Linton Miner Football

Linton Miner Football Everyone should already know about the miners!!

07/11/2025

2024 Week Three- Linton 42 Sullivan 20 At The Roy.

Miners mount first threat in game after an Arrow 3 and out that featured a monster pass breakup hit from ILB Corey Andrews on Zane Catlin on a 3rd and 7. Starting at their own 49. with Russell Goodman at QB for the 2nd start in Oliver’s absence (shoulder), Jesse Voigtschild carried 4 times for 17 yards, while Oliver at WR made a grab of 5. A Swing pass on 2nd & 7 and Sullivan 21 was blown up losing 6. On 4th & 9, Goodman tried to jump ball to Oliver at the Arrow 4 defended by Jackson Trimble, with pressure from Peyton Carlson on the QB. Sullivan took their next possession and march 77 yards in 12 plays with a mixture of Paul Ridgeway passes, and 6 runs from Laytin Huff to reach the Miner 4. Ridgeway himself punched I it at 1:22 of the opening quarter. Interesting thing that Sullivan went for 2, even though they had an excellent kicker in Logan Ketterer, and the Miners had not shown any kicking game so far in 2024. Ridgeway was sacked by T-Bone Howard on the attempt, but the Arrows led 6-0.

The Miners answered right back with their own 11 play 67 yard drive eating 5:11 of the game clock scoring from 6 yards out on a 3rd and 3 run from Goodman. The 2 point attempt run by McBride was stopped leaving a 6-6 tie at 8:11 of the 2nd quarter. This drive had Braylon McBride at QB with Goodman and Cooper Smith at wings. Once more it was Voigtschild with 5 carries, including runs of 16 and 18, but key were McBride’s 2 completions to Hayden Feltner of 11 and 13. The biggest play was Voigtchild’s 18 yard run on a 3rd and 18 at the Arrow 28.

Through each team’s first two possessions, the game was nearly dead even. 6-6 in score; 7 each in first downs. Total offense as well with 93 for the Miners, 87 for the Arrows. Each squad had failed on 4th down attempts, and both failed on 2 point attempts.

The Arrows did themselves in with 2 procedure calls forcing a punt from the Miner 42 pinning Linton at their own 34 with 3:19 left in opening half. The Miner passing game was proving successful as McBride hit Cooper Smith for 32 yards to the Sullivan 44. Feltner’s reception of 13 yards put the ball at the 29. The Arrow defense stiffened forcing a 4th and 5 just outside red zone at 24. McBride’s pass for Oliver was broke up by Peyton Carlson at the 17. With only 42 seconds til the half, most thought the Arrows take a knee, but instead Ridgeway evaded the Miner rush and found a streaking Caron grandy down the Arrow Sideline. Ridgeway hit him in stride at the Miner 40 and he went the distance to shock the home town crowd. The 77 yard TD pass put Sullivan up 12-6, after another failed 2 point attempt. A personal foul against Linton set the Arrows up to kick-off from the Miner 45. Most all expected a squib kick, or perhaps a boot into the end-zone. However it became of those plays in Miner lore…. Jesse Voigtschild taking the ball in at his own 5, and with a shed of a tackle and cut to his left, it was “Run, Jesse, Run” to pay dirt. In all it was a 95 yard effort that erased any momentum Sullivan had attained just seconds prior. Russell Goodman ran in the 2 point play and Linton took a 14-12 lead to the locker-room.

Sullivan had the edge in yardage at the half with 197 to the Miners’ 145. But it was 2 big plays that were the story of that first half. Both happening in the last 42 seconds! It was also a case of Linton failing to get any points on 2 drives that reached the Arrow 24 and 23. Voigtschild had led the way for Linton with 57 yards on 10 carries, with Linton’s 73 rush yards. Sullivan led by QB Ridgeway’s 50 yards on just 6 keepers, 13 on two scrambles. Sullivan with 88 on the ground. Ridgeway was effective passing with 109 yards hitting nearly perfect on 7 of 8. Granby’s 77 yard grab a major part of that success. Braylon McBride was also on target hitting 5 of 6 for 73 yards, with Goodman solid on 2 of 3 passes but a 6 yard loss on a swing pass put his total at (-1). Corey Andrews was a beast with a combined 10 stopes, Jaden Norris led Sullivan with 6. Brayden Clem had been a beast as well on the O Line for Sullivan with 5 pancakes.

