Linn-Mar win two straight in 29-0 victory over Pleasant Valley

MARION – Even after an 0-4 start to the season, Duane Orr's message to his young Linn-Mar squad never changed.

"We have simply focused on getting better every week," Orr said. "We knew we had a gauntlet of a schedule, but we want the kids to believe that we are our biggest opponent and if we keep getting better, the wins will take care of themselves."

For the second straight week, that philosophy worked.

Coming off their first win of the year last Thursday at Davenport Central, the Lions looked even more impressive on Friday night against Pleasant Valley. The offense played clean football, the defense forced four turnovers and the special teams blocked a punt that led to a score. All of that added up to an impressive 29-0 victory at Linn-Mar Stadium.

The win was the first at home for Orr, who took over the program last spring. He knew he was taking over an inexperienced team that would have to rely heavily on sophomores and juniors.

One of those juniors is tailback Hud Turner. The 5-foot-7, 175 pounder, who ran for 106 tough yards on 19 carries and two scores, credited Orr for keeping the Lions focused.

"This feels just great," he said. "The first few weeks were tough, but we just kept grinding. Coach Orr says that iron sharpens iron, all year long. You have to keep finding a way. Tonight, we found a way."

After a scoreless first quarter, it was a big special teams play that gave the Lions their first break in the second. Junior Jareth Navarro broke through and blocked a Spartan punt that Linn-Mar covered at the 9-yard line. Three plays later sophomore Derek Roling scored on a 1-yard quarterback sneak.

The Lion defense did its job again and Turner made it 14-0, slashing in from the 10 with 4:25 left in the half.

That score held through the rest of the half. Linn-Mar got the ball to open the second half, and drove 58 yards to the Spartan 1, eating up almost eight minutes of the quarter. PV appeared to gain momentum by stopping the Lions on 4th and goal from the 1.

Any spark of life PV had after the goal line stand was snuffed out two plays later on a fumble that was recovered by Daniel Lorenz at the Spartan 9. Two plays later, Turner took it in from the 7, upping the lead to 21-0.

"I like to take it as a team effort," Turner said of his strong game. "We just really played hard tonight. I'm at a loss for words. We're in it to win it for the rest of the season."

Down 21-0, PV was forced to open up its offense and Isaac Pata, one of the few experienced seniors on the team, jumped in front of a Spartan receiver at midfield early in the fourth quarter, taking it 50 yards for the final TD of the night. Turner added a two-point run for the final margin.

"I just saw the ball and told myself I had to get that," Pata said. "I jumped in and took it away (from the receiver) and took it to the crib, simple as that."

Orr had special praise for Pata and the other seniors for what they have provided their younger teammates.

"Our seniors are providing some amazing senior leadership," Orr said. "We are just so young and the seniors have really done a great job. We can't get complacent. The goal will be the same, to keep getting better and we will see what happens next week."

The Lions (2-4) will look to make it three straight with a road game at Muscatine. Pleasant Valley (3-3) returns home to host Iowa City Liberty.