LINTON — Linton completed the comeback few believed possible Friday night, coming from behind in the fourth quarter to upset Class A No. 5-ranked North Daviess 28-24 at Roy Williams Field in Linton.
Trailing 24-14 in the third quarter, the same Miners that lost to North Daviess 34-6 on Sept. 25, scored touchdowns in the third and fourth quarter, then made two huge defensive plays to win their third straight Sectional 40 football championship.
“Especially this year. We started out slow, we were supposed to be rebuilding and to come out here and change [our offense and defense] in week seven and win the sectional for the third time in a row, it’s something special,” Linton running back Stefan Sparks said.
Trailing 24-21 with 2:58 left in the game, Linton faced a fourth down and four. Kaleb Bridge took the football straight up the middle for a 25-yard touchdown play that put the Miners ahead.
Dyllanne Deischer, Linton’s freshman kicker, capped a perfect 4-for-4 kicking night that put the Miners up 28-24.
North Daviess, led by quarterback Jano Davis, who threw for 104 yards and rushed for 68, broke loose for a 32-yard run across and up the field to the Linton 14-yard line.
On second-and-10 from the Linton 14, senior tackle Kyle Smith and sophomore Blake Scarbrough sacked Davis for a five-yard loss. Looking at third-and-15, the Cougars tried a pass and Linton’s Evan Magni made the biggest interception of his record-setting career with 49 seconds left on the clock.
“My eyes got huge. I got a good break on the ball. I ran my butt off, got to it and made the play,” Magni said.
In the third quarter, it sure looked like a rebuilding year for the Miners. Linton led 14-12 at halftime, but North Daviess scored on the opening possession of the second half, then capitalized on a Linton fumble to go ahead 24-21 with 4:54 left in the third period.
“I told the team right before the third quarter was over one big play could turn this game around. Sure enough the next play they fumble the ball, we get it and score,” Magni said.
With 49 seconds left in the third period, Linton quarterback Tylor Scott, not known for his passing, hooked up with Magni for a 40-yard touchdown pass play. It was Scott’s second TD pass of the night, as he found Reid Firestone for a 14-yard score in the first quarter.
“We haven’t thrown the ball forever. We knew they were going to stop our powers with something so we needed something else. So we started passing [in practice] this week. So it worked out for us big time,” Scott said.
With just under 10 minutes left to play, Bridges, who led the balanced Miner offense with 86 rushing yards, sacked North Daviess’ Davis for a five-yard loss, forcing a punt.
Starting from their own 27-yard line, the Miners put together a 14-play touchdown drive. Sparks came through with the big plays on the drive, running for 13 yards on third-and-five, then converting on a fourth-and-inches, that eventually led to Bridges’ 25-yard touchdown run.
“The guys don’t believe that [rebuilding year story]. They don’t buy into that. They played hard. I’m more proud of this team of any team I’ve had so far [and] we’ve had some great teams here,” Linton coach Steve Weber said.
Linton 28, North Daviess 24
North Daviess 0 12 12 0 — 24
Linton 7 7 7 7 — 28
L — Reid Firestone 14 pass from Tylor Scott (Dyllanne Deischer kick) 8:56 1Q.
ND — Jess Tribby 33 pass from Jano Davis (kick failed) 11:34 2Q.
ND — Tribby 91 run (pass failed) 4:43 2Q.
L — Evan Magni 30 run (Deischer kick) :51 2Q.
ND — Ryan Webster 5 run (pass failed) 7:53 3Q.
ND — Davis 1 run (pass failed) 4:54 3Q.
L — Magni 40 pass from Scott (Deischer kick) :49 3Q.
L — Kaleb Bridges 25 run (Deischer kick) 2:58 4Q.
ND L
First downs 16 17
Rushes-yards 45-296 43-236
Passing yards 104 109
Com-Att-Int 6-13-1 4-7-1
Total offense 58-400 50-345
Return yards 59 36
Punts-avg. 2-29 2-28.5
Fumbles lost 3-2 3-3
Penalties-yards 2-13 3-15
Individual statistics
Rushing — North Daviess: Webster 27-126, Davis 13-68, Tribby 2-98, Sellers 3-4. Linton: Bridges 14-86, S. Sparks 12-85, Magni 11-46, Scott 6-19.
Passing — North Daviess: Davis 6-13-1--104; Linton: Scott 4-7-1--109.
Receiving — North Daviess: Tribby 3-59, Harkness 1-28, Wittmer 1-12, Sellers 1-5; Linton: Magni 1-40, Ivey 1-35, Morin 1-20, Firestone 1-14.
Next — Linton (9-3) will host Fountain Central next Friday. North Daviess finished 10-2.
High School
Transformed Miners take out No. 5 Cougars for third straight sectional title
- High School
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It’s a rivalry-filled Memorial Day for sectional contenders
Longtime rivalries figure to determine high school baseball sectional champions throughout the Wabash Valley today, with semifinal and final games scheduled at four sites and a stand-alone championship game at a fifth.
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South tops Oldenburg to win tennis semistate
There was no evidence of rally caps, rally towels and certainly no rally squirrels, but Terre Haute South’s No. 1 singles player Maddie Kesler needed a rally in the worst way.
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New route leads to same place for South girls tennis
For so many years, the road to the IHSAA girls tennis state finals for local teams ran through Vincennes (regional) and Jasper (semistate). In other words, south and more south.
This year, their trip was re-routed through Greencastle (regional) and Center Grove (semistate). So it cnahged to east and more east. -
PREP ROUNDUP: Robinson tops Greenville in sectional semifinal
Robinson jumped to a 3-0 lead in the top of the first inning, then cruised to a convincing 12-3 victory over Greenville in a IHSA Class 2A Vandalia sectional semifinal game on Thursday.
