DELHI — Lance McShane was working with just one good eye.
“I used to be half-blind on the market,” he mentioned.
Each legs had been totally practical, although. And that was the necessary factor.
McShane scored the go-ahead landing, a 5-yard surge on fourth-and-4 with 4:04 left, and Maquoketa Valley out-mudded North Linn, 22-15, in a Class A District 4 soccer showdown Friday evening at Maquoketa Valley Excessive College.
Someplace within the muck, you’ll discover a contact lens. It had been in McShane’s left eye till early within the third quarter, when it turned dislodged.
“My imaginative and prescient is fairly unhealthy,” he mentioned. “If I might lose each of them, I wouldn’t be capable to see three ft in entrance of me.”
So now it’s a three-way tie atop the A-4 standings: Maquoketa Valley, Starmont and East Buchanan all are 6-1 total, 5-1 within the district.
All have clinched a playoff berth.
The Wildcats conclude the common season with one other biggie, at Starmont subsequent week.
North Linn (5-2, 4-2) rallied from an early 14-0 deficit, taking a 15-14 lead early within the second quarter.
It was nonetheless caught at 15-14 when Maquoketa Valley bought the ball with 7:21 left, 67 muddy yards away from the tip zone.
The drive started with a 6-yard cross from Dylan Wall to Taten Infort.
Then, it was a gentle weight loss program of McShane, i.e., One Eye Blind.
“At that time, you go behind your greatest gamers and also you give it to your greatest participant,” Wildcats Coach Scot Moenck mentioned.
McShane ripped off a 36-yarder on the primary carry of the drive, to the North Linn 25. Then it was a collection of quick runs, till the Wildcats confronted fourth-and-4 from the 5.
The fateful play:
“A heavy formation,” McShane mentioned. “Mainly, two fullbacks lead for me.”
They led him into the tip zone.
After a carbon copy on the two-point conversion made it 22-15, the Lynx reached the Maquoketa Valley 19 earlier than the drive stalled.
Maquoketa Valley wanted two performs to march 56 yards on its first drive of the sport; Wall ran for 26, then McShane completed it with a 30-yard rating (and two-point conversion).
Wall’s interception and 65-yard return made it 14-0, six minutes into the sport.
“(Breckyn) Betenbender was going to get the ball. I noticed him drop his hips,” Wall mentioned. “I broke down, noticed the ball, picked it off and tucked it away.”
North Linn answered instantly on Cole Griffith’s 75-yard kickoff return for a rating, then Griffith caught a 25-yard TD cross from Jake Van Etten. Betenbender’s two-point run put the Lynx in entrance, 15-14, with 11:55 left within the first half.
It was a scoreless slog after that.
Nonetheless main 15-14 within the fourth quarter, the Lynx had an opportunity to use the dagger with first-and-goal from the 4.
However a excessive snap value them 17 yards, the drive ended on the 33 and Maquoketa Valley made its fateful march.
McShane entered the sport with a state-high 1,555 yards, however was met with resistance Friday. He completed with 155 yards on 31 carries.
And partial imaginative and prescient.
Van Etten handed for 209 yards, together with 128 to Betenbender, on 11 receptions.
North Linn hosts Bellevue subsequent week, with the winner qualifying for the playoffs.
Maquoketa Valley 22, North Linn 15
At Delhi
TEAM STATISTICS
First downs: NL 19, MV 11
Rushes-yards: NL 35-55, MV 42-174
Passing yards: NL 209, MV 49
Passing: NL 19-30-2, MV 6-9-1
Whole yards: NL 264, MV 223
Fumbles-lost: NL 1-1, MV 1-0
Punts-average: NL 1-16.0, MV 1-26.0
Penalties-yards: NL 5-50, MV 7-80
SCORING SUMMARY
North Linn 7 8 0 0 — 15
Maquoketa Valley 14 0 0 8 — 22
MV — Lance McShane 30 run (McShane run)
MV — Brady Wall 65 interception return (run failed)
NL — Cole Griffith 75 kickoff return (Theo Boss kick)
NL — Griffith 25 cross from Jake Van Etten (Breckyn Betenbender run)
MV — McShane 5 run (McShane run)
INDIVIDUAL STATISTICS
Dashing
North Linn — Jake Van Etten 17-49, Breckyn Betenbender 10-19, Landen Helmrich 7-4, Workforce 1-(minus 17). Maquoketa Valley — Lance McShane 31-155, Brady Wall 5-22, Dylan Knipper 3-5, Taten Intorf 1-(minus 6), Workforce 2-(minus 2).
Passing
North Linn — Van Etten 19-30-2-209. Maquoketa Valley — Wall 6-9-1-49.
Receiving
North Linn — Betenbender 11-128, Cole Griffith 6-53, Helmrich 1-21, Cael Benesh 1-7. Maquoketa Valley — Intorf 3-5, Anderson Holtz 1-37, Lukas Chestnut 1-5, Knipper 1-2.
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