It took 5 plays into the 2nd half to feel that momentum double. On the 3rd play from scrimmage, McBride found Oliver at the Arrow 40, and he rumbled to the 9 before being stopped. 2 plays later Goodman plummeted in from the 3. Another failed 2 point play left Linton up 20-12 at the 9:47 mark in Quarter 3. Sullivan converted a 3rd and 13 from their own 32 on a Ridgeway to Kaden Arnett by a yard. A late hit on Ridgeway nullified a McBride interception, but the Arrows self-imploded again with back to back penalties, followed by a bad snap lost 7 more yards. At the Miner 41 but facing 4thvand 19 John Taft punted to give Linton the ball at their own 20. Linton used all but 35 seconds (3:44) of the 3rd to march 80 yards in 8 plays culminating in an 8 yard strike by McBride to Voigtschild in the back off the end zone. Jesse converted the 2-point play increasing Linton’s advantage to 28-12. The drive was aided by an Arrow offside on 3rd and 3 moved the sticks. Once more it was the arm of McBride on successive pass plays of 31 (Cooper Smith) and 22 (Paul Oliver) put the Miners at the Sullivan 6.
The 3rd Quarter was owned by Linton: 151-19 in offense, 14-0 in scoring, holding Sullivan to (-5) in rushing. Voigtschild had racked up 79 rush yards through 3; Linton with 189 in the air as well. Ridgeway was still hot as well hitting 9 of 11 for 133, but the Arrows had made offensive mistakes to thwart success. However, it was a new face that lit a fire in the Arrow offense; #34 Lloyd Hauger. Huff started things off with back to back rushes totaling 17 yards. Then Hauger busted for 17 to the Miner 25, then followed that with a 16 yarder to the Miner 9. They tried to self-destruct, but overcame a holding penalty with an impressive bouncing pinball 15 yard TD run by Zane Catlin. Huff ran in the 2 Point play and we had a new game with 9:59 left; Miners 28 Arrows 20.

Momentum shifted pure Purple as the Arrow defense made the necessary stop and the first three and out for Linton thus far. A block in the back penalty pushed Linton back a Goodman punt ensued from the Miner 29 with only a minute and a half taken off the clock. Sullivan had a golden opportunity starting at Linton’s 38 and tried to duplicate the run success of the prior scoring drive. The Miner D was ready with two Huff runs for no gain. Chris Lyons, Hank Gennicks, and Jesse Voigtschild all combined on the stops. Oliver and Voigtschild dropped Granby on Ridgeway short pass for 2 yards, then from Miner 36, Oliver got heat on Ridgeway’s pass to Catlin, where Linebackers Andrews and Goodman dropped the Arrows 3 yards short of 1st down marker.

Crunch time for Miners with 5:48 remaining up 28-20. 3rd and 8 from own 33, McBride scrambled for 10 and new downs. Cooper Smith got 19 of his 33 total rush yards reaching the Arrow 38 and another 1st down. Tack on another 15 yards on a hit out of bounds and Linton was a Sullivan’s 23. 5 plays later a jubilant Voigtschild scored from 12 yards out on 3rd and goal. McBride added the 2 point play putting the Miners up 36-20 with just 2:10 on the clock. The 9 play drive used a key 3:38 of the clock in the 69 yard decisive drive; all of them rushing plays. The game all but decided, Hayden Feltner knocked the ball free on the return by Xander Freels, with Lyons on the recovery. On the 1st play Voigtschild scored his 4th touchdown of the night with an 11 yard run. 2:00 left Miners up 42-20. Four plays later, 3 Ridgeway incomplete passes and it was a final.

