In a battle of big cats, No. 5 Lisbon turned to its big dawgs.
Trailing at the half, the Lions ran it between the tackles behind their offensive line to beat the North Linn Lynx, 14-6, on Friday, Oct. 20, at Wallner Field.
“We decided we needed to nut up, and we needed to run the ball right down the middle,” senior lineman Jonah Reiling said. “Nothing fancy.”
Lisbon (9-0), which had 18 yards of offense and one first down in the first half, put together two scoring drives in the second half.
“We needed to change something, and that’s what we did at halftime,” junior quarterback Dakota Clark said. “We just had to come out and get gritty. Just go smash-mouth.
“We got back to our bread and butter, we smashed down their mouths, and got yards. Every yard matters.”
The Lion defense also got that dawg in them in the second half, too. The Lynx went 3-and-out on their first four possessions of the second half, and didn’t record a first down until late in the fourth quarter.
And on that first 3-and-out, Lynx punter Theo Boss booted it into his upback.
Lisbon got the ball at the Lynx 44 and six plays later, took the lead, 7-6. Henry Neymeyer ran four times for 43 yards on that drive, and Clark capped it off with a RPO (run-pass option) pass to Reid Fridley for the TD. Gage Holub had the critical extra point.
“We just had to figure out what they were doing up front with that D-line,” Lisbon Coach Dylan Hastings said. “They were moving some guys around. We knew they were stacking the box. We knew we had to rely on our big dudes up front to dig them out, and that’s what they do best.”
After the next 3-and-out, Lisbon got the ball back at the NL 41 and grinded out a 9-play drive, capped with a Clark 1-yard TD run. That made it 14-6.
“You know what kind of team you’ve got, and you know you can come back,” Reiling said. “It’s all good.”
North Linn (6-3) ended up outgaining Lisbon 262 yards to 166 yards.
The Lynx took the lead in the second quarter with a 6-play drive capped with a 31-yard touchdown scamper by quarterback Jake Van Etten.
“They are tough,” Reiling said. “We got the toughest four seed in the state. But it’ll just make us better.”
The Lynx almost also scored in the first quarter, getting to the Lisbon 1 before being thrown back on fourth down.
“We knew it was going to be a grind; it was going to be tough,” Hastings said. “This isn’t going to be like some of the games we played in district.
“We might be down for a little bit, but we’ve got to keep our heads on and keep pushing and moving forward.”
Lisbon (9-0) advances to the Round of 16 this Friday, Oct. 27, and hosts another game at Wallmer Field.
This one is against East Buchanan (7-2). The Bucs beat North Linn 41-14 back on Sept. 22.
“It is do or die,” Clark said. “We’ve got to do our job and get to the next round. It doesn’t matter the score.”
Lions 14, Lynx 6
TEAM STATS
NL L
First downs 11 10
Rushes-yds. 39-205 35-146
Cmp.-Att.-Int. 4-14-0 5-11-1
Pass yds. 57 20
Total yds. 262 166
Fum.-lost 1-1 0-0
Pen.-yds. 7-60 6-45
Punts-ave. 4-21.0 6-41.0
North Linn 0 6 0 0 – 6
Lisbon 0 0 7 7 – 14
NL – Jake Van Etten 31 run (kick failed) 2:38
L – Reid Fridley 4 pass from Dakota Clark (Gage Holub kick) 4:52
L – Clark 1 run (Holub kick) 10:48
INDIVIDUAL STATS
Rushing – North Linn: Jake Van Etten 19-104, Landen Heimrich 15-59, Breckyn Betenbender 4-35, Drew Ries 1-7. Lisbon: Henry Neymeyer 16-95, Dakota Clark 11-28, Tiernan Boots 6-25, Team 2-(-2).
Passing – North Linn: Jake Van Etten 4-14-57-0. Lisbon: Dakota Clark 5-11-20-1.
Receiving – North Linn: Cael Benesh 2-36, Carter Holtz 1-19, Kanye Caryl 1-2. Lisbon: Mason Lehmer 2-6, Tiernan Boots 1-12, Reid Fridley 1-4, Henry Neymeyer 1-(-2).
Lisbon FB Agate Lions 14, Lynx 6 TEAM STATS NL L First downs 11 10 Rushes-yds. 39-205 35-146 Cmp.-Att.-Int. 4-14-0 5-11-1 Pass yds. 57 20 Total yds. 262 166 Fum.-lost 1-1 0-0 Pen.-yds. 7-60 6-45 Punts-ave. 4-21.0 6-41.0 North Linn 0 6 0 0 – 6 Lisbon 0 0 7 7 – 14 NL — Jake Van Etten 31 run (kick failed) 2:38 L – Reid Fridley 4 pass from Dakota Clark (Gage Holub kick) 4:52 L – Clark 1 run (Holub kick) 10:48 INDIVIDUAL STATS Rushing – North Linn: Jake Van Etten 19-104, Landen Heimrich 15-59, Breckyn Betenbender 4-35, Drew Ries 1-7. Lisbon: Henry Neymeyer 16-95, Dakota Clark 11-28, Tiernan Boots 6-25, Team 2-(-2). Passing – North Linn: Jake Van Etten 4-14-57-0. Lisbon: Dakota Clark 5-11-20-1. Receiving – North Linn: Cael Benesh 2-36, Carter Holtz 1-19, Kanye Caryl 1-2. Lisbon: Mason Lehmer 2-6, Tiernan Boots 1-12, Reid Fridley 1-4, Henry Neymeyer 1-(-2).

Gallery • 3 Photos

--Courtesy photo Jennifer Tischer

Lisbon’s Quinn Coleman (No. 5) works on tackling a North Linn player friday, Oct. 20.