ORRVILLE — Before they left Heartland Field on a frosty Saturday night, the Lucas Cubs wanted to show their appreciation one final time.
The 35 bruised and bloodied players summoned what energy they had left to do their traditional Cub Jacks for their hearty fans, who braved temperatures in the mid- to lower-20s and were in no hurry to leave after sixth-seeded Lucas’ 42-21 loss to No. 2 seed Berlin Center Western Reserve in the Division VII, Region 23 semifinals.
“Thank you, boys,” one fan shouted over the din. “We love you.”
The Cubs may have been eliminated from the playoffs, but the significance of the moment didn’t go unrecognized.
“I wish I could make the sting go away, but you have nothing to hang your heads about,” head coach Scott Spitler said moments earlier while addressing the team. “You have gone further than any team in the history of the school.”
Making just the third football playoff appearance in program history and first since 2006, Lucas (7-5) knocked off Plymouth in last week’s regional quarterfinal for the program’s first ever playoff victory. That set up a date with Western Reserve (11-1), which won regional championships in 2011 and 2013.
“We started the season 0-2 and I think a lot of people wrote us off then,” Spitler said. “They kept plugging away and working and staying together. I’m just so honored to have coached these guys.”
Don’t Flinch: The Cubs went toe-to-toe with small-school royalty on Saturday. Western Reserve will be seeking its third Final Four appearance in four years when the Blue Devils meet top-seeded Norwalk St. Paul for a regional crowns next week. St. Paul pounded Mapleton 41-6 in Saturday’s other Region 23 semifinal.
“They are a very good team,” senior captain and two-way lineman Dalton Dennison said. “We gave it all we had and proved we belonged, but we lost our mental focus in the second half.
The Cubs took a 3-0 lead on Rueben Luna’s 30 yard field goal, but the Blue Devils answered when quarterback John Clegg bulled in from 1 yard out to give Western Reserve a 7-3 lead.
The Cubs re-claimed the lead at 9-7 on Mason Galco’s 11 yard touchdown run on fourth down early in the second quarter. It would remain that way until late in the period when Clegg scored to give Western Reserve a 14-9 lead with 2:44 left in the first half.
Lucas couldn’t get anything going on its ensuing possession and was forced to punt. The snap sailed over Luna’s head, however, and Western Reserve’s Joe Falasca scooped up the loose ball at the Lucas six yard line and scurried into the end zone for a 21-9 lead.
“I think we lost concentration just briefly,” Dennison said, “and they took advantage of it.”
With the season hanging in the balance, Lucas responded with a 60 yard drive. Galco capped it with a 1 yard run with 9.7 second remaining in the first half to cut Western Reserve’s advantage to 21-15.
Western Reserve put together a pair of sustained scoring drives in the third quarter to take a 35-15 lead to the fourth.
“I think their size caught up to us in the second half,” Spitler said. “We knew coming in that we weren’t going to be able to match up to them size-wise.”
Western Reserve pushed the lead to 42-15 in the fourth before the Cubs scored in the final minute on Logan Spohn’s 1 yard run.
Building Blocks: Lucas will lose just five seniors to graduation. That group helped get the program turned around.
“I think we put the foundation back in place,” Dennison said. “This was a great experience for the community. As you can tell by the turnout, we have a strong sense of family.”
Getting a Taste: Lucas will return a wealth of talent, including record-setting running back Galco and quarterback Luna.
“It’s pretty cool to be the first team in school history to ever win a playoff game,” Galco said. “It is something we can build from.
“We wanted to do this for the seniors and give them something they never had.”