Second half was dominant for Miners outscoring Sullivan 28-8 with a 221-98 offensive advantage. Over-all Linton ran up 366 yards, 189 in air and 177 on ground for a very balanced attack. Voigtschild with 101 yards on 17 carries, Smith 8-33, Goodman 12-28, and McBride 4-15. McBride was key to the win hitting on 9 of 11 passes for 190 yards. Four Miners caught passes with Oliver leading the way 4-87, Smith 2-63, Feltner 3-37, and Voigtshild 2-2. Sullivan put up 295 total offense with Huff’s 61 yards on 16 touches, Ridgeway 1-44, Hauger 3-34, Catlin 1-15 and Gaines 1-2 for a total 155 on the ground. Ridgeway, playing in place of normal starter Blake Fraker (out for the season), was 11 of 16 for 140 as both teams were pretty balanced. Granby led the way in yardage with 79 on 2 catches, but one was the 77 yard TD play. Gaines had 3-22, Ty Hamilton 2-14, Kaden Arnett 1-13, John Taft 1-10 and Catlin 2-2.

Defense saw stellar performances from Linton’s Andrews and Sullivan’s Taft each with 13 tackles. Taft added 2.5 TFL. For the Miners, Feltner had 9 stops from CB, 7 each from Goodman, Voigtschild, and Harrison James. Aiden Sparks, along with Smith each had 2 TFL including QB sack each. Smith was a presence on defense with pressure on Ridgeway (3 hurries), Goodman with 2, and Trentin “t-Bone” Howard-1. Besides Taft, Sullivan got 10 tackles from Jaden Norris, 7 –Peyton Carlson and 6 from Ethan Garrett. Gaines had 2 TFL, one each from Caden Bays and Jackson Trimble. The Miner OLine did a solid job protecting McBride as there were no sacks and only 1 pressure recorded. Linton had 2 sacks and 7 pressures. The Arrow Oline was physical with 16 pancake blocks led by 8 from Clem.

After the opening loss to Marion Local, and the injury to Paul Oliver, Lintonites were in fear of what the 2024 season would bring; perhaps jumping the gun in presumption. Back to back wins over solid programs in Sullivan and Monrovia had proven Linton to be alive and well. Oliver himself showing his moxie by not missing game, although he would not be back on the defensive side of the ball yet, nor take a snap at center. McBride had seemingly come out of nowhere at QB, although to be honest the coaching staff had maintained that he would be one of three Miners to see action at QB. Oliver is a talent at making plays, and at WR a definite threat. With 139 versus the Bulldogs and 190 in this game, he was a stunning 18-22 for 229 yards passing in 2 games. The Defense had adjusted to losing Paul at OLB, as both Cooper Smith and Aiden Sparks made plays. It was clear the ’24 Miners could not be pigeon-holed as a run team; all the time. With Voigtshild, Goodman and Smith they could run, but with Oliver and Feltner they had outside passing option. McBride had made that happen with his play, as well as his ability to scramble and run.

Linton now stood 2-1 and were to hit the road for the 1st time heading to Russiaville, near Kokomo to face the 4A Eastern Panthers.

07/03/2025

Week 2. Linton 22 Monrovia 20

What a doozie my fellow Miner Fans!! First off I was super proud of the way these Miners responded. Like I'm sure everyone felt, the opening kickoff fumble subsequent Bulldog score was not the way anyone wanted the game to start! But they couldn't hung their heads-- but thats not the Miner way. #1 I thought the changes made to the team were spot on.... Goodman at QB--big body--a style like Oliver-- and Voigtschild at RB--quick to the hole--shades of Shonk in 2023. granted not as big a runner, but he will not back down either. Much respect to Paul for playing injured at WR. His presence alone picks up the team, but obviously he played hard and made some epic receptions while being battled all night by Neal of Monrovia. The throws from McBride and Goodman were perfect, but with Paul it seems you just put it where he has a chance at it, and 90% of the time he catches it. The line gave the QB the time to throw as well...which showed improvement from week 1. I think we see the emergence of talent that will give us depth and make our offense start to get as we move forward. That passing threat has got to be there to offset the running. Teams will stack up against up with no fear of the pass... Feltner and Cooper can both make plays---and we saw what threat Paul has, and we've seen Voigtschild catch passes for TDs in prior years. This has to be one of the handful of games (minus the AK and Jake Days) where we had more passing (160) and rushing (126). I know that's not the M.O. of Miner Land but it got us the big Win!

