DEWAYNE HOLLOWAY/dewayne@mcnews.online
Senior leadership shined tonight and youthful effort combined for a stunning 37-36 come from behind victory for the Mount Ida Lions over the visiting Magnet Cove Panthers.
Senior John Hoeksema scored the tying touchdown with less than a minute to go and followed it up with the PAT to cap a 20 point run for the Lions. Jack Hoeksema scored twice in the fourth quarter to set up the game winning effort put forth by his big brother.
Landon Stone scored the brunt of Magnet Cove’s points, scoring four of their five touchdowns on the night.
Magnet Cove was the first to strike with Stone scoring on seven yard run. The two point conversion was good to give them an eight point lead.
Mount Ida would tie things up at the 2:37 mark on a two yard run by Jacob Woodfield. The younger Hoeksema ran it in on the two point conversion to knot things up at eight.
Stone would score twice before the end of the half to give the Panthers a 20-8 lead at the half.
Magnet Cove controlled the ball most of the third quarter, but Mount Ida was able to force a fumble deep in Panther territory. John Hoeksema was able to chase down the Panther quarterback and force a fumble. Blake Collum scooped the ball up and ran into the endzone. Baylor Bates scored on the two point conversion and the Lions had cut the Magnet Cove lead to four with 3:49 left in the third quarter.
Magnet Cove looked as if they were going to put the game away with a 16 point run. Stone scored once again and Brayden Campbell scored the final Panther touchdown of the night. Both two point conversions were good to give Magnet Cove a 36-16 lead with 10:54 to go in the game.
Jack Hoeksema wasted no time starting the comeback, scoring on a 52 yard run from the first play from scrimmage after the ensuing kick off. Gavin Summitt scored on the two point conversion to cut the lead to 12.
Mount Ida’s defense came up big, forcing a turnover on downs at their own 21 yard line with 7:25 to go in the game. Mount Ida was able to move the ball to the Panther 33 to set up a touchdown pass to Jack Hoeksema just inside the pylon. The two point conversion failed and Mount Ida was down 36-30 with 2:51 left in the game.
Mount Ida was able to pin Magnet Cove deep in their own territory on the kick off and quickly forced a punt. John Hoeksema blocked a Panther into the kick and the Lions got the ball with a short field.
Caleb White set up the winning touchdown with a catch on the Lions sideline before completing the final Lion pass of the night to John Hoeksema in the same spot his brother caught the previous touchdown.
Coach Zach Wuichet chose to trust the foot of his senior on the extra point attempt. Caleb White took the snap and John Hoeksema kicked a low kick through the uprights to give the Lions a 37-36 lead with just under a minute to go in the game.
Mount Ida pinned the Panthers back in their own territory again. Magnet Cove took to the air but was unable to beat the clock. Their final play saw Stone lateral the ball as he was being tackled in the backfield. A couple laterals later a Panther shot out of the backfield, but was forced out of bounds after the clock reached zero.
Mount Ida moves to 3-4 on the season and 1-0 in conference play. They host Poyen next week with kick off set for 7 p.m.
