Atwater's big plays power Lions over J-Hawks (VIDEO)

MARION - If Linn-Mar's Mark Atwater is looking for a new nickname, he gave his friends, teammates and all the Lions fans plenty of examples to draw from Friday night.

One that would fit is "Big-Play" Atwater. The Lions junior quarterback produced plenty of big plays, powering Linn-Mar past Cedar Rapids Jefferson, 43-15, in a Mississippi Valley Conference prep football game at Armstrong Field.

Atwater threw for 275 yards and three touchdowns and rushed for 163 yards and a score. The "big-play" moniker had a good ring to it.

"That sounds good," Atwater said about the proposed nickname before being ushered into the locker room for the team's Hokey Pokey dance after the win.

Running is his strength, but he has developed into a finer passer as well. He's proven to be a double-weapon and can loosen the defense for running back Jer Garman.

"Passing is really starting to pick up over these last couple weeks," Atwater admitted. "Last year, (starter) Will (Roth) helped me out so much. Coach (Matt) Case(bolt) and all those guys have pushed me to throw the ball better."

Atwater wasted little time getting the Lions on the board. After a penalty on their first play from scrimmage, Atwater kept the ball on an option play to the right. He burst through the line and then out-ran three J-Hawks defenders for an 88-yard touchdown run. Jer Garman took a pitch to the right on the conversion, putting the Lions up 8-0 less than three minutes into the game.

The two explosive players teamed up for the Lions' next score. After a snap that sailed over Atwater's head had them facing a 3rd-and-33, Atwater hit Garman on a screen pass to the right. Garman used his elusiveness and speed to cut left twice and burst by the J-Hawk defenders for an 85-yard touchdown with 5:22 to go in the first. Garman added two touchdowns in the fourth-quarter, scoring on a 3-yard pitch sweep and beating defenders to the corner and then an 18-yard run with 2:28 to go in the game.

Garman finished with 73 yards rushing on 16 carries and 85 yards receiving. He was able to find the end zone three times.

Atwater showed his versatility in the moments right before halftime. The rare quarterback/linebacker combo player batted down a fourth-down pass in the end zone as Jefferson drove. he then drove the Lions 79 yards on three plays in just 18 seconds. Atwater hit receiver Josh Montague on a nice crossing pattern for 19 yards to the Lions 40. Atwater killed the  clock with the spike before connecting with Mason Krusie for a 60-yard TD pass.

Krusie blew by a defender, who bit on the play fake, and then cut to the center of the field before crossing the goal with 16 seconds left in the first half. Krusie had 105 receiving yards for the Lions (1-0).

The key was great blocking by the line and a simple game of pitch and catch with some relaible targets.

"Up front and those receivers, man," Atwater said. "They (receivers) were running down the field hard. We had great protection all night."

Atwater hit Krusie for a 45-yard TD on the opening drive of the second half, giving the Lions a 29-0 lead.

The J-Hawks fought hard, driving deep into Lions territory routinely in the first half, but couldn't convert, missing a pair of field goals and turning the ball over on downs.

Jefferson finally got on the board when Tanner Unkel scored on a 29-yard run to make it 29-7 with 4:57 to go in the third. Unkel added another impressive run late in the fourth, racing for the pylon for a 15-yard touchdown.

Unkel finished with 85 yards rushing and Alex baxter had 108 yards rushing and went 9 for 18 with 67 passing yards to lead the J-Hawks (0-1).