Football
SAC State Finals Wrap-Up: Luers Loses an Instant Classic to Western Boone
2A
Bishop Luers vs Western Boone
Final Score: 36-35 Western Boone
Luers appeared to have won the game. With just 3:38 left to play, on a fourth and goal following a penalty, Carson Clark found Krashaun Menson in the back of the end zone for a Knights touchdown, making the score 35-26 with time running out for Western Boone. The Stars were able to drive down the field and score a touchdown, but they would likely need an onside kick to stay in it. Luers was able to recover the onside kick and now just needed a first down to end the game.
After a few unsuccessful runs and penalties, the Knights would be forced to punt, giving the Stars a chance, down by 2, with 45 second left to play. More penalties and some clutch throws by Webo quarterback Elliott Young helped Western Boone get into fringe field goal range. It would be a 38-yard attempt for sophomore Josiah Smith, which he would knock right through the uprights to give the stars a 36-35 lead with 7 seconds to go. The ensuing kickoff would be Luers last chance and Da’Von Doughty nearly broke it for a touchdown. However, Western Boone would hold on to win their third consecutive state championship.
For Luers, this could only be described as a heartbreaker. The Knights had rolled on offense, only punting twice, and Carson Clark played a terrific game, passing for 303 yards and 3 touchdowns, no interceptions, and an incredible passer rating of 249.3. Luers was unstoppable and had the momentum for the majority of the game. They were in control, but couldn’t quite finish. Regardless, this shouldn’t put a damper on what was a great comeback year for the Knights. Finishing 3-6 in the SAC, they would go on to finish 8-7 and represent Fort Wayne at state. Consider this: they were one of only 4 SAC teams to finish with a winning record. The other 3 were Homestead, Carroll, and Dwenger.
“It didn’t seem like the right ending to what’s been a really magical run,” Coach Kyle Lindsay said. “That’s how it goes sometimes. I’m proud of these kids for the fight that they had, the battling, handling of adversity. This will sting all of us for a long time but I think they’ll look back someday and be really proud of what they accomplished.”
This was a loss that will hurt for a long time, no doubt. But Lindsay wants his team to use this loss as motivation for next year.
“This has got to be fuel for our underclassmen. We have to get stronger and that’s done in the weight room. I felt like last offseason, we started to, until things shut down due to the pandemic. We had some really good things going in the weight room, so we’re going to need to transfer our energy and our frustration from this loss into the weight room this offseason.”
If the Knights are able to channel their frustrations into hard work in the offseason, there’s no question they’ll find themselves in the hunt for another state title next year. They return plenty of key pieces from this year’s team, including Carson Clark, Brody Glenn, and Da’Von Doughty. If they can play like they did in these past few weeks, they could also compete in the SAC. This explosive offense has the ability to keep them in any game. We’ll see if they can prove just that in week 1 next year, against Carroll.
