High School Football Rewind: Solid at every position, North Linn remains unbeaten

TROY MILLS - He called his team’s performance sloppy. Which kinda checks considering it had four turnovers and six penalties.

But ...

“No one got hurt. That was the biggest thing,” North Linn football coach Jared Collum said Friday night after his Lynx beat Midland, 39-7. “We need to be totally healthy next week. It is what it is. We got our job done.”

Class A seventh-ranked North Linn moved to 7-0 with a win that never seemed in doubt. It scored two touchdowns in each of the first three quarters, losing the shutout late in the fourth with second-teamers playing.

Quarterback-safety Will Sommerfelt ran for three TDs and added a fourth in the game on an 84-yard interception return. Now it’s the regular-season finale this coming Friday night at No. 8 Wapsie Valley (7-0), the winner being the District 4 champion.

Both teams have wrapped up playoff spots.

“It’s going to be a dogfight,” Sommerfelt said. “I feel it’s going to be a great game to go watch.”

“We all kind of knew it was going to come down to this game, to this Week 8 matchup,” said North Linn two-way lineman Aiden Parmater. “So I think everyone is excited, and we’re ready. We’ve been looking forward to it, but also focused on each week. It’s special. It’s special for both teams. You can’t really ask for a better script.”

So far you couldn’t ask for a better script for these Lynx. They announced their arrival with a huge win over then-No. 1 Maquoketa Valley, 16-0, and have just kept going.

Though maybe devoid of a true star, they can put a good player at every position offensively and defensively, which is unique in Class A. North Linn even rotates eight defensive linemen in a 4-3 front every third play or so.

Top running back Brody Martin is playing only offensively right now for the most part to keep him healthy.

“We’re pretty good at every spot,” Collum said. “Even if we have to sub, we’re still pretty good at every spot. I think our defensive line is our strength, and we do a good job of keeping those guys fresh ... They just know (when to rotate), we don’t even sub them anymore. They just go in on their own. That way we’re just going, going, going, going. Everybody is fresh.

“We’re just pretty solid all around.”

Collum also said high attendance for offseason workouts has been a key to his team’s success. And this is a tight-knit group that enjoys spending time with each other off the field.

That’s despite just four seniors being on the roster. In other words, next season is going to be just as good, if not better.

“I would definitely say it’s the culture of this team,” said Parmater, one of the few seniors, along with Landon Thomsen, Tate Woods and Julian Poole. “But also the school in general. There’s an expectation to win, but we do it in a fun way ... We’re always with each other. No matter what we’re doing, we’re always bettering ourselves, whether it’s sports or not. Bettering ourselves as people. There’s just something special here.”

Dyersville Beckman goes off early in blowout win

Class 1A No. 6 Dyersville Beckman scored five touchdowns in the first quarter en route to a 69-12 win against Northeast Goose Lake.

The Blazers (6-1) added three more scores in the second to lead at halftime, 56-0. Sophomore Jude Kramer had four touchdowns (three rushing, one receiving), and Julien Kramer and Tate Ries each had a Pick-6.

East Buchanan gets a boost from its Pals

Quarterback Keenan Pals accounted for six touchdowns in East Buchanan’s 46-27 win over Starmont.

Pals completed 21 of 24 passes for 246 yards and three TDs. He also rushed 22 times for 107 yards and three more scores.

Oh, and he also punted twice.

Kyle Tracy perfect, Iowa City Regina almost perfect

Quarterback Kyle Tracy completed all seven of his pass attempts Friday night in his 49-8 win over Eddyville-Blakesburg-Fremont. Six of them went for touchdowns.

Tracy threw for 372 yards in the game for a passer rating of 829.3. Yes, that’s good.

Class 1A third-ranked Regina improved to 7-0 with the victory.

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