Sommerfelt with career-high rushing yards leads North Linn to first round playoff victory

TROY MILLS – North Linn opened the playoffs by turning Will Sommerfelt loose.

The junior quarterback piled up 158 of his career-high 191 rushing yards by halftime and accounted for five total touchdowns as the Class A 10th-ranked Lynx routed Columbus Community, 59-14, in a first round playoff game Friday night at Troy Mills.

“I got to give it to my line,” Sommerfelt said. “They were making the blocks, having me find the wide-open gaps for me to use my legs.”

Sommerfelt opened the scoring less than three minutes into the game with a 16-yard touchdown run, then used a 76-yard burst to set up the second TD for the Lynx. He used his legs again in the second quarter on a 28-yard score.

“Our offense was really clicking right when the clock started,” Sommerfelt said. “I knew it was going to be a great time on the offensive side.”

In addition to his career night on the ground, Sommerfelt threw for 99 yards and three scores as the Lynx totaled 361 rushing yards and 521 overall, which nearly matched their season highs in both categories (387 rushing, 530 total) established Sept. 26 at East Buchanan.

“He’s fast,” North Linn Coach Jared Collum said of Sommerfelt. “He’s a dual threat, for sure. He does a really good job running the ball. We tried to put some different wrinkles in tonight for him, not just the counters. We have been relying on counters a lot with him. We tried a couple of other things tonight.”

North Linn junior receiver/defensive back Waylon Raue found the end zone twice, first on a 47-yard interception return and later with a 61-yard reception from Jackson Nielson as the Lynx built a 35-0 halftime lead.

“I was just excited,” Raue said of his interception return for a score. “I couldn’t contain my excitement when I saw that. … I was just seeing great blocks and trying to see where the defense was going and just trusting my guys in front of me.”

Sophomore receiver Macoy Winn collected a pair of touchdown receptions from Sommerfelt in the second half for North Linn (8-1), which won a playoff game for the first time since the 2022 team advanced to the state quarterfinals.

Sophomore defensive lineman Jacoby Peyton posted two sacks, while Nielsen and junior Brody McGrath each recovered fumbles for the North Linn defense.

“Until the last couple of possessions, I thought we were stout,” Collum said. “We tackled well. We were shooting for the shutout, but we’ll take it.”

Tailback Tyson Kaalberg ran for 121 yards, including a 70-yard score against the North Linn reserve players for Columbus Community, which ends its season at 3-6.

The Lynx will learn their second round opponent and destination Saturday at 10 a.m.

“It’s our energy,” Sommerfelt said. “How we prepare for the next team.”

No. 10 North Linn 59, Columbus Community 14

Class A First Round Playoff, At Troy Mills

CC NL

Columbus Community 0 0 0 14—14

North Linn 20 15 6 18—59

NL – Will Sommerfelt 16 run (Isaac Raue kick)

NL – Braden Wheatley 4 pass from Will Sommerfelt (Isaac Raue kick)

NL – Waylon Raue 47 interception return (kick blocked)

NL – Will Sommerfelt 28 run (Isaac Raue kick)

NL – Waylon Raue 61 pass from Jackson Nielsen (Brody McGrath run)

NL – Macoy Winn 34 pass from Will Sommerfelt (kick blocked)

CC – Trevor Phillips 15 run (Gabriel Zuniga kick)

NL – Landon Mertens 35 run (run failed)

CC – Tyson Kaalberg 70 run (Gabriel Zuniga kick)

NL – Macoy Winn 33 pass from Will Sommerfelt (kick blocked)

NL – Brody McGrath 2 run (kick blocked)

Individual Statistics

RUSHING – Columbus Community: Lamar Ceant 2-3, Trevor Phillips 7-18, Rey Resendez-Rodriguez 3-7, Tyson Kaalberg 14-121; North Linn: Will Sommerfelt 15-191, Brody Martin 9-60, Brody McGrath 9-64, Landon Mertens 2-40, Braden Wheatley 1-6.

PASSING – Columbus Community: Trevor Phillips 6-19-1-41; North Linn: Will Sommerfelt 7-11-1-99, Jackson Nielsen 1-2-1-61, Waylon Raue 0-1-0-0.

RECEIVING – Columbus Community: Lamar Ceant 2-12, Rey Resendez-Rodriguez 3-24, Tyson Kaalberg 1-5; North Linn: Macoy Winn 2-67, Braden Wheatley 2-18, Waylon Raue 2-69, Landon Mertens 2-6.

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