SULLY — The Lynnville-Sully football team needed just 15 plays to build a 29-point lead against Wapello on Friday night.
The Class A No. 10 Hawks scored three touchdowns of 28 yards or more to kick off the scoring and Jaxson Merten’s first two career field goals capped the night as Lynnville-Sully cruised past the Indians, 42-0, during the opening round of the Class A playoffs.
In the first known meeting between the two schools, the Hawks rushed for 284 yards on 32 carries, blocked a punt in the first half and scored touchdowns in three plays or less in four of their five scoring drives.
Lynnville-Sully (8-1) has won eight straight games since falling to state-ranked and 1A Pleasantville in Week 1.
The Hawks have won at least one playoff game in four of the past five seasons.
Lynnville-Sully moves on the next round where it will face conference rival BGM (7-2) at 7 p.m. on Friday in Sully. The Bears defeated Riverside, 35-30, in their opening-round game.
Gavin Fisk led the Hawks with 110 rushing yards on eight carries against Wapello. His lone touchdown came early in the second quarter.
Dawson James ran for 74 yards on five carries and finished with two catches for 26 yards. He opened the scoring with a 28-yard TD run that came on the third play of the drive.
JD Richards sprinted to a 40-yard TD on his only carry of the night with 3:35 to play in the first quarter. He also had two catches for 11 yards.
Jack Bowlin’s big night included five catches for 62 yards and two scores. He helped push the Hawks’ lead to 22-0 with a 31-yard TD catch from Connor Deal with 2:01 to go in the first.
Bowlin’s 7-yard TD catch added to the hosts’ lead with 8:19 to play until halftime. Bowlin ranks ninth in Class A in receptions (38), receiving yards (583) and receiving touchdowns (6).
Merten’s first field goal came on the final play of the first half. He booted it from 25 yards out and then added a 26-yard field goal to cap the scoring in the third.
They were the first two field goals of Merten’s varsity career, and he now ranks tied for seventh in Class A in made field goals.
Deal was 11-of-13 through the air for 112 yards and two touchdowns. Burt Johnson ran for 29 yards on five carries, Henry Sharp gained 25 yards on his seven carries and Trace Carlson snagged one pass for nine yards. It was Carlson’s first varsity catch.
Lynnville-Sully, which registered its second shutout of the season, had an 18-3 advantage in first downs and committed six penalties for 85 yards.
James finished with seven tackles and two tackles for loss and Sharp had 4.5 tackles, three tackles for loss and two sacks to lead the L-S defense. Fisk posted four tackles, Jace Johnson and Kimball Elliott each totaled three tackles and Wyatt Mathis contributed two tackles for loss.
Lynnville-Sully’s defense accounted for nine tackles for loss and two sacks. James’ 19.5 tackles for loss this season ranks second in Class A.
Wapello (5-4) was limited to 33 total yards. The Indians ran for 19 yards on 20 carries.
The Hawks and BGM faced off against each other in district play back on Sept. 19, and L-S won that game 41-20. The Hawks have won three straight games in the series, winning the last two by at least 21 points.
The matchup is part of Class A Pod D, which also includes No. 5 Wapsie Valley (9-0) and Maquoketa Valley (7-2), who also play on Friday in Fairbank.
Notes: Lynnville-Sully senior Evan Van Zee, who has served as the Hawks’ manager the past four seasons, dressed out for the game and took snaps on the field in the fourth quarter with his senior classmates. There were 11 Hawk seniors on the field when Van Zee made his first varsity appearance.
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