↓ THE MARK(S) OF A CHAMPION

By: Matthew A. Anderson

The game between the remaining unbeatens in the Flint Metro League was everything it was supposed to be an more in Linden's 35-28 thriller of a win against Lapeer West. It was a game of momentum shifts, lead changes big plays and big hearts as the Eagles assumed sole possession of first place in the FML with 2 weeks to go.

If there was any doubt of what type of Quarterback and player in general, Cody Marks was, it was certainly erased after Friday night's 5 Touchdown and 353 yard performance. It just wasn't the stats but the heart that Marks put on the line, making the big plays when it mattered most and seemingly with the clock and a pretty good Lapeer West team doing everything it could to stop him.

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The biggest of drives and the biggest of plays came during a drive with 3:07 to go in the game. On the Lapeer West drive before, Nate Smith hit Landon Warren for a 10 yard touchdown to put the Panthers up 28-27 after the extra point. Smith looked like he was going to be sacked for a 10 yard loss, evaded the pressure, rolled to his left and threw it in the right corner of the endzone where only his receiver could come up with it. Now it was Linden's turn to answer but they had to do it in a hurry and had 1 last drive to do it. From their own 26, Marks hit Alex Summers for a 14 yard gain up to the 40. Then came a run by Marks that should of been a loss. Marks took the snap ran straight up the middle as he was about to have his legs wrapped up, broke the tackle and then busted it to the right and weaved in and out of traffic to the West 40. Two plays later, Marks bought some time with his feet and rolled right, this allowed Jesse Patterson to get open. Marks heaved it across his body to Patterson deep down the field but it went through Patterson's hands. On 4th and 3, the Eagles were flagged for a false start, which then made 4th and short to 4th and long at the Lapeer West 39. With under two minutes to play, the Eagles signaled timeout. They would not have enough timeouts to stop West on defense on the next possession so this was it, it all would come down to this play to either extend the drive or turn it over on downs and watch their championship dreams for '09 go by the wayside.

Marks took the snap, stepped up in the pocket and hit a single covered Patterson in stride on what looked to be a post route. Patterson put his body in front of the defender and hauled the pass in, all while in stride and ran the rest of the way into the endzone for a 39 yard score. The execution made it look as if there were no pressure at all. It was 1 fluid motion from the perfect pass to the textbook grab and run after the catch. With 1:42 to play, the Eagles reclaimed the lead 33-28 and would go for 2, to try and push the lead back to 7. Marks called his own number as he went off of right tackle for the 2 points, giving the Eagles a 35-28 lead. The home team and their fans were on Cloud 9 but the Eagles still had to make a stop. The Panthers managed to get a first down up past their own 41 but would have 4 straight incompletions after that to turn it over on downs. 3 snaps later by Linden in the victory formation and the clock ran out, giving the Eagles the emotional win in an instant classic.

The game had a lot of twists and turns. Lapeer West controlled the game and the lead for most of the opening quarter and into the 2nd. Jacob Fenslau gave West a 6-0 lead on a 1 yard TD run just 4 minutes into the game but the extra point failed. With 8:30 to go in the 2nd, West extended their lead to 14-0 on a QB keeper from 1 yard out by Nate Smith and a 2 point run by Tyler Andrews. West was moving the ball well on the ground and on defense were bending but not breaking, allowing Linden to pick up yardage but hunkering down when they got close and not allowing scores.

Linden rolled the dice early and often in the first half, going for it on several 4th down attempts, even on a fake punt. After West went up 14-0, the Eagles finally had enough and answered. The drive was set up by a great kickoff return by Marks from around his own 30 to the Lapeer West 24. 2 Marks runs later, the Eagles got on the board. The first was a 23 yard scamper where he cut back across the grain to the 1 yard line and the 2nd was a 1 yard run around left end for the score. Phil Fiebernitz added the extra point and with 8:09 to go in the half, Linden cut the lead in half to 14-7. That would be the end to scoring in the first half.

