By Mike McGraw
Executive Director
MONROVIA
– You do not have to dominate a football game in order to win it. However, if
you are going to try to do it the other way, it really helps to have Kyle
Linville on your side.
(CLICK ON THE VIDEO PLAY BUTTON TO FOLLOW HIS HEROICS!!)
In the
Class 2A Sectional 30 championship game Nov. 7 at Monrovia, Speedway’s senior
Mr. Everything did just that – everything. It was enough to lead the Sparkplugs
(9-3) to a 34-16 victory in a game they certainly did not dominate.
Consider
the following statistical anomalies. Monrovia (7-5) rushed for more than 200
yards, limited Speedway to just 12 offensive plays in the first half, and controlled
the ball for well over 30 of the game’s 48 minutes.
It,
therefore, doesn’t add up to a conclusion where the Bulldogs should have been
beaten by 18 points. Then again, consider Linville’s exploits for the evening.
He had
nearly 200 yards receiving, including a 71-yard touchdown catch. He ran for a
19-yard touchdown from the quarterback position. He recovered two fumbles,
returning one of those 30 yards for a touchdown.
Rumor
has it he even arrived before the rest of the Sparkplugs to cut the grass on
the field and pop the popcorn. OK, that was bad.
It
didn’t take long for Linville to set the tone. He scooped up a Monrovia fumble
on the game’s first play from scrimmage and scampered for the score. On the Sparkplugs’
next possession, Linville caught a 54-yard pass that set up another score.
Four
and a half minutes into the game and it was 14-0.
Those
big plays overshadowed a half of football that was mostly dominated by
Monrovia’s bruising ground game. The Bulldogs fought back with a sustained
drive and cut the lead to 14-8 on a one-yard plunge. They then stifled
Speedway’s offense for the remainder of the half.
Yet despite
controlling the ball for most of the second quarter, Monrovia could not dent
the scoreboard. The frustration included turning the ball over on downs inside
the Speedway 30 late in the half, and the score remained 14-8 at intermission.
Speedway,
however, continued to falter on offense, going three-and-out on its first
possession of the third quarter. Once again, Monrovia moved downfield only to
stall at the Speedway 29.
You
guessed it. Lightning struck again.
On the
Sparkplugs’ first play, Linville caught a 10-yard out route from Jonny West and
turned it into a 71-yard score. Suddenly it was 21-8.
After
several wasted possessions on both sides, Speedway drove to the Monrovia 19
before facing a 4th and 4. Linville to the rescue one more time.
The
Sparkplugs moved him to quarterback, and he converted a QB draw into a 19-yard
touchdown run to put the game out of reach at 28-8.
To its
credit, Monrovia mounted a long drive that resulted in a six-yard scoring run
from quarterback Tim Conner. The two-point conversion cut the lead to 28-16,
but the drive ate up more than five and a half minutes of the fourth quarter.
With a
little over four minutes on the clock, the Bulldogs attempted what appeared to
be a successful onside kick. The results of the play were turned over, though,
on an interference ruling that caused much confusion as seemingly no fair catch
had been signaled.
It was
Monrovia’s last hoorah. A late Speedway touchdown brought the final 34-16
margin.
The
Speedway victory puts the Sparkplugs on a collision course with powerful
Heritage Christian in the regional next week. Someone might want to tell the
fifth-ranked Eagles to keep an eye on some kid named Linville.
Ever have a magical game like
Mr. Linville?
Tell us about it on our Football message board.