Big-play Lions whack Prairie, 41-0

MARION -- Ten plays. Four touchdowns.Ball game.Class 4A fifth-ranked Linn-Mar wasted no time in establishing superiority and drilled Cedar Rapids Prairie, 41-0, in a Mississippi Valley Conference football game Friday night at Armstrong Field.The Lions scored on their first snap from center and easily improved to 5-0."We just executed tonight," said Lions Coach Bob Forsyth. "If you execute right, it's just like to draw it up on the board."Linn-Mar racked up 321 yards of offense on 23 plays in the first half in building a 35-0 lead, and the clock ran continuously in an extremely fast second half."We took advantage of some mistakes, and made them pay," said Mark Atwater, who completed 5 of 8 passes for 213 yards and three touchdowns, and rushed for 74 yards. "We like to drive the ball downfield, but this year we've made a lot of big plays."The Lions' first four drives were quick and productive:* After Prairie (0-5) went three-and-out on the first series of the game, Atwater connected with Josh Montague on a fly pattern for a 65-yard score. One play, 65 yards. Touchdown.* Jer Garman got loose on the left side for a 20-yard run. Four plays, 47 yards. Touchdown.* Garman took a screen pass from Atwater and sprinted to the end zone from 43 yards out. Two plays, 67 yards. Touchdown.* Atwater hit Mason Krusie on a deep post on third-and-11, and Krusie outran the Hawks for an 81-yard scoring jaunt. Three plays, 80 yards. Touchdown.Ten plays. Four touchdowns.Ball game."Josh got open on the first play, and Jer makes plays happen all by himself," Atwater said.The Lions added a longer drive at the end of the half, concluded by Garman's third touchdown, a 13-yarder. Garman capped the scoring on a 1-yard plunge with 6:29 left in the game.Linn-Mar finished with 415 yards of total offense; Prairie netted 125."We did really well on both sides of the ball," said lineman Mac Mahmens. "We had been struggling a little with our pass protection, but we got it going tonight."Garman finished with 130 yards rushing, sending his season total to 932.According to the BC Moore computer rankings, Prairie has played the toughest schedule in 4A. The Hawks' first five opponents were a combined 17-3 before Friday. The Hawks host Waterloo East next week.Linn-Mar travels to winless Dubuque Senior next week, then it gets much more difficult. The Lions close the regular season with Cedar Rapids Washington (home), Iowa City High (away) and Cedar Rapids Xavier (home)."We know what's ahead at the end of the schedule," Atwater said. "Last year, we slipped up (against Cedar Falls) and didn't really get back on track."We want to keep on rolling."