Linden got the ball to start the 2nd half and drove it right down the field. Marks hit Joe Hnatow for 24 yards down to the Lapeer West 41 on a pitch and catch. They hooked up again 2 plays later for 15 yards down to the West 24. Marks hit Summers for an 11 yard pickup that set up first and goal from the 9. Nate Armstrong took it for 5 yards on a carry down to the West 4 before Marks dialed up himself again and scored from 4 yards out with 9:30 left in the third. The play was sort of a broken play as Marks dropped the snap from shotgun, picked it up quickly and then just raced ahead and dove over the goaline. After the extra point, the Eagles had tied it up at 14.

West would have liked to answer but turned it over on a fumble during the ensuing kickoff. Summers recovered the ball for Linden and set the Eagles up inside the Panthers' 20. The Eagles were flagged and pushed 5 yards back. On first down, Marks ran 10 yards down to the two as he dove over a defender. It would take 3 more plays to get past a gritty West defense. On 4th and goal from inside the 1, Marks took the snap and just jumped as high as he could over the pile for the score. The Eagles now had the lead for the first time, 21-14.

Lapeer West answered with a big drive on the next possession. 2 huge runs from Jacob Fenslau and Tyler Andrews set West up with the ball at the Linden 18. 2 plays later, Smith ran the QB draw up the middle for the tune of 19 yards, down to the Linden 1, setting up first and goal. On the next play, Smith kept it again for the 1 yard score and with 5 seconds to go in the third, the Panthers knotted it up at 21.

Linden wasted little time for their answer. Marks hit Patterson on a crossing route as he was coming across the field for a 69 yard score, just 19 seconds into the 4th quarter. Much like the winning score, Marks hit Patterson on the run, which allowed him to keep stride and race for the score. The problem however, was a missed extra point which almost came back to haunt them.

Linden stopped West on defense and blocked the punt, which set the Eagles up inside the Panthers' 40 but couldn't do anything with the ball. Lapeer West got the ball back at their own 20 and put together a championship type drive. Fenslau took it for 28 yards up to his own 48 on a run. Smith then took the QB keep down to the Linden 40 for another first down. Fenslau ripped off 14 more yards, down to the Linden 26. Lapeer West had momentum and were playing as they were running downhill. It was going to take a huge stand to stop West now. On 3rd and 5, Summers from Linden broke through the line and stopped Smith on the QB draw for a 4 yard loss. Now 4th and 9, West had a huge play coming. Smith dropped back and hit as he threw and the ball fell incomplete, West turning it over on downs. As the Linden offense started to take the field and the West defense came out, an official threw a flag and whistled Linden for a personal foul on the West QB. The penalty gave West a first down down to the Linden 15. Lapeer West took their 2nd chance and turned it into points this time on the amazing effort from Smith buying time with his feet to Warren for the 10 yard score, which gave West a 28-27 lead with just over 3 minutes to go in the game. That's when Linden got the ball back and the rest is history.

Both teams showed great heart in the ballgame, both had leads, both trailed and both at crucial times in the waning minutes of the final quarter. The game winning 39 yard score by Linden will be one that fans will remember for a long time on the rainy Friday night and I'm sure one that Marks and Patterson won't forget anytime soon. It remains to be seen if this did indeed decide the FML champion but it went a long way in determining who might be, that's for sure. With 2 games to play, Linden now faces Oxford and Brandon. Oxford has spoiled Linden's outright title plans for the past two seasons and will be a steep challenge for Linden, even with 3 losses. Lapeer West faces Holly and Clio in their final two weeks, in which they will be heavy favorites. So if Linden should fall, West will be right there to play for a title share. More importantly, West needs to heal. They have a lot of bumps and bruises on that squad and have 2 weeks to heal before they hit the post-season.

We just might get a treat in the post-season. Both teams met up last year in the playoffs with West knocking Linden out. Both appear to be headed for Division 3 again and could be paired up in the same District. If this is what we can expect out of these two teams, football fans can only hope that happens. Until then, 2 more great weeks of the regular season remain to find out.

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