Long, happy ride home for Orioles

Joe Martin was bleary-eyed and weary Saturday morning. And he couldn't be happier."I think I got an hour and a half of sleep," said Martin, second-year head football coach at Springville High School. "It was a long ride home, but that's all right."The Orioles took a big step toward their first playoff berth in school history Friday night, rallying from a 16-point halftime deficit and converting two late fourth downs in a 49-48 overtime win at Lansing Kee.Trailing 42-34 with fourth-and-goal and time running out in regulation, Springville (4-0 overall, 3-0 Eight Man District 4) scored on a fade pass from Sam Scriver to Jake Hulett, then converted the two-point try to force overtime.After Kee High (3-1, 2-1) got a touchdown and missed the PAT in overtime, Elias Nissen got into the end zone, and Brian Allsup tacked on the winning kick.That made the 120-mile, 3-hour trip home seem much more tolerable."I think I had 20 text messages on my phone by the time we got on the bus," Martin said.Eleven area teams are unbeaten, and six of them (Cedar Rapids Xavier, Center Point-Urbana, HLV, Springville, Tipton and Waukon) were .500 or below last year. Springville was 2-7."It seems we've been everybody's homecoming opponent the last few years," Martin said. "One thing we talked about, there were some games early on our schedule that we felt we should win, and help us set the tone for a good season."The last time Springville started 4-0 is believed to be 1974. The Orioles host archrival Central City (0-4, 0-3) next week.

The Millers: Brotherly loveSolon Coach Kevin Miller can't decide whether to embrace next week's game against DeWitt Central, or to dread it."I really have a lot of mixed emotions," he said. "I've already told the kids, I don't want them to get caught up in the hoopla."Friday's game at Solon contains a lot of weight in the Class 3A District 6 race. Solon is 3-1 overall, 1-0 in the district; Central is 2-2, 2-0. The Sabers are coached by Mike Miller, Kevin's younger brother."The game is about the kids, and I think Mike would say the same thing," Kevin said. "He's my little brother, I love him a great deal, and that's never going to change. At the end of the game, we'll shake hands and I'll give him a hug."Solon has recovered from a Week 2 loss to Iowa City Regina with a pair of wins, including a 35-7 defeat of Clear Creek Amana in its district opener Friday. Central has won two straight after going 0-2 in its pre-district slate.The brothers are 12 years apart -- Kevin is 41, Mike 29."Our father died when I was 18 and Mike was 6," Kevin said. "He didn't really have a father figure, so my brothers and I tried to mentor him. I am very proud of the coach and the man he is."Solon won four straight state titles under Kevin Miller from 2007 through 2010. Mike is in his first year at DeWitt after developing Lone Tree into a winner.

Morgan, Fuller: Sighs of reliefThe day-after diagnosis on Iowa City West receiver Jeremy Morgan was "the best possible news," according to West Coach Brian Sauser.Morgan suffered a soft tissue sprain on his left foot in the Class 4A second-ranked Trojans' 58-27 victory over Cedar Rapids Prairie."When he went down, right away, I thought, 'This is bad,' " Sauser said. "But there's no ligament damage, no ankle sprain. We think he'll be back sometime within two days and two weeks -- whenever he's ready to go."Morgan has 22 receptions for 395 yards and six touchdowns for West (4-0 overall, 1-0 MVC Mississippi Division), which hosts Dubuque Senior (4-0, 1-0) next week.The news on Marion's Logan Fuller also was good.Fuller was involved in two violent collisions in the Indians' win at Washington (Iowa). He didn't get up from the second hit, rolling on the ground in pain, then lying motionless before being taken off the field on a stretcher."They did an MRI on his back, and everything is good," said Indians Coach Tony Perkins. "He's really sore, but he can return as soon as he passes a concussion test."