Miners keep streak going against Arrows

Hunter Gennicks had two touchdowns passing and one score on the ground in Linton's win over Sullivan.

Shad Cox

LINTON – The Miners and the Golden Arrows have been going at on the football field for over a century, but right now Linton owns the series winning its third, straight Friday night. Linton overcame a 7-0 deficit to win 34-21 as the Miners have won six out of the last seven and 20 out of the last 26 in the series.

“They’ve been great games and we’ve been fortunate enough to get a lot of good wins against them,” Linton Head Coach Brian Oliver said. “Our kids come out well prepared and made some plays. That’s kind of the same thing tonight. We were able to make some plays and force a turnover and capitalize on it.”

Linton junior quarterback Hunter Gennicks accounted for three touchdowns as he passed for two and ran another in late in the game to lead Linton. Gennicks threw for 187 yards and rushed for 99 to give him 286 yards of offense.

It was not a perfect game for Gennicks as an interception ended the first drive of the game for Linton. Sullivan scored the first touchdown when Sullivan quarterback Rowdy Adams found William Newby for a catch in the end zone.

Linton responded though, scoring the next four touchdowns in the game. Gennicks hit senior Ayden Riggleman to tie the game with a 22-yard score with 1:04 left in the half.

Linton opened the second half with a 63-yard drive to take the lead when Gennicks connected to Gabe Eslinger on a 13-yard touchdown. Eslinger would score again but this time on the ground with just three seconds left in the third.

The Miner defense shut the Arrows down in the third quarter as Sullivan gained just one first down. Senior Eli Poe intercepted Adams in the fourth quarter to give the Linton offense a short field. Hunter Johns would punch it in from six yards out to put Linton up 27-7 after a two-point conversion.

“Our defense is playing exceptionally well,” Oliver said. “They are making the plays for us and forcing turnovers. They are the ones that keeps getting our momentum and intensity up during the game. We will ride our defense as long as we can.”

Johns had a pick-six in last year’s overtime win against Sullivan and this year he added two sacks in addition to his touchdown. He also had a reception in the first half that went for 60 yards.

“This game means the most to us overall and we’ve been looking forward to it for the whole entire offseason,” Johns said.

Linton outgained Sullivan 373 to 237. The Miners had 234 of their yards in the second half.

The Miners are 2-0 for the first time since 2016 and will play Monrovia next week in Linton’s first road game of the year. Sullivan drops to 1-1 and have not won at Linton since 2009.

SCORING SUMMARY

SECOND QUARTER

S – 3:43 - Rowdy Adams 17 yd TD PASS to William Newby (kick GOOD) 7-0

LS – 1:04 – Hunter Gennicks 22 yd TD PASS to Ayden Riggleman (Jayden Mille KICK) 7-7

THIRD QUARTER

LS – 10:55 – Hunter Gennicks 13 yd TD PASS to Gabe Eslinger (Kick MISSED) 13-7

LS – :03 – Gabe Eslinger 5 yd TD RUN (Conversion FAILED) 19-7

FOURTH QUARTER

LS - 5:57 – Hunter Johns 6 yd TD RUN (Conversion GOOD, Hunter Gennicks pass to Hunter Johns) – 27-7

S – 3:38 – Rowdy Adams 19 yd TD PASS to William Newby (Kick GOOD), 27-14

LS – 1:57 – Hunter Gennicks 45 yd TD RUN (Miller KICK), 34-14

S – :06 – Rowdy Adams 5 yd RUN (Kick GOOD), 34-21