Four touchdown night from Linyear boosts Colts to victory
WEEKLY BLOG: 9/27/24
A pair of players that weren't suited up for Casteel at the end of last season are providing a strong 1-2 punch for this year's version of the Colts. It's a passing and running combination that makes it difficult on defenses because it's not one-dimensional.
Paul Palmer started at quarterback for seven games as a junior, but missed the last five due to an injury. Isaiah Linyear transferred to Casteel from New York last spring. Both played big roles in the last non-region game for the Colts before 6A Premier Region play begins.
Palmer completed almost 70 percent of his passes for 211 yards and also ran for 78 yards and a touchdown. Linyear had his most productive game of the year with 160 rushing yards and four touchdowns to lead Casteel to a 42-27 victory on the road at Mesa Friday night.
"It feels great," Linyear said. "It was a business trip. We knew we've got to come out here and do our responsibilities."
"He ran the ball really well," Casteel head coach Bobby Newcombe said of Linyear. "He ran aggressive. It really paid dividends for us as a team."
Casteel wide receiver Landon Patch ran for a 2-yard touchdown and caught a 30-yard pass. Senior running back Cole Sorensen ran for 57 yards on nine carries. Defensively for the Colts, Xavier Wade intercepted a pass to thwart a late Mesa scoring drive, Brady Casper recovered a first-quarter fumble, and Zane Holden registered a sack.
Mesa sophomore running back Rio Arnett ran for 81 yards and a pair of touchdowns on 14 carries. Senior quarterback Adrik Reed passed for 269 yards and ran for another 48. Senior Griffin Yamamoto caught 10 passes for 180 yards. Special teams did well for the Jackrabbits with Kelvin Holland returning a kickoff for a score and Evan Romero booting a pair of field goals.
With the looming Premier Region upcoming, Newcombe knows that all of the freedom games are of extra importance for making the playoffs and getting a decent seed.
"I think all of them are must-wins," Newcombe said. "We try to do the best we can to improve every single week. We're trying to take every game we can to get better."
On Casteel's second drive of the first quarter, the Colts went 68 yards across nine plays to take a 7-0 lead. Palmer completed three passes for 46 yards on the possession to set up the Colts in the red zone. From the 9-yard line, Linyear was in the end zone to put the first points on the board.
That lead lasted just 13 seconds as Holland brought the ensuing kick back and cleared the defenders taking it 90 yards to even the score.
In a back-and-forth game over the first three quarters, Mesa took its first lead as it moved the ball 62 yards with Arnett taking it up the middle on the first play of the second quarter. Then it was Casteel's turn for a big play. Palmer hit Nathan McConnell for a 70-yard completion with Linyear then punching it in from the 3-yard line to tie things up again.
"Establishing the run game was really good for us," Palmer said. "I thought we dominated up front."
Casteel (3-2) took advantage of a short field after Casper's fumble recovery. The Colts started on the Mesa 32-yard line and from short yardage, Patch took it around the right side to put Casteel back on top. In the closing minutes of the half, Reed picked up a fourth-down conversion with a run. The Jackrabbits got down to the 2-yard line and opted for a short field goal as the time was ticking down.
Casteel took that 21-17 lead into halftime. The Colts were dominating statistically with a 280-131 advantage in yardage, but the lead was just four points.
Mesa (2-3) had the ball first to begin the third quarter and embarked on a 10-play, 80-yard drive. The last 39 yards of those came as Arnett burst through a hole right up the middle and went untouched to give the Jackrabbits the lead once again.
Casteel went back to work and finished off a six-play, 80-yard drive in less than three minutes. Palmer followed up an 11-yard run out of bounds for a first down, with a 23-yard run as he powered through and weaved his way through the Mesa defense. It would end up being the final lead change.
"I go 100 percent at practice," Palmer said. "When I get that chance to run, I make guys miss and get the most I can."
It became a one-point game after three quarters as Mesa got inside the 10-yard line, but had to settle for another Romero field goal to make it 28-27.
"We didn't capitalize," Mesa head coach Chad DeGrenier said. "We've got to get better inside the 10-yard line."
Linyear surged forward on a 1-yard plunge to begin the fourth quarter, but it was still a one-possession game.
Mesa made a pair of attempts to go for the equalizing touchdown, but turned it over on downs after getting to the Casteel 39-yard line. On fourth-and-15, a long pass was dropped. Later, MHS got to the Colts' 17-yard line, but on third-and-five, Reed was flagged for hurdling a defender (cool to watch in college and the pros, but illegal in high school). That backed the Jackrabbits up to third-and-long. With Reed having to fire the ball deep, Wade picked it off in the end zone.
Casteel finished it off by getting the insurance score. Linyear capped off a 301-yard rushing night for the Colts with his fourth score on a 24-yard touchdown run.
"Big shoutout to my linemen," Linyear said. "I got to the second level, there was always a guy with me."
Casteel will enjoy its bye week with the players getting five days off and not returning to practice until Thursday. The Colts will open region play on Oct. 11 at Perry (4-1).
"We've got to get some of our players back healthy," Newcombe said. "The goal is to get 1% better every day."
Mesa will begin 6A Fiesta Region play this Thursday with a game at Tolleson (1-4). A victory there would get the Jackrabbits back to .500 overall and start off 1-0 in the region before their bye week. DeGrenier said the team needs to work on finishing in the red zone and getting touchdowns despite the short week.
"The kids were fighters," DeGrenier said. "I'm so proud of them. Next week is a region game. It's a must-win game."
Linyear came to Arizona from Niskayuna, where Saturday's high temperature is forecast to be 74 degrees. With the record heat wave, Friday night's game kicked off at 102 degrees (16 degrees more than the previous Friday).
"It's crazy," Linyear said. "It's a lot to adapt to."
First Quarter:
Cast - Isaiah Linyear 9 yard run (Rayden Aguinaga kick), 6:44
Mesa - Kelvin Holland 90 yard kickoff return (Evan Romero kick), 6:31
Second Quarter:
Mesa - Rio Arnett 1 yard run (Romero kick), 11:55
Cast - Linyear 3 yard run (Aguinaga kick), 11:21
Cast - Landon Patch 2 yard run (Aguinaga kick), 9:38
Mesa - Romero 19 yard FG, 0:07
Third Quarter:
Mesa - Arnett 39 yard run (Romero kick), 8:52
Cast - Paul Palmer 23 yard run (Aguinaga kick), 6:46
Mesa - Romero 25 yard FG, 3:37
Fourth Quarter:
Cast - Linyear 1 yard run (Aguinaga kick), 11:56
Cast - Linyear 24 yard run (Aguinaga kick), 2:02
