East Buchanan stops North Linn with defense, ground game

TROY MILLS — With four gears, it's hard to keep up with East Buchanan.

The Buccaneers rushing attack switched from power to speed in a 28-6 win over North Linn.

'Everybody brings something a little different,' East Buchanan Coach Jerry Alden said. 'Somebody brings a little speed, somebody brings a little power. It makes us difficult to defend.'

Despite four running backs with regular carries, it was a linebacker with the longest run. James Mossman picked off a Carter Johnson pass at the East Buchanan 5-yard-line. The junior weaved through a pile of players and dodged a few tackles, rumbling his way 95 yards to give East Buchanan a 14-0 lead.

'Coach just told me to stay in my spot,' Mossman said. 'I saw the ball in the air and I thought I was going to go for the hit, but it landed in my hands and I just tried to get downfield as quick as I could.

Fumbles and timely tackles helped keep the Lynx in the game. An East Buc fumble on its own 34-yard-line set the Lynx up with great field position. But North Linn turned the ball over on downs.

'We were outmatched up front,' North Linn Coach Jared Collum said. 'We knew it was going to be tough.'

Braydon Nunemaker bowled over the Lynx defense for a 47-yard run for the first score. Nolan Meyer found a hole in the third quarter for a 34-yard touchdown.

'Run the ball right down the line and keep moving it,' Nunemaker said.

On defense, East Buchanan held Ryan Miller in check. Miller put up 399 yards in the first two games of the season, third in Class A. However, against East Buchanan, Miller had only 46 yards on 14 carries.

'With Miller, he's such a great athlete that you have to know where he is on the field,' Alden said. 'I think our guys did a phenomenal job keeping him corralled.'