LUCAS — The lights at Bob Wine Field blazed overhead as Rueben Luna booted one football after another deep into the evening.
For Luna, Lucas’ jack-of-all-trades, there aren’t enough daylight hours to prepare for Saturday’s Division VII, Region 23 semifinal against second-seeded Berlin Center Western Reserve (10-1) at Orrville’s Red Rider Stadium. But since the lights were already on, the junior decided to get in some extra work.
“When we left practice last night, the lights were still on and he was still kicking,” Lucas coach Scott Spitler said Wednesday afternoon. “He puts a lot of time into his craft outside of what we do.”
In addition to his punting and kicking responsibilities, Luna is the quarterback of Lucas’ unorthodox double-tight wing-T offense. He also plays outside linebacker on defense when time allows.
“About the only thing he doesn’t do for us is drive the bus,” Spitler said, “and that is only because we haven’t asked him to – yet.”
The sixth-seeded Cubs (7-4) are into the second round of the playoffs for the first time in school history thanks largely to Luna’s right leg. The junior booted a 34 yard field goal as time expired to lift the Cubs to a wild 37-34 win over Plymouth last week.
“I was confident in myself when we were lining up,” Luna said. “Of course I was a little nervous because if I made it we were moving on. But even if I had missed, we were going to overtime.”
Luna’s late-game heroics were made possible after the Cubs forced a turnover a few minutes earlier. Lucas ran the clock down before Spitler sent out the field goal unit with two seconds remaining.
“We were in a situation where there was some time on the clock,” Spitler said. “We decided to run it down and put it in his hands because we had that kind of trust in him.”
The 34-yard game-winner may have been Luna’s most important kick this season, but it wasn’t his longest. He booted a 41-yarder earlier in the season.
“I’m comfortable out to 40 or 45,” Luna said. “I’ve made it from 50 in practice, but that is a stretch.”
Luna also averages about 35 yards a punt.
“He’s a weapon there, too,” Spitler said. “He can flip the field for us.”
While running back Mason Galco, who rushed for 276 yards and three touchdowns in last week’s win, garners most of the offensive attention, Luna has quietly put together the type of season Spitler needed from his quarterback if the Cubs were going to make a postseason run.
Luna has thrown for about 500 yards and three touchdowns, not bad considering he attempts fewer than 10 passes a game. He also has rushed for 400 yards and nine scores.
“We’re not an air-it-out team by any means,” Spitler said. “Still, teams have to prepare for him.”
The Lucas playoffs teams in 2000 and 2006 were led by prolific passers. Steven Fanello threw for a single-season record 1,932 yards in 2000, while Andrew Iceman threw for more than 1,700 yards in 2006.
Would Luna like to throw the ball more?
“Of course,” he said. “But as long as we’re winning games, it makes me happy.
“It’s kind of fun when we grind it out. We are one of only a few teams that run this style of offense, so that’s kind of cool.”
The Cubs would be well served keeping Western Reserve’s offense off the field Saturday. The Blue Devils averaged more than 40 points a game during the regular season.
“They are big along the offensive and defensive lines, but we’ve got some pretty big guys up front, too,” Luna said. “It’s going to be a battle, that’s for sure.”
“About the only thing he doesn’t do for us is drive the bus,” Spitler said, “and that is only because we haven’t asked him to – yet.”
