SULLY — After two straight weeks of defensive highlights, Colfax-Mingo’s offense got in on the fun Friday night.
Propelled by another ball-hawking performance from the defense, Colfax-Mingo’s offense made the most of extra opportunities in a 45-16 win over Lynnville-Sully in both teams’ district opener.
“It was a pretty good offensive performance tonight,” said Colfax-Mingo head coach Jeff Lietz, who praised the play of his offensive line. “I thought the offense made some real nice strides. We moved the ball well and got some quick scores.”
Colfax-Mingo’s offensive play followed a similar script against the Hawks as it did l last week against Clarke, Osceola. Following an early turnover from qaurterback Jared Myers, the Tigerhawks rebounded to score the games’ first points and claim first-quarter leads.
Against Lynnville-Sully, the script expanded, calling for more big plays and more points.
Colfax-Mingo turned three first-half turnovers — fumble recoveries by Jimmy Camp and Brady DeJoode and an interception by Blake Summy — into three touchdowns and a commanding 28-8 halftime lead.
The Tigerhawks’ longest play of the game came early in the second quarter when Myers found receiver Blake Summy on a slant route over the middle for an 82-yard touchdown and a 14-0 advantage.
Myers, who finished with a season-high 307 yards passing, connected with Summy five times for 154 yards and two touchdowns Friday night. The other score came on the opening drive of the third quarter.
“We’ve been playing together since third grade. We just know where each other is going to be at,” Myers said of himself and Summy. “Seven-on-seven helps a lot, just getting a feel of what the defense does and what we have to do to get in the open spaces.”
Lynnville-Sully (0-3) threatened to post the game’s first points, but came away scoreless on its first two drives. The Hawks drove the ball from their own 37-yard line to Colfax-Mingo’s 16 on the game’s first possession only to turn the ball over on downs.
After Myers threw an interception on the ensuing Colfax-Mingo drive, Lynnville-Sully took over inside Colfax-Mingo’s 20-yard line and again turned the ball over on downs at the 2.
“Those red zone stops, those are just killer for their team and a boost of everything for our team,” Colfax-Mingo lineman Chris Warner said.
Lynnville-Sully head coach Mike Parkinson said he saw improvement in his team simply in being able to sustain drives against Colfax-Mingo, but “finishing has got to be what we do.”
Parkinson’s top producer Friday was sophomore running back Caden Dunsbergen, who had an impressive 31-carry, 153-yard performance. He scored both of the Hawks’ touchdowns as well as two two-point conversions.
Dunsbergen entered Friday’s game with a total of four yards on eight carries.
“We made plays tonight, but not enough,” Parkinson said. “We have to have 11 people step up in every aspect of the game — offense, defense, specil teams. Can’t win without guys stepping up in those areas.”
The Tigerhawks’ defense finished with four turnovers, adding a second interception when Jimmy Abell picked off Lynnville-Sully’s Kobe Fisk in the fourth quarter.
Colfax-Mingo has seven interceptions and seven fumble recoveries in its first three games.
More importantly, the Tigerhawks have already surpassed their win totals from each of the last two seasons when they posted back-to-back 2-7 marks.
“It feels fantastic,” Colfax-Mingo’s Jimmy Camp said of the team’s 3-0 start. “It’s amazing.”