Linn-Mar gifted Cedar Falls a pair of second-half touchdowns with two costly fumbles, then failed to score twice inside the red zone.

The Lions gave the second-ranked Tigers a tussle at home Friday night, but the blown plays and missed opportunities dearly cost them in a 27-10 loss.

On paper, Linn-Mar (1-4, 1-2) actually held the edge with 21 first downs to 12 for the visitors. Each team had 289 total yards, equally mixed between rushing and passing.

The first quarter was a scoreless wash and the second was tight as the favored Tigers (5-0, 3-0) clung to a 13-10 lead at halftime. But two bungled plays were Lion killers.

On their first possession of the second half, Linn-Mar shotgun quarterback Rhys Davis bobbled the snap and Cedar Falls pounced on the ball at the 21-yard line. Tiger fullback Nick Clark took it from there, rushing three straight times and scoring from the 4-yard line to make it 20-10 following the PAT.

The Lions roared right back, though, pounding it up the middle on an eight-minute drive down to the Tigers’ 11. Three Davis runs netted just two yards, however, and Austin Wolter’s field goal was blocked.

Linn-Mar mounted another drive at the start of the fourth quarter, moving both on the ground and through the air to the Cedar Falls  29. A sneak by Davis on fourth-and-1 was stopped for no gain.

The Lions forced a punt, but a fair catch by Matt Meier slipped through his hands and the Tigers took over on the 33. Clark scored again on a 26-yard scamper with just over a minute left to play.

Down 27-10, Linn-Mar took advantage of an unsportsmanlike conduct call but a last-ditch drive stalled at the 25.

In the first quarter, Cedar Falls missed a scoring opportunity of its own when it blocked a punt and soon took the ball to the Lions’ 14. A field goal attempt missed, however.

Linn-Mar followed with its best sustained offensive effort of the night, taking a 7-0 lead on a 3-yard run by Ross Lembeck.

The Tigers immediately countered with a 61-yard fullback trap by Elijah Berregaard to knot the score. And they soon followed up with a 25-yard fade pass from Brayden Longnecker to Brandon Corkery to take the lead.

The Lions scored just before half on Wolter’s 38-yard field goal.

CEDAR FALLS 27, LINN-MAR 10

CF        LM

First downs       12        21
Rushing           34-186    48-179
Passing           5-10-0    12-23-0
Passing yards     103       110
Punting           2-31      1-34
Fumbles/Lost      0-0       2-2
Penalties         4-40      6-45

Cedar Falls     0   13   7   7 – 27
Linn-Mar        0   10   0   0 — 10

Scoring Plays

LM – Ross Lembeck 3 run (Austin Wolter kick)
CF – Elijah Berregaard 61 run (Jacob Newton kick)
CF – Brandon Corkery 25 pass from Brayden Longnecker (pass failed)
LM – FG Wolter 38
CF – Nick Clark 4 run (Newton kick)
CF – Clark 26 run (Newton kick)