Defense was facing a team that pummeled Greencastle for 449 rushing yards with 3 backs over 100+ each. They held the Bulldogs to just 221 on the ground, and 60 game on 1 play. the play of Corey Andrews was nothing short of phenomenal. I had him with 21 total tackles, 13 solo, 3 TFL and a forced fumble. He, along with Goodman (who had 9 tackles 1 TFL) were a force at LB. With Oliver not on D, Voigtschild move up to OLB but that put focus on the safety where he was... and we saw soph Harrison James and senior Collin Webster. The 4 man front of Sparks, Lyons, Gennicks and Howard made things tough running inside. Take that 60 yarder out and it was just 158 yards a 3.4 per carry average.

Big Time Moments:
1- Voigtschild has big return to start game 42 yards, but ball gets stripped and Bulldogs have it at our 44. Bulldogs convert two 3rd downs and score on a Hand 8 yard TD. Miners down at 9:10. How would they respond.

2- After Miner Punt, Monrovia is a Linton 21, up 7-0 just under 7 minutes and elect to go for a 4th and 1. A decision surely haunting Bulldog fans. Plus they go outside with Bryant, but both Webster and Goodman are there with Russell pulling him down for a loss of 1. Miners take over at the bulldog 20 but struggle to move. it takes an incredible ESPN catch by Oliver in the corner of the endzone over Neal, getting feet down and having control on a 4th and 5 throw from McBride. Clearly we have no kicker, and the 2 point conversions would be a factor in this win. Fortunately we got this one... (we were 2-3 in 2 Point Plays)

3- Facing 2nd and 8 Goodman launches a beauty of a pass that lands in the basket of Oliver and the Bulldog 4, and he scores for the Miners. The coverage of Neal was like glue and both battled for position. the 32-yard strike and 2 pt run puts the good guys up 16-7. I'd say we were responding well!

4-First play after kickoff, Jozy Hand is popped as soon as the ball is handed to him from QB Thacker... ball is loose on ground and Aiden Sparks is on it at the Bulldog 24. Looking at the video it's hard to really tell if the ball ever got to Hand because Corey Andrews blows this play up and reeked havoc all night.

5-A TD here might have broken the Bulldogs. But the official's flags start making their appearance about here. The game stops for several minutes after an apparent Voigtschild fumble at the 15 that is ruled fumble, and as both teams trade units off to def etc... the stripes meet again and decide that the ground had caused it. giving the ball back to Linton despite the arguments from Coach Olson. Me? well looking at video didn't help as Jesse took at big hit as he leaped over a would be tackler. But if a gun was to my head, I think the ball did pop out it seemed when he hit ground. We'd reach the 6, and score on a Goodman run...but wait... holding on red. next play from 16.. we score...! McBride scrambles to right throws back across to the endzone where Paul makes another terrific catch... but.. holding on Miners. That’s not the end of the flags as another one comes the next play, and all together we get 3 that total 26 yards and nullified 2 scores. Instead, we turn the ball over at the Monrovia 9 after a nearly successful hook and ladder play. But 0 points after a turnover and a red zone blank.

6-After a converted 4th and 2, #9 Ryder Poole breaks a tackle at the LOS, and avoids another and looks to be heading to the barn from the Bulldog 20. As he is racing down the Miner sideline, our own Hayden Feltner is flying from across the field where he had been at Cornerback. He has the angle and Poole is out of gas but Haydon's never give up attitude causes Poole to try to stop and change directions stepping out of bounds at the Miner 20. This would have been a TD if Feltner had not made such an effort. And that effort was even more important as the Miner D stood strong, helped with 2 penalties. one a hold, the other a thrown punch that cost the Bulldogs 5 more and a punt... and a waste a 60 yard game breaker.

