Iowa City High ousts Linn-Mar in return to postseason

IOWA CITY - Quarterback Jared Taylor engineered a long, grinding scoring drive to open the third quarter. It was exactly what Iowa City High needed after seeing its lead slashed just before halftime.

Taylor threw for 203 yards and a touchdown and Bryce Frantz ran for two scores to lead City High to a 26-16 win over Linn-Mar Wednesday night in a first-round playoff game at Bates Field.

It wasn't always pretty, but the Little Hawks (7-3) will take it after missing the postseason last season for the first time since 2003.

'I'm happy for our seniors,” City High Coach Dan Sabers said. 'They deserve it. They've invested a lot and they never doubted themselves after last year. I'm very happy for them.”

Linn-Mar (4-6) scored twice in the second quarter to cut City High's lead to 13-10 at halftime.

The Little Hawks hadn't picked up a first down since the first quarter when they opened the third with an 11-play drive that chewed up five-and-a-half minutes and ended in a 1-yard TD run from Frantz. Both of Taylor's completions on the drive came on third down.

'I told them we have to come back out with the same intensity,” Sabers said. 'Who do we think we are that we're up 13-0 and we're going to put something away? We're not that kind of team.”

Two possessions later, Taylor hit Jones for a 62-yard touchdown that put the Lions away. Taylor threw into double coverage, but Jones out-jumped both defenders and turned to run untouched into the end zone.

'Put it in his area code and he comes down with it,” Taylor said of Jones, who caught eight passes for 133 yards.

Linn-Mar got on the board with a 25-yard field goal from Alex Boehm in the second quarter. Quarterback Reese Phillips punched in a 2-yard TD run with less than a minute left before halftime. The Lions only scored once in the second half - a 6-yard TD run by Phillips.