DANVILLE — The Blue Devils only ran three plays of offense in the second half of their playoff opener Friday night.
But Danville (11-0), seeded second in Division VII, Region 27, still bounced 10th-seeded Lucas (6-6) in convincing fashion 34-0. It was the first playoff action for the Blue Devils coming off a bye in Week 11.
Danville showed no rust, scoring five times in the first 23 minutes of play. Four of those scores came from star junior Cy Wallace. He scored on runs of 28, 27, 3 and 2 yards.
His brother, sophomore Briggs Wallace, was on the receiving end of the fifth Blue Devils’ score — a 16-yard pass to the back corner of the end zone from sophomore quarterback Parker Proper.
“We did a really good job not taking it (bye week) too relaxed,” Wallace said. “We relaxed enough that some of our guys could heal up.”
With his senior season still ahead of him, Wallace entered Friday’s contest less than 135 yards away from becoming Danville’s career rushing leader. He’s already the program’s all-time leader in 100-yard rushing games.
A running-clock in the second half limited Danville’s time of possession — and thus Wallace’s touches — so the senior fell short of the record, for now. However, Wallace concerns himself more with team success rather than individual milestones.
“Another game means another chance, but it’ll be exciting (to break the record). I’m looking forward to it. It’s a goal that I’ve had so it’s exciting for sure,” he said.
Danville coach Matt Blum said Wallace represents the type of player coaches want to build a team around.
“He’s been phenomenal,” Blum said. “He could just care about his stats, but he just cares about winning and doing what’s best for the team.
“He’s the ultimate team guy. He’s been a captain since his sophomore year. There’s not a lot of Cy Wallaces out there and he’s a special kid and we’re very fortunate and blessed to be able to coach him every single day and have him leading our kids.”
Danville still chasing where it wants to be, says Blum
Blum was a fan of his team’s energy in Week 12 — particularly the Blue Devils’ red zone defense.
“We did allow (Lucas) some drives defensively, but we did a really good job with red zone defense. That’s been one of our strengths all year,” Blum said. “That’s going to be important as we continue down the line into the playoffs.”
Danville will host third-seeded Toronto (10-1) in a regional semifinal next week. The Red Knights knocked off Strasburg (8-4) on Friday, 20-13.
The Blue Devils’ success over the past several seasons has led to high expectations and a high volume of attention when it comes to the postseason.
But Blum said his team leans on its yearly slogan, “dominating the day.”
“Our kids understand that we haven’t arrived yet where we want to be,” he said. “We’re not going to get complacent. There’s a lot of things that we need to work on still.”
Sweat thanks Cubs’ senior class
Lucas kept Richland County’s longest high school football playoff streak intact for another season. Following a .500 regular season, the Cubs punched their ticket to the postseason for a 13th straight time.
They knocked off No. 7 Beaver Eastern last week to set up the meeting with Danville.
The two squads have a long history with one another. The Blue Devils now own a 32-8-2 advantage in the all-time series. Combined, the two programs have 40 playoff appearances, 25 for Danville and 15 for the Cubs.
Lucas coach Jim Sweat led by congratulating the Blue Devils on their victory Friday.
Sweat said he spoke to his team about opportunities in life at halftime.
“In this life we have very few opportunities to make decisions about a lot of things. One of the decisions you can make is if you’re going to go out fighting or you’re going to go out as a victim,” he said. “Our seniors took that to heart and came out in the second half and played hard.”
The Cubs’ roster included seven seniors this season.
Sweat said he couldn’t speak highly enough of this year’s senior group.
“No one expected us to be where we’re at now,” he said. “Those kids bought in, gave us everything they had and played their rear ends off for us to get to tonight.
“They (seniors) taught the younger guys what it means to be a Lucas football player,” Sweat added. “We’ve had some great teams and sometimes it’s a lot easier to play when you have those teams… but they battled and stayed with it, trusted the process and got it to Week 12.”
