On Friday morning and early afternoon, Bishop Luers did battle with Western Boone for the Class 2A state title. The Stars used a field goal with 7 seconds left to pick up a 36-35 win.
It is the third straight Class 2A state title for Western Boone.
RELATED: Bishop Luers falls to Western Boone in Class 2A state title game
FACING A RECORD RUSH GAME
Bishop Luers didn’t just have to work to stop a heavy run game of a normal variety on Friday. Robby Taylor of Western Boone came into the game as the the 11th leading rusher in yardage in the state and fifth in Class 2A. He left the game as the 4th leading rusher in the state and top back in Class 2A. That is because he ran a state finals record 43 times in the Western Boone win.
That record spans across all classes, breaking the previous record of 42 attempts, set in 2000 by Attica’s Josh Smith against Adams Central. While his 210 yards on the ground didn’t break the Class 2A record – set in 1992 by Luers’ Fred Moore – there is no question that Taylor was a tