Lucas scored four times in the second quarter and kept themselves in playoff contention with a (45-8) win over Upper Scioto Valley in non-conference play on Friday night.
Mason Galco ran for 171 yards on 23 carries and two touchdowns and Logan Spohn added 120 yards on 16 carries and a score.
Lucas (4-3) has won four its last five games, their only loss over the last month coming to unbeaten Loudonville (49-0) last week.
“Our boys have been working really hard and getting better every week. Our three losses have come to some pretty darn good football teams. Except last week against Loudonville they were close games going into the fourth quarter. Our kids have really come together,” said Lucas coach Scott Spitler.
Spohn gave Lucas the lead (7-0) with 7:36 to play in the first quarter with a six yard run and then the Cubs crossed the goal line four times in the second quarter.
“We stalled a couple of drives in the first quarter, but our defense played really well (Friday) night and they kept getting us the ball back and we were able to take advantage of it in the second quarter,” he said.
Galco scored on runs of four and 29 yards in the second quarter and quarterback Rueben Luna tossed a pair of touchdown passes of eight yards to Jordan Edwards and 23 yards to Jackson Hauger as the Cubs took a (35-8) lead at halftime.
Lucas runs a double wing, double tight offense, one of only three teams in the state to run that kind of offense, and they want to run the football. They ran it 50 times against Upper Scioto Valley for 334 yards, but they have been more successful throwing too as of late. Luna completed the two touchdowns passes on Friday and Spitler says he has added a different element to the their offense.
“Our senior quarterback Rueben Luna did a really nice job of working hard this off season to improve and he has added a little dimension to us being able to throw the ball. We still want to do it when we want to do it and not when teams are forcing us to do it,” said Spiter.
A key to the Cubs recent success has been the play of their defense. They held the Rams to 156 total yards on Friday, just 39 yards on the ground, and just one score. “We have kind of had a Chinese fire drill as to the way we rotate the players defensively. The coaching staff has done a really good job and the kids have gotten better each week,” said Spitler.
The Cubs scored twice more in the second half of the game on Luna’s 31 yards TD run in the third quarter and his 41-yard field goal in the fourth.
Going into play on Friday night Lucas stood eighth in Division VII’s Region 23, the top eight make into the postseason. Spitler says they have to take each of their final three games on game at a time.
“We can’t look down the road we have to take each week. Now we are on to Horizon Academy and we have to get that one and then we are on to next week. We are just going to try and ring that victory bell each week,” he said.
Lucas plays at home against Toledo Horizon Science next Friday, they host Danville (4-3) in Mid-Buckeye Conference on week nine, and finish the regular season with at home game Allen East (2-5) on week 10.
“We can’t look down the road we have to take each week. Now we are on to Horizon Academy and we have to get that one and then we are on to next week. We are just going to try and ring that victory bell each week,” he said.