7-Starting from our own 17, Goodman converts a 4th and 1 from the Bulldog 39- then a tremendous catch by Smith at the Monrovia 10 sets the miners up. 3 plays later Goodman punches it in with just 16 seconds in the half. Miners go in up 22-7.

8-Bulldogs come out, punch it in... more penalties against us help them out. This was a penalty filled game on both sides... edginess indeed... Linton wih 11 for 135 Monrovia with 12 for 142. That's a lot. This was a big thing on the PAT because Newlin does not miss. She is going to University of Dayton full ride for soccer. But multiple flags on the TD confuse everyone in the Roy on both sides. For the life of me after watching it...there is conflict behind the play near the Monrovia sideline that sure looked like a Bulldog lineman throwing a Miner down well away from the action. Then as Hand scores and rolls through the endzone, the official launches another flag.. and I don't see any miner near Hand. But evidently there were 2 pers fouls called, one on each team. We took the 15 yard on PAT pushing the ball from the 3 to the 18. This made the kick a 35 yard effort which Newlin was spot on but short....leaving the score 22-13. They took the penalty on the kickoff which their kicker put in the endzone. Had it been no penalties, the PAT likely good and its 22-14... but.... it wasn't.

9- Linton drives from own 20 aided by two interference calls on Neal trying to stop Oliver. Both legit calls too. Miners 1st down at Bulldog 14 but cannot punch it is. It's another Red Zone fail as Goodman tried to scramble in from the 8 on 4th down.

10-From their own 7, now late 3rd quarter. The convert a key 3rd and 10 at their own 18 with a Thacker to Breedon 13 yard pass. then another 3rd and 10 at their own 30 looks to be thwarted on a screen pass to Green that nets 1 yard. However, the official fired a flag at the feet of Cooper Smith and Trentin Howard after what appears a meaningless shove that doesn't even tumble the bulldog QB. Instead of a likely punt, it's 1st and 10 for the Kelly Green. They keep marching and the 4th quarter rolls in. Another 3rd and4 conversion on a pass in flats to Followell and yet another personal foul call on McBride for continued tackle out of bounds... which again to me was a matter of Braylon holding on as they fell....not like a hit on the sideline. Anyway-that moved Bulldogs further into Miner territory where finally Hand punched it in from the 2. Newlin's kick is true...and it's 22-20 with 9:16 left in the game. Now had it been 22-14.. Monrovia would have gone for 2 to tie the game....but..it wasn't.

11-Well this is the play. As the punt snap sailed over Russell Goodman's head toward the Miner endzone all I could muster on air was "well that's it"... Goodman chased down the ball at the Miner 1 with a herd of 5 Bulldogs in hot pursuit. I could hear people yelling to kick the ball out of the endzone, thus a safety and a 22-22 tie. Worst case scenario was that he'd lose the ball and Monrovia recover in endzone and a 26-22 Bulldog lead. However, he spun at got off a pretty good punt all things considered, that landed at the Miner 33 and then seemed to glance off a young Monrovia player.... but he wisely got on top of it.

Now, had Russell picked up the ball and made a 'football move' to run, he would have become a 'runner' and could be tackled... but since he immediately punted-- it was the same rules as if he'd caught the snap and punted... you can't hit the punter. The Monrovia bunch were in full pursuit and I'm sure weren't thinking anything other than tackle Goodman.... which they did... nothing illegal or bad... just a hit that brought him down. So while the kelly green fans were on their feet and players celebrated...a few noticed the yellow hanky sitting at the Linton 1 yard line. It was a tough call for the Bulldogs, but indeed the right call, and Linton got a reprise with a 1st down up to the Miner 46.

12- The Passing game has been something needed in the Miner offense. It doesn't need to be who we are, but it keeps the opponents from stacking the box, and keeps linebackers and safeties honest from creeping up in run support. Paul being at WR opens that weapon, but still have to get the ball to him. You know the defense expects it. This game showed we have guys other than Paul who can toss the ball.. McBride and Goodman... but Oliver made some incredible catches. This big moment has a long aerial from McBride that fell perfect again in Paul's hands in full stride at the Monrovia 39. It becomes a maniacal run trying to elude Neal as he switched stride and looked to be in the clear. Only a last second dive by Parker Hale kept Paul from paydirt. And...Paul fell right on the injured shoulder in the process. It was a 55 yard play that seemed.....to be the nails in the coffin..... but.....

