Linton overpowers South Putnam in second half

Mark Wildman Field played host to matchup of state-ranked teams on Friday night and fourth-down conversions and mistakes made a big difference as the Class 2A No. 1 Linton-Stockton Miners defeated the Class A No. 6 South Putnam Eagles 35-10.

Linton’s quarterback, Hunter Gennicks, came up big with 272 total yards as the Miners were able to establish control in the second half and dominate ball-control, limiting the state’s leading scoring offense of the Eagles to just 10 points and none in the second half.

The Miners improved to 9-0 on the season as their offense churned out 417 total yards and the Eagles fell to 7-2 heading into tournament play.

“Getting to 9-0 was one of our goals on the season,” Linton head coach Brian Oliver said as he picked up a personal milestone of 100 career wins.

The Eagles showed that they were not intimidated by the top-ranked Miners as they took the opening kickoff and marched 67 yards in 13 plays, mixing up Luke Switzer runs and a quick passing attack to take an early 7-0 lead on a Switzer four-yard touchdown run.

“We were in a dogfight in that first half. They (South Putnam) had a good game plan and came out and played well,” Oliver said.

The Eagles would force a Miner fumble on the next possession but could not capitalize on the turnover and Linton would put together an 84-yard drive to get its first score. Gennicks would find Hunter John from 18 yards out and a score, but the PAT kick was no good and the Eagles maintained their lead at 7-6.

South’s next two drives ended in a punt and a failed fourth-and-one attempt, while the Miners would give the ball back to the Eagles on pair of back-to-back interceptions. Fisher Jones had the first, then Caden Switzer picked off the second and the Eagles began to drive looking effective again, but the drive would stall as the Eagles failed on another fourth-and-short giving Linton a possession late in the half.

“It was big when we had a chance to go up 14-6 and couldn’t get it done. Mistakes really hurt us,” South Putnam head coach Chuck Sorrell said.

Linton made the Eagles pay as they would drive 62 yards with a big chuck of that coming on Gennicks scrambling out of the pocket and picking up big yardage. The Naval Academy-bound senior quarterback would then score from four yards out and then find Logan Webb for the two-point conversion pass and the Miners had a 14-7 lead that they would not relinquish.

“He (Gennicks) is dual-threat quarterback and has done that for us all year,” Oliver said.

South Putnam rallied as it took the ball over with just :29 left in the half, but a 17-yard completion from Wyatt Mullin to Kaden Childress combined with two 15-yard penalties by the Miners set up Wyatt Kendall to kick a 40-yard field goal as time expired in the half to give the Eagles some momentum going into the second half.

Linton received the second-half kickoff and seized the momentum with a soul-crushing 18-play, 61-yard drive to open the third quarter. The drive saw the Miners pick up six first downs, two of them coming on offsides penalties against the Eagles, one of them a fourth-and-one. South also missed an opportunity for a takeaway during the drive as it appeared the Eagles recovered a fumble, but the play had been whistled dead. Johns would cap the drive off with a two-yard run and a 21-10 lead.

“That was a statement drive coming out in the second half. That is what our team is all about,” Oliver said.

The Eagles came back and moved quickly down the field but came up a yard short of converting a fourth-and-four at the Miner 26-yard line turning the ball over on downs and squandering an opportunity to stay within striking distance.

“You cannot shoot yourself in the foot the way we did against a team as good as they (Linton) are. You just can’t jump offsides and give them extra opportunities. We came up a little short on the drive and could have done some things differently. They were better than us tonight,” Sorrell said.

Linton would effectively put the game out of reach after taking over on its own 24-yard line, the Miners used a big pass play from Gennicks to Jesse Voigtschild to set up Gennicks second touchdown run of the night, this one from one yard out and a 28-10 Miner lead to open the final period.

“We were fortunate to come out and play well in the second half. We made some adjustments and did what we needed to do,” Oliver said.

The Miners would put the nail in the coffin on their next possession as Voigtschild would haul in a 19-yard pass from Gennicks and give Linton a 35-10 lead that would end the scoring on the night.

The Miners will travel to South Vermillion next Friday to open play in the Class 2A Sectional 37 action.

“We cannot be ‘me, me, me’ on this team. We have to play for each other and tonight we had some me’s out there. I would imagine that Lutheran will, skill-wise, be as talented as these guys. We just have to go get ready to play,” Sorrell said as his Eagles will travel to Lutheran to take on the Class A No. 1 ranked Indianapolis Lutheran Saints in Class A Sectional No. 47.

1st Qtr

SP – Luke Switzer 4 run (Wyatt Kendall kick), 7-0, 7:09.

LS – Hunter Johns 18 pass from Hunter Gennicks (kick failed), 7-6, 1:30.

2nd Qtr

LS – Hunter Gennicks 4 run (Logan Webb pass from Gennicks), 14-7, :29

SP – Wyatt Kendall 40 field goal, 14-10, :00

3rd Qtr

LS – Hunter Johns 2 run (Nathan Frady kick), 21-10, 4:47

4th Qtr

LS – Hunter Gennicks 1 run (Nathan Frady kick), 28-10, 11:59.

LS – Jesse Voigtschild 19 pass from Hunter Gennicks (Nathan Frady kick), 35-10, 8:47.

Individual Statistics

Rushing: Linton-Stockton: Hunter Gennicks 19-142, Hunter Johns 15-74, Braden Walters 6-47, Jesse Voigtschild 5-23, Bradyn Cox 1-(-1), Eli Scott 1-2, South Putnam: Luke Switzer 23-69, Wyatt Mullin 4-(-10), Kaleb Owens 1-0, Peyton Crickmore 4-17.

Passing: Linton-Stockton: Hunter Gennicks 9-16-2 130. South Putnam: Wyatt Mullin 19-30-0 112.

Receiving: Linton-Stockton: Jesse Voigtschild 3-66, Hunter Johns 2-26, Logan Webb 2-18, Braden Walters 1-11, Paul Oliver 1-9. South Putnam: Kaden Childress 9-50, Caden Switzer 4-28, Fisher Jones 3-11, Zach Dorsett 2-18, Peyton Crickmore 1-5.