LUCAS — Scott Spitler reminded his football team Friday night even before they left the field after a 49-14 win against Plymouth at Bob Wine Field.
Enjoy the Homecoming dance Saturday.
But understand, the playoffs start now for the Lucas Cubs.
“We just said that in our (post-game) huddle that our mindset has to be we have got to play at a playoff standard. These next two opponents are extremely talented.
“Fort Loramie and Arlington both got us at their places last year. They’re good football programs. So weeks nine and 10 for us have to be the mindset of playoff competition. They’re both playoff teams.
“So we’ve got to play at that standard during practice and prepare for that,” said Spitler, in his 15th year leading the Cubs, a tenure that has seen Lucas qualify for the postseason every year for the last decade.
related viewing
Lucas (5-3) likely moved into the eighth slot in their Division VII region, according to www.joeeitel.com. A total of 16 teams in each region qualify for the postseason.
Wins at home over Fort Loramie (5-3) in week nine and Arlington (5-3) in week 10 would likely earn the Cubs a home game in the first round of the state playoffs — and perhaps two.
Senior Zach Diehl keys fast start
Running back Zach Diehl, who left the stadium at Lima Central Catholic last week in an ambulance after suffering a stinger in his neck, returned with a vengeance against Plymouth (2-6).
The 5-foot-10, 151-pounder scored three TDs, including two in a 10-second span of the first quarter, to help the Cubs build a 35-0 halftime lead against a Big Red team that has just 26 players on its roster and has been bitten hard by injuries of its own.
Diehl finished with 76 yards on just six carries, including TD runs of seven and six yards. He and also hauled in a 44-yard scoring pass from backup junior QB Robert Grover on a double-pass.
With both teams agreeing to a running clock after the Cubs took a five-TD advantage just four minutes into the second quarter, Spitler was impressed with his starters.
related viewing
“I think with our varsity guys, it went the way we wanted,” said Spitler, now 99-69 while leading a Cubs’ team that plays a daunting schedule for small schools every year.
“Then we really started going through a lot of backups and JV players. We would have really liked our young kids to be a little bit more focused and not give up those two touchdowns there in the second half. But that’s young guys,” he said.
Spitler said it was a learning opportunity for the young Cubs, who gave up back-to-back TDs to Plymouth senior running back Layne Bushey, scores that cut the Lucas lead to 42-14 with just four seconds left on the third-quarter clock.
Lucas finished with 454 yards of offense, including 368 on the ground. Plymouth finished with 185 yards in offense, nearly half of which came on an 83-yard scoring pass to Bushey.
Plymouth coach pleased with effort
For Big Red coach John Gillum, whose team dropped its fifth straight after a 2-1 start, it was a learning opportunity for his players.
“I will say, our kids played four quarters of football,” he said. “There are definitely things we want to change, but you look at a team like Lucas and the kids got to see what we want to be.
“Lucas showed up and every guy who took the field for them played hard and physical. That is a credit to their coaching staff. Our kids saw that tonight and will see it on film tomorrow and that is what we strive to be.”
With low numbers, Gillum said it’s sometimes hard for his starters to get great looks in practice, which can lead to slow starts.
“I feel like our kids show up surprised a little bit for the first quarter and a half or so and you try to work through that. We were better in the second half. All the credit to Lucas, though. They were as physical as they’ve always been. They do a lot of stuff right,” Gillum said.
The Big Red use the same double-wing offense as Lucas, which offered Plymouth the chance to see the scheme up close and personal.
“I don’t want to insult Lucas and say we’re running the same offense,” Gillum said with a laugh. “But at the same time, we’re striving to do that.
“I’ve never seen a team that stays on their blocks so well (as Lucas). We pointed that out on film all week and we’ll point it out again tomorrow. I don’t even know if they get the wrong guy, but they stay on them and they block until the whistle every play. That’s a credit to their coaching staff,” he said.
Up next
Lucas hosts a Fort Loramie team next Friday that has won four straight games, including a 35-12 victory in Week Eight against Van Buren.
It doesn’t get an easier next Friday for Plymouth, which plays at Monroeville (6-2). The Eagles have won five of their last six with the only loss coming to Lucas, 31-28, in Week Six.
SCORING PLAYS
1st quarter
Lucas — Zach Diehl 6-yard run (PAT Aidan Culler kick), 7-0
Lucas — Diehl 44-yard pass from Robert Grover (PAT Culler kick), 14-0
Lucas — Daniel Hockensmith 3-yard run (PAT Culler kick), 21-0
2nd quarter
Lucas — Zachery Winters 24-yard pass from Graysen Jackson (PAT Culler kick), 28-0
Lucas — Diehl 6-yard run (PAT Culler kick), 35-0
3rd quarter
Lucas — Tim Daley 9-yard run (PAT Culler kick), 42-0
Plymouth — Layne Bushey 83-yard pass from Lincoln Distl (PAT Distil kick), 42-7
Plymouth — Bushey 5-yard run (PAT Distl kick), 42-14
4th quarter
Lucas — Daley 71-yard run (PAT Culler kick), 49-14
The photos below were contributed by Diane Bemiller.