13-1st n goal from the 10. Hats off the Bulldog defense as they made an impressive stand, with a big hit by Followell in the backfield pushing Linton back to the 10 and a 4th down. Still the Miners almost pulled it out as McBride's pass to Oliver was on target but this time Neal made a great play nearly with a pick, but it set up an ending that seem scripted for a movie. And...another Red Zone appearance with 0 points. 2-5 for the game.

14- Well obviously it came down to this. 4:29. Monrovia needed 90 yards, but not really because Emery Newlin CAN kick the ball. They convert a 3rd and 2, and move up to midfield. Cooper Smith came from OLB for deliver a bone jarring hit to Thacker and incite the Miner fan base.... but kudos to #6 for holding on to the ball. This set up a 3rd and 15. Thacker hit Poole in the flat wide open and he negotiated the Bulldog sideline and if not for the straight up tackle by McBride it is likely Poole goes the distance. Another TD saving stop. Instead it was 19 yards to the Miner 37.

Sophomore Harrison James broke up a pass at the 25, Andrews with a big hit on Poole put the ball at the 34 with another 3rd down (needed 7). The Clock was now an issue. Thacker hit Poole again at the 36 but Andrews was there, not it came down to 1 play. A timeout later, Thacker steps back in pocket and spot Coewan Stinson doing a quick out and open. You could say one of two things-- the pass was off target just to the outside of Stinson's reach, or Thacker thought Stinson would be where he fired the ball. Either way, the ball hit the grass of the Roy as Stinson fell, then Thacker went to his knees and multiple Miners raised their arms and Miner City erupted.

there was still 29 seconds, and it took a snap and kneel by McBride to give the Miners a 22-20 win, their first in 2024.

As stats would indicate… it was a very hard fought even tilt. 300-281 in total yards with Monrovia’s 218 on the ground, 93 from Ryder Poole (60 on 1 play). Linton held highly touted Noah Bryant to 37 yards before leaving the game late. Linton’s 110 rushing yards was a reflection of the success of the passing attack. Goodman did have 61 yards to lead the way. It was the opposite in passing as the Miners Braylon McBride was 9-11 for 139 yards of the total 171. Paul Oliver, playing WR only with the injured shoulder, caught 4 passes for 103 yards with 2 of those touchdowns. The Bulldogs managed 82 passing yards from Thacker (8-13) with Poole catching 4 for 40 yards.

Andrews was once more in beast mode with 21 tackles, 3.5 for loss, Goodman and McBride each with 9. Cooper Smith has 2 TFL in his 6 stops. Bunton led the way for Monrovia with 12, Hale with 11, Followell and Hand with 10 each.

There were several 4th down situations, Linton converted 4 of 7, Monrovia 1-3. The Miners weren’t successful much on 3rd downs (2-10), Bulldogs at 10-17. 1st downs were slightly in favor of Monrovia 20-17. High level of yellow flags on both sides.. a total 285 yards in penalties dealth out. 11-130 for Linton 13-155 for Monrovia.

06/30/2025

As we hit Mid June... it's undoubtedly time to start thinking about 2 a days.. oh man.... and Miner Football around the corner. For me, this is a good time to reflect on 2024... so it begins.....

Much as it was in 2023, and will again in 2025... Week 1 brought not only a new face to the schedule, but another out of state powerhouse in Marion Local. They had the nation's longest winning streak, and still do after a 16-0 season in 2024 culminating in a...ahem...74-0 win in their state final game. Unreal.

