Bishop Luers quarterback Norm Knapke stared out at the field, like all but the most fortunate seniors do, and tried to let go.
Unless you win a state title, your high school football career ends with a loss. Even if you gave it every bit of energy possible, it’s hard not to go over the “what ifs.”
After a terrific first half, Luers lost 27-14 to West Lafayette in the Class 3A semi-state Friday at Luersfield. The Knights won’t join Bishop Dwenger – 24-6 winners over Mishawaka in Class 4A – in vying for a state championship next weekend.
There are bigger things in life, but the last loss always hurts.
“Some of the mental errors we had – I should have tucked it and ran (on a first-half interception),” Knapke said. “We had missed opportunities, a lot of empty drives. I wish we could take those back.”
Even coach Kyle Lindsay, who sees the big picture and maintains perspective as well as any coach around, found it hard to let go immediately. That’s understandable, and it’s a tribute to his passion and it’s what every school wants in a coach.
“We were 0-for-3 in the red zone, and when teams are converting on third-and-long, fourth-and-long, and you’re failing in the red zone, you’re usually not going to advance,” Lindsay said. “Unfortunately, that was the case.”
Lindsay was confident the Knights had the game plan to win, and when they led 14-0 at halftime, the plan was working well. The big plays Luers made a season delivering were there: an 89-yard punt return touchdown by Justin Gaston and a 35-yard Knapke to Nate Moore scoring pass. The defense had bottled up the potent West Lafayette offense.
Yes, Luers missed on one big opportunity when Knapke forced a throw into traffic in the end zone, resulting in an interception. But the Moore score came after that and the Luers went to the locker room feeling great.
Half a game is not a game, however.
“West Lafayette’s a great team and they made some great adjustments at halftime,” Knapke said. “We couldn’t execute in the second half. Props to them. They came out and took it to us.”
West Lafayette thrived primarily with its power running game, utilizing a solid line led by 6-foot-3, 301-pound Seif Benjemia and featuring 6-foot, 207-pound running back Sage Hood. The Red Devils pounded and pounded, mixing in the occasional quick pass from quarterback Kyle Adams, and when Adams hit Hood for a 45-yard score, momentum shifted. Hood bulled his way in to tie the game 14-14 on a subsequent drive that featured a huge 4th-and-6 scramble for nine yards by Adams to the Luers’ 3-yard line.
Hood ended up scoring all four West Lafayette touchdowns.
“They seemed to wear us down a little bit,” Lindsay said. “(Hood) ran through a couple of kids who usually don’t miss tackles. That shows me our legs had started to give out. That up-tempo offense they ran wore us down. Your offense has to capitalize and, unfortunately, we didn’t, and that kept our defense on the field.”
Luers’ season ends at 9-5 and the Knights will graduate a number of outstanding players from their senior class, including Knapke, Gaston, running back Jordan Presley and defensive standouts Allen Jackson and Camari Harris, who had interceptions Friday. Gaston also had an interception.
Eventually, they’ll look back and realize they had a pretty stellar year.
“We had a great year,” Knapke said. “Our goal was a state championship, and we fell short of that. But we had a great team, great athletes and a great brotherhood.”
That’s what makes letting go so hard.
BISHOP DWENGER 24, MISHAWAKA 6
The Saints will make their 10th appearance in a state championship game when they face the Marion/Evansville Central winner for the 4A crown at 3:30 p.m. Friday in Lucas Oil Stadium. Marion plays Evansville Central today.
Bishop Dwenger (13-1) made almost all the right moves on the road Friday in dispatching Mishawaka, whether that was T.J. Tippmann (two touchdowns), Devon Tippmann or Hayden Ellinger (one touchdown) on the run, Griffin Eifert or Patrick O’Keefe with big catches, Jared Lee with a huge interception or Joe Henry with a big fumble recovery off one of TJ McGarry devastating tackles and strips of the football. Let’s not forget a Michael Garrett field goal that started the scoring for the Saints.
The Saints return to the state title game for the second time in four years. They won the title in 2015.
Dwenger’s offense, boosted by the continual improvement of quarterback Brenden Lytle and the return of receiver Patrick Finley, has steadily improved in the playoffs. The defense remains as stingy as ever: Mishawaka had scored at least 22 points in its 13 previous games with six games of 35 or more points.
Dwenger’s D shut the door Friday, and turns its attention now to finishing the job.
Photos by Reggie Hayes
