Lucas players, coach reflect on lifetime experience at state finals

CANTON — Lucas High School will have a Division VII state runner-up trophy in its case, but the Cubs’ 2019 postseason journey brought so much more in the way of memories to all who watched them play.

On Saturday afternoon, that audience seemed to include the overwhelming majority of the entire population of Lucas.

“I couldn’t ask for a better place to come from,” senior receiver Carson Hauger said.

Hauger’s 96-yard kickoff return for a touchdown, his fifth of the season, accounted for the only points Lucas could muster in a 28-6 loss to Maria Stein Marion Local. But it took the very best Ohio has to offer, the No. 1-ranked Flyers, to halt coach Scott Spitler’s team, which finished a spectacular season at 12-3.

Playing before 4,451 at Tom Benson Hall of Fame Stadium, seventh-ranked Lucas proved its mettle against the most storied small-school program in Ohio.

“This was a great opportunity for our program to see where we’re at and where we need to get to,” Spitler said.

It also marked the Flyers’ 11th state championship, tying them with St. Ignatius for the most in Ohio high school football.

“I’m a football guy, so I know what St. Ignatius has done. I knew the history, ” Marion Local coach Tim Goodwin said. “My dad took to a lot of football and I saw those Ignatius teams in the late 80s and ’90s, so that’s pretty cool.”

Marion Local is such a tradition-rich program, the New York Times turned a story on the team earlier this week.

“The guy who wrote that story is a good guy, but we can do without the New York Times,” Goodwin said, drawing a laugh in the postgame press conference.

Lucas got an up-close and unvarnished experience playing against the Flyers.

“They didn’t make many mistakes and we made a few more,” senior Tristen Arnold said.

“They were one of the most physical teams we’ve ever played,” Hauger said.

“I felt we held our own out there,” quarterback Logan Niswander said.

Still, the Cubs were outgunned across the board. Marion Local had an edge in first downs (18-14), rushing yards (227-71) and total yards 282-192.

Yet an opportunistic defense, which recorded interceptions from Niswander and Hauger, twice turned the Flyers away near the goal line. Lucas stayed in touch throughout, and trailed just 14-0 at halftime, and 21-6 deep in the fourt quarter.

The Cubs’ best offense turned out to be their rarely used passing game. Niswander hit 10-of-17 aerials for 121 yards, most in the final period as Lucas was forced to throw. But the Cubs simply couldn’t must enough offense to counter the Marion Local attack.

“They threw it better than I thought they could,” said Goodwin, who piloted his team to a 13-2 mark. “(Niswander’s) accuracy, he could throw it 60 yards, but we didn’t know he could throw it that accurately. Hat’s off to him.”

The Cubs returned home Saturday as heroes, no matter the result.

“I think you saw the quality of the community,” Spitler said. “No one is going to put my record on my tombstone. But helping these guys become young men, that’s what’s important.

“Look at the families and the support in our community. That’s what makes it so special to be from Lucas.”