The Flyers made the trip to Linton with a 66 man roster loaded with 18 seniors. They took the opening kickoff, drove 72 yards in 10 plays scoring on a 5 yard pass to Victor Hoelscher. The first of 3 consecutive Justin Knouff TD passes. However our Miners proved game, starting from their own 8 grinding out 55 yards all on the ground to reach the Flyer 37. Jesse Voigtschild had runs of 19 and 12; 37 of his game total 85 yards came on this opening drive. Facing 4th and 8 Paul Oliver's pass for Cooper Smith was incomplete ending a drive that ate up 6:56 of the 1st quarter clock. Being down 7-0 with 28 seconds left in the opening stanza didn't last long. In fact, one play. Andrew Pohlman caught a perfect pass from Knouff at the Miner 28 and went to the house in a total 63 yard pitch & catch and score. Carson Bills drilled the PAT and Marion was up 14-0 as the quarter ended 19 seconds later. Bills was 6 of 6 on PAT's and connected on a 32 yard Field Goal as well.

The 2nd quarter was an exercise in self destruction. Of course in facing one of the best teams in certainly the midwest meant playing as perfect a game as possible and perhaps catching a break or two in the process. All 4 Miner possessions in the 2nd quarter were essentially turnovers- 2 interceptions, a blocked punt, and a lost fumble. all 4 Flyer possessions were in Miner territory, including starts at the 13 and 16. All said, Marion put 28 points on Linton, including a 2 Yard dive with no time left on the clock.

Everyone knew this would be quite the test for Linton to start the year, much as in 2023 with Illinois state champ St. Theresa... but the Flyers were on a different tier, and the Miner mistakes put them behind the 8 ball early. It literally went from 7-0 with 0:28 in the 1st to 42-0. Then silence fell on the Roy as Jr QB Paul Oliver suffered a shoulder injury and left the game just before halftime. The Flyers were up 239 to 119 in total yardage, but just an 11-8 margin in 1st downs. 174 of the Flyer yards were via the air as Knuoff was 9 of 10 with three completions of over 20 yards. The real question was how would Linton come out the 2nd half, how'd the team respond without Oliver on the field as well.

We found out soon enough as after a 3 and out punt and return Marion started the Miner 18. The Miner defense could have folded but held strong resulting in Bills 32 yard FG. The next Flyer possession again started in Linton side of field at the Miner 40 after another Interception and the Flyers reached the Miner 9. On the first play of the 4th quarter and a running clock, Hayden Feltner stepped in front of a sure TD pass at the goal line and brought it back 50 yards. Voigtschild busted for a 32 yard run and then went in from the 6 to get Linton on the scoreboard. With the clock running, and Marion using backups, the final 7:49 went by quickly ending in a 45-6 loss to a highly respectful Marion Local football team.

Coach Oliver put it best when he stated postgame “We got smacked, and now we are going to see what we are made of”. It was an unfamiliar feeling for sure for all Linton fans, but one thing was for sure; The Miners continued to play to the whistle, and played physical as well. Linton outrushed Marion 144-122 with Jesse Voigtschild’s 85 yards on just 9 carries. Kamden Eifort (6-30), Ethan Heitkamp (5-28) and Derek Knapke (6-27) were the Flyers rushing leaders. Obviously the Miner Offense suffered a blow with Paul Oliver’s injury as he was a major part of the Linton gameplan on both sides of the ball. Linton found little success in the air with a combined 5-14 (Oliver 3-8-21 2 Int/ Braylon McBride 2-6-9 1 Int). Hayden Feltner snagged 4 of those receptions for 29 yards. Daniel Everman, Bryant Meier and Ryan Homan each had picks for Marion. Feltner’s pick for Linton not only stopped a score, but set up Linton’s score with a 48 yard return. Andrew Pohlman had a big night with 2 TDs in 3 catches for 109 yards, Hoelscher caught 4 for 54 and a score. Knuoff, in just the opening half, was 9 -10 for 174 yards with all 3 TDs. Overall the Flyers hit on 11 of 14 for 199 with Brayden Mescher 2-4 for 25 yards in 2nd half.

