Football Makes Most Of Opportunities
By Scot Shearer | Oct 3, 2022 12:16 PM
LAKEVILLE, IN. – Call it opportunity. When the opportunity presented itself, the Class 2A #3-ranked LaVille football team took advantage. The Lancer defense created five turnovers – three fumble recoveries and two interceptions – and took advantage of good field position en route to a 42-6 victory over rival John Glenn at Lancer Field. “Collectively, our defense played well,” said LaVille head football coach Will Hostrawser. “We went into the game with 2 main objectives – pressure the QB and cover receivers tight. I thought we were able to accomplish both those objectives across the game. I thought our defensive line – Mason Stepp, Garrett Wagoner and AJ Bedock really played well up front.” LaVille opened the game with an on-side kick, but the Falcons were able to recover. Then on the four possessions – two by each team – there was a punt and three turnovers. LaVille’s Xzavian LaFave, Glenn’s Ty’Ronn Larkin, and LaVille’s Ross Wagoner ended up with the ball as both teams tried to gain early momentum. “Frankly we missed blocks at key points during running plays early in the game causing our offense to stall,” said Hostrawser. “Once we got that straightened out, things started clicking.” The Lancers were finally able to get the offense going with 3:19 left in the first quarter. A steady dose of LaVille running back Paul DeWitt and some fine blocking by the offensive line helped to methodically move the ball closer to the end zone. DeWitt finished off a 6-play drive from three yards out. Lucas Plummer came on to add the point-after and LaVille led, 7-0. After forcing a Glenn punt on the next drive The Lancer defense forced a Falcon punt on the next drive. The LaVille offense took over near midfield and proceeded to use two big runs from DeWitt to set up at the Glenn 1-yard line. DeWitt ripped off a 24-yard run on a 2nd-and-7, then added 21 more yards on a 3rd-and-14 to move the ball inside the red zone. Plummer dove in for the final yard as the hosts opened a 14-0 lead. On Glenn’s next possession, Mason Kobelt took advantage of some nice blocking and worked his way for 14 yards and a first down. On the next play, the Lancer defense created another opportunity. LV’s Garrett Wagoner pursued Glenn QB Aiden Johnson, forced the ball loose resulting in a fumble and teammate AJ Bedock pounced on the ball at the Glenn 30. The Lakeville hosts took advantage of the turnover as DeWitt packed bags on a 10-yard TD run. “Offensively we can attack in a number of different ways – we found that the scheme featuring Paul was working so we went with it,” said Hostrawser. “Paul always runs hard – he doesn’t go down easy. Guys rally to block for him at level two and three when he runs the ball. When it’s working, it is fun to watch.” Glenn seemed to pick up some steam, moving the ball from the Glenn 49 near the red zone until Bedock jumped on another Falcon fumble giving the ball back to LaVille with under three minutes left in the half. Solid runs by DeWitt and Owen Smith moved the LHS offense to the Glenn 14. Plummer found Smith open in the end zone for a 14-yard strike and LaVille increased its lead to 28-0 at halftime. The Lancers increased their lead to 35-0 when Plummer took the ball toward the left edge. The LaVille quarterback got a key block from Collin Czarnecki and raced 43 yards for a TD. Early in the fourth, Glenn had the ball and the LaVille defense used another opportunity to its benefit. The Falcons attempted a pass over the middle, but Jonathan Neese stepped in front of the errant pass and took the ball into the end zone for a touchdown. The Falcons were finally able to get on the scoreboard when Johnson found Nathan Taylor on a 14-yard TD pass. The two-point conversion failed. DeWitt had 149 yards on 25 carries at two touchdowns. Plummer 78 yards on 7 totes two TDs and one passing touchdown. Smith collected the TD reception. Noah Richhart and Garrett Wagoner led the LaVille defense with 12 tackles. Mason Stepp added six tables and Neese chipped in with five tackles. LaVille improves to 7-0 overall and will play host to Class 1A, #-3 ranked North Judson-San Pierre on October 8 at Lancer Field. “The North Judson game is the next game on our schedule – all of the hype about records, rankings, etc really doesn’t mean anything – it can become a big distraction if we focus on those things,” Hostrawser said as his squad prepares for the Blue Jays. “Both teams have been successful to this point – I guess that means it should be a good game. All I know is we are going to prepare for the next 48 minutes of football in our season like we have every other week.” Glenn moves to 3-4 overall and will face South Bend Clay, also on October 8.