TIFFIN, Ohio — As McComb celebrated its 36-6 win over Lucas in Friday’s Division VII, Region 24 championship game at frosty Frost-Kalnow Stadium, Lucas coach Scott Spitler addressed the crestfallen Cubs one final time.
“Stand tall,” the veteran coach said amid a sea of tear-stained faces. “Stay proud.”
The most successful season in school history had come to an unceremonious end against a bigger, more physical opponent, but Spitler saw no reason for the loss to tarnish all that the Cubs had accomplished.
“I’m just extremely proud of our kids. Our school has never been in a regional championship,” Spitler said. “We’ve won more playoff games (three) and been in more playoff games (five) in the last two years than has ever happened in 50 years of Lucas football. It’s because of great leadership from our seniors.
“I’m extremely honored and proud to be their coach.”
Momentum Swing: The Cubs (11-2) recovered a muffed punt at the McComb 33 late in the first quarter and drove to the McComb 4 yard line before the drive stalled. Lucas lined up for a 22 yard field goal attempt, but Rueben Luna’s kick was blocked and the Panthers (12-1) took over at their own 10 yard line.
McComb put together a 13-play, 90-yard drive capped by freshman running back Kheaghan Loe’s 1 yard touchdown run with 6:45 left in the first half. Loe would score three TDs on the night.
“It’s the most he’s ran the ball all year because he’s more of a defensive player,” McComb coach Kris Alge said of Loe. “He had an outstanding game.”
The Panthers pushed their lead to 14-0 with just 47 seconds to play in the first half on quarterback Malachi Abbott’s 13 yard run.
McComb piled up 196 yards of total offense in the first half behind an imposing offensive line that included 6-foot-4, 290-pound twins Matt and Mike Cherry.
“They were just bigger and stronger than us,” said Lucas senior and two-way lineman Vince Brock. “I tried everything I could and it still didn’t work.”
Taking Control: The Panthers received the second-half kickoff and marched 60 yards on six plays to take a 22-0 lead on Loe’s 4-yard run. The drive was kept alive when Abbott hooked up with Drew Siferd for a 44 yard gain on third and long.
“We could tell they were tired,” Alge said. “After a while we felt like we wore them down. In the third quarter … we felt like we could breathe a little bit.”
Signs of Life: The Cubs took the ensuing kickoff and drove into McComb territory, but turned the ball over on downs at the Panthers’ 26 yard line. Lucas took the ball back immediately when linebacker Mason Galco recovered a fumble on the next McComb play from scrimmage. The Cubs took advantage of the short field and scored on Luna’s 1 yard plunge with 4:12 to play in the third, making the score 22-6.
The momentum was short-lived, as Loe scored on a 1 yard run with 1:16 to play in the third quarter to give the Panthers a 29-6 advantage.
“They are very good on both sides of the ball in the trenches. That is where their bread is buttered,” Spitler said. “We just weren’t consistent enough to sustain drives.”
Jake Crouse scored McComb’s final touchdown on a 1 yard run with 6:55 to play in the fourth quarter.
Tough Night: Galco, Lucas’ record-setting running back, managed 42 yards on 18 carries. The senior ended with 2,031 rushing yards on the season, breaking his own single-season record.
“He’s an unbelievable running back,” Alge said. “He’s tough. He runs hard and breaks tackles. I don’t know how many yards he had, but our defense did an outstanding job on him.”
Legacy: Lucas will lose a talented 10 man senior class to graduation.
“I think we’ve done a great job of turning around the program,” senior offensive lineman and linebacker Ryan Cook said. “When we were freshmen we were 3-7. Every year we’ve gotten better.
“Hopefully this will lead to future success.”
