the ball only 15 times all season for 105 yards, got the call on three straight plays and ticked off runs of 5, 23 and 24 yards. Trabucco softened the Little Hawks with his quick bursts up the middle, then the Lions called one of their favorite pass plays.

Atwater hit Andy Henry with a dart on a curl route for a first down, but Henry had bigger things in mind. Blessed with 4.4 speed in the 40, he raced away from two City High defensive backs and sprinted into the end zone for 28-yard touchdown. That made it 13-6 and Quinn Treiber's PAT made it 14-6, capping a 94-yard drive.

"Me and Mark and are always on the same page on that play," said Henry, who has 14 TD catches this year.

Linn-Mar's defense, which played very well in the first half, played extremely well in the second half. Incredibly, the Little Hawks gained only 18 yards in the third quarter and had zero yards in the fourth quarter with about 4 1/2 minutes left in the game.

The Lions appeared on their way to victory, but City High running back Amos Lavela somehow broke through a scrum at the line of scrimmage and raced 77 yards for a touchdown to make it 17-12 with 4:21 remaining.

"That was almost a deal-breaker," Forsyth said.

The Little Hawks went for two points after the touchdown, but Zach Martins intercepted the pass. Even so, City High needed only one more possession to gain the victory.

Linn-Mar began its next drive at its own 20-yard line with 4:21 left on the clock, nursing that 17-12 lead. Iowa City High had all three of its timeouts, so it was nervous time at Linn-Mar Stadium.

The Little Hawks never touched the ball on offense again.

Wantock broke loose for 20 yards and Linn-Mar began using the clock. Wantock got nine more yards and a first down, then Atwater scooted for seven yards and a first down on 3rd-and-4.

Linn-Mar faced a 4th-and-8 at the City High 29-yard line when the Little Hawks called their final timeout with 1:12 left. It was too long for a dangerous field-goal attempt, and if the Lions failed to pick up a first down the Little Hawks would have enough time to mount a final rally.

Forsyth reached for his security blanket, calling a pass play from Atwater to Henry. Henry sprinted from the line of scrimmage and appeared to be going deep, but he stopped short and caught a 13-yard bullet from Atwater for a first down at the City High 16.

Game, set, match.

The Lions raced toward the stands when the game ended on senior night, celebrating the victory with their fans. Then they raced to the locker room and sang the Hokey-Pokey.

They beat Iowa City High for the first time in 17 years, won a conference title and raised their record to 8-0. It was a big win, but Forsyth declined to label it a symbolic turning point.

"It remains to be seen. Right?" he said. "It depends on where we go from here. But tonight, it's a great victory for our program."

Forsyth played football at Iowa City High (1980 grad) and was an assistant coach for the Little Hawks for seven years at the beginning of his career, but Friday night's victory may have cost him a shot at making the City High Hall of Fame.

"I can live with it," he said, appreciating the joke. "Actually, my high school days eliminated me for that."

LINN-MAR 17, IOWA CITY HIGH 12

ICH       LM

First Downs     11       19
Rushing         36-204   49-325
Passing         2-10-0   5-13-1
Passing Yards   62       71
Punts           4-38.8   2-35.5
Penalties       1-5      4-33
Fumbles/Lost    0/0      0/0

City High       3   3   0   6 - 12
Linn-Mar        7   0   7   3 - 17

Scoring Plays

ICH - Drew Cornwell 20 FG
L-M - Mark Atwater 6 run (Quinn Treiber PAT)
ICH - Cornwell 23 FG
L-M - Andy Henry 28 pass from Atwater (Treiber PAT)
L-M - Treiber 42 FG
ICH - Amos Lavela 77 run (pass failed)

Individual Statistics

Iowa City High

Rushing: Lavela 6-103, Thompson 19-69, Washington 9-27, Johnson 2-5.
Passing: Washington 2-10-0, 62.
Receiving: Duarte 1-56, Thompson 1-6.

Linn-Mar

Rushing: Wantock 25-201, Trabucco 8-70, Atwater 14-48, Henry 1-7,   Team 1-minus 1.
Passing: Atwater 5-13-1, 71.
Receiving: Henry 4-62, Wantock 1-9.