Corey Andrews led the Miner D with 12 stops and a tackle for loss (TFL); Russell Goodman with 8, and Jesse Voigtschild added 6. Josh Singleton got a big TFL late in the game for Linton Three Flyers each with 6 tackles-Heitkamp, Muhlenkamp and Homan. Muhlenkamp had 2 TFL. There were no sacks for either team. Griffin Bruns with the only fumble recovery on a strip by Homan. The Linton O-Line showed some power with 4 pancake blocks from Tyler Franklin, and 3 each from Andrews and Hank Gennicks.

A dig into the numbers shows Linton held their own on the offensive side, but shot themselves in the foot with turnovers. Worst yet, turnovers deep into their own side. Of Course credit the Flyers for making the plays. Linton still averaged 5.33 per rush, with 5 rushing plays each over 10 yards, and only 4 that were for a loss (-5). Marion averaged 4.1 per rush, but their money was through the air. The biggest discrepancy in the stat sheet was the 199-30 passing margin for Marion. 78.6% to 35.7% in completion percent. Another area was Starting Point: Linton from their own 23 with the Flyers just inside the Linton 40. The game was played mainly on Linton’s side of the field with only 15 plays snapped in Flyer territory (70 in Linton).

Looking back…as it’s so easy to do with 20/20 vision like all good armchair quarterbacks and coached alike… there were key moments in the early part of this game. I thought the defense on the opening series made the Flyers have to work. They did have a 19 yard pass play, and punched it in…but it was 9 plays to get there. What I liked was Linton’s response. Starting from their own 8, converting three 3rd downs and take 13 plays to the Marion 37. We missed a golden shot when the Flyer CB slips and falls and Feltner is wide open for a TD pass. On 4th and 2, Oliver was under pressure and the pass for Cooper Smith was off. You do wonder how things might have gone would the Miners have punched it in. Literally Marion was a machine. A mentioned, the 2nd quarter was tough…back to back interceptions, then a blocked punt… then on a terrific run by Goodman (17 yards) he gets the ball pulled out, then Marion scored from the 3 yard line with no time on the clock. I’d love to say the 2nd half started better, but 2 plays in, it was the 3rd pick… but the Miner defense kept Marion out of the endzone setting for a Carson Bills 32 yard Field Goal.

In the end, it’s a game you want to be in. Top tier opposition. Yes you hear the people complain about “why are we playing this team”. Well the same was said in playing St. Theresa in 2023 and Linton won. Southridge? Very Solid, and we competed and finally won. If I heard, I know the kids heard it, as well as the coaches….”oh oh.. The Miners are gonna be down”.. People didn’t take the time to realize how good Marion Local was..and is. I mean…75-0 in their state championship game! I looks like opponents only score 7 TDs on them all year… and we have one of them. Of course you don’t accept losing, ever…but you schedule this type of opponent to get better. Having done this a long time, I can see how a 65-0 or a 72-6 blowout against a team year in and year out doesn’t help a team get better. The starters sit most the 2nd half… they aren’t tested…they get over-confident. You can’t run your offense in an attack mode. Yeah, it’s a good feeling, and it helps grease the engine, but it can be a false sense of security too. Good teams will expose your weaknesses, and make you pay if you don’t find an answer or respond.

I know as we walked away from that game, my thoughts were about Paul and hoping he was going to first of all be alright, then secondly how bad was it going to affect his play. The QB was already somewhat of a mixture with Paul, Braylon and Russell all in the mix. We knew that was going to be in play. But with Paul sidelined, it would force the decision front and center. We were losing our top offensive player from 2024. But he was on the sideline the 2nd half supporting his team with a sling over his shoulder. He wasn’t on the way to a hospital. I liked that he was vocal and a leader even as he was probably wondering how serious things would be. With Monrovia looming next week, the team that put the only loss on the Miners until post-season, coming to the Roy the following week.. a lot of folks were wondering when Linton had last opened 0-2. Those of us who’ve followed Miner Football for umpteen years have learned that when down or backed into a corner… the Miners always come out stronger. We would see.

Address

Linton, IN

Website

Alerts

Be the first to know and let us send you an email when Linton Miner Football posts news and promotions. Your email address will not be used for any other purpose, and you can unsubscribe at any time.

Shortcuts

Share