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Football Season Ends With Loss to Lacrosse

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Another very good Indian football season came to a conclusion with a disappointing loss Saturday night.  The Indians played extremely well, but were narrowly defeated by a very strong Lacrosse Leopard team.  The final score was Lacrosse 38 - St. Francis 30.

Lacrosse came into the game sporting an undefeated record of 10-0 and ranked #2 in the Kansas state rankings.  The Leopards lived up to their billing as they played very punishing defense and moved the ball well both on the ground and in the air against a stout St. Francis defense.  St. Francis entered the game with a 9-1 record.  The teams were similar in many ways:  large powerful offensive and defensive lines, several good running backs, disciplined and confident, and each desiring to move on in the playoffs toward that elusive state championship.  

The deciding differences were the constant attack from elusive runners Corey Torrez, and Marcus Moeder, the passing accuracy and quickness of Leopard quarterback Jeremy Garcia, the punishing running of Oklahoma bound fullback Marshall Musil, and solid defensive play by the Leopards.  The Indians played extremely well, they just fell a little short.

The Leopards scored first at 8:06 on a 5 yard run (conversion no good) by Garcia.  St. Francis quickly answered when Trent Raile ran for a 55 yard touchdown on the second play from scrimmage (conversion run failed) with 7:17 remaining in the first quarter.  Lacrosse moved the ball successfully using a combination of elusive and powerful running culminating in a 14 yard touchdown by Moeder with 3:49 left in the first.  The first quarter ended with the score St. Francis 6 - Lacrosse 14.

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St. Francis tied the game at 7:55 in the second quarter on an Adam Guthmiller run of 4 yards up the middle.  Trevor Hilt dove in for the two point conversion.  With 4:24 remaining, Lacrosse scored on a 14 yard run by Musil (two point conversion good) to take a 14-22 lead into halftime.

St. Francis controlled the football throughout most of the third quarter using bruising running behind a powerful line surge.  St. Francis faced several fourth and short situations, but were able to convert them during the drive.  The Indians ended the drive with a 4 yard touchdown pass from Matt Raile to Jesse Pacheco with 1:11 remaining the third.  Trent Raile ran for the two point conversion.  The third quarter ended with the score tied at 22.

On their next possession, the Leopards had fourth and eight deep in their own territory.  Sainty's pass rush was rewarded with a Sam Sowers deflection and Adam Guthmiller gathered the errant ball in and returned it 35 yards for the first St. Francis lead of the game.  Trent Raile ran for the two point conversion and the Indians led 30-22.

Lacrosse showed great poise as the Indians certainly had the gained the momentum.  Lacrosse used a combination of running and passing to quickly move the ball down the field and score with 8:31 remaining on the clock.  The Leopards scored on an 14 yard touchdown pass from Garcia to Moeder and also converted the two points to tie the game.

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Shortly thereafter, St. Francis could not convert a third and long deep in Indian territory and were forced to punt.  The Leopards moved the ball and got the huge play they needed--a long pass from quarterback Jeremy Garcia to Marshall Musil to set up a 4 yard touchdown run by Moeder (conversion run good) to take a 30-38 lead.  St. Francis got the ball and moved it successfully deep into Leopard territory, but could not convert on 4 and long with 1:11 remaining.  St. Francis had no time outs remaining so Lacrosse was able to run out the clock by kneeling down on three successive plays.  Final score:  Lacrosse 38 - St. Francis 30.

The Indians completed their season with a fine record of 9-2 and earned the regional runner-up plaque.  Congratulations to the Indians and their coaches on a fine season!