Ashlyn Sullivan was 2 for 3 with a double, home run and three RBIs to lead the winning Maroons. -
West Vigo baseball falls in sectional to Owen Valley
West Vigo overcame the odds to win 20 high school baseball games this season with a lineup that often included four freshmen and few seniors.
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South Vermillion softball's late-season surge comes to end
A late-season surge by South Vermillion wasn’t quite enough to halt a high school softball sectional winning streak by the host team Thursday night, as Edgewood got on top early and held on for a 5-2 win in the championship game of the Class 3A Edgewood Sectional.
The loss was just the second in the last 12 games for the Wildcats. The Mustangs, however, haven’t lost a sectional softball game for eight years in a row. -
South takes second, North third at boys track regional
Terre Haute South finished second and Terre Haute North third on Thursday night at the boys track and field regional at Evansville Central, with 11 individuals and three relay teams qualifying for the state finals June 2.
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PREP ROUNDUP: White River Valley baseball holds off Eminence
Three Eminence errors in the top of the sixth inning finally enabled White River Valley to score in high school baseball Thursday night, and the Wolverines went on to a 5-0 win in Class A Shakamak Sectional action.
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Feeling cursed: South bitten in sectional final again
Terre Haute South softball is not even close to being as cursed as a certain northside baseball team in Chicago, but it might just seem like it.
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PREP ROUNDUP: Mundy, Porter, Knight individual regional winners
Chanli Mundy and Keirra Porter of Terre Haute North were among the individual winners in the IHSAA Evansville Central girls track and field regional that ended late Tuesday night.
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Thornton puts away South Vermillion
Cody Thornton’s three-run blast over the left-field fence was the finishing touch to West Vigo’s 10-3 victory over South Vermillion in the opening game of the Class 3A Greencastle Sectional on Wednesday.
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Lakers triumph, go home for regional
Shakamak took Class A Clay City Sectional honors in high school softball for the first time since 2009 Wednesday, defeating White River Valley 9-5 in the title tilt.
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North Vermillion avenges losses
North Vermillion avenged two high school softball losses during the regular season to win the Class A Riverton Parke Sectional championship Wednesday with a 3-2 triumph over the host Panthers.
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Pats, Knights will meet in sectional
Adler Ingalsbe pooh-poohed his lack of velocity Wednesday night, yet the Terre Haute North pitcher was throwing BBs in the first game compared to Mooresville’s Brandon Topie in the nightcap.
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South outbattles Northview to reach sectional final
Even the best of high school softball pitchers can’t keep all the batters in the middle of Terre Haute South’s lineup down.
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Panthers get 20th win in sectional
Riverton Parke will face North Vermillion in the Class A softball sectional championship at Riverton Parke today, with action commencing at 6 p.m.
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Plainfield Sectional all about parity
Considering Terre Haute South has won five consecutive Class 4A sectional titles in high school baseball, naming the Braves as favorites to capture the 2012 Class 4A Plainfield Sectional would not seem far-fetched.
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PREP ROUNDUP: North Vermillion in title game
Casey West had a triple and three runs scored to help North Vermillion softball advance to the championship game of the Class A Riverton Parke Sectional on Tuesday.
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North takes second in track regional
Terre Haute North finished second with 74 points, six behind team champion Evansville Reitz, during the Evansville Central girls track and field regional that ended late Tuesday night.
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Wildcats advance to sectional softball final; West Vigo falls
Patience, patience.
South Vermillion exhibited great patience, being very selective at the plate and it paid off royally in the fourth inning. -
South, Crawfordsville win in regional tennis semis
Terre Haute South outlasted Fountain Central 4-1 in the first round of the girls high school tennis regional Tuesday, advancing the Braves into today’s championship match against Crawfordsville.
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Braves, Knights open with wins
It was an excellent night for starting softball pitchers to help their own cause Monday night in the Class 4A Northview Sectional.
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Lough dreamt about McMillan
A two-time state finalist in wrestling and a two-time all-Metropolitan Interscholastic Conference football player and wrestler, Tsali Lough of Terre Haute South was named the male recipient of the 2012 McMillan Award on Monday night at South’s Senior Awards Night.
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PREP ROUNDUP: Panthers cruise in sectional opener
Sarah Burnham pitched a two-hit shutout with 10 strikeouts in high school softball Monday evening as host Riverton Parke defeated defending champion Rockville 10-0 in opening-round action at the Class A Riverton Parke Sectional.
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Notable tradition bodes well for Riverton Parke
Located practically in the shadow of a high school that sets one state standard in track and field, Riverton Parke has a tendency to be overlooked in that sport.
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Vikings get 18th win over Shakamak
West Vigo began a busy week of high school baseball Monday on a winning note, defeating Shakamak 6-3.
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Greencastle new site for girls tennis regional
The starting times might prove to be a bone of contention, but otherwise coaches Bill Blankenbaker and Emily Goff are thrilled their respective girls high school tennis teams will begin play today at the Greencastle Regional.
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Northview sectional groups 3 20-win teams
Three teams with 20-plus victories will attempt to claim the Class 4A Northview Sectional crown for high school softball this week, and most of the other Wabash Valley sectional fields also appear to be wide open.
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Terre Haute South softball takes Riverton Parke tournament
Terre Haute South is going into the Class 4A Sectional at Northview on Monday with momentum, confidence, a deep bench and a healthier pitching staff than it has had in quite a while.
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North baseball splits doubleheader with Indy North Central
Some of their incentive could have been sapped a couple of nights earlier, when Center Grove achieved an eight-inning victory over Warren Central to clinch the Metropolitan Interscholastic Conference high school baseball championship.
- More High School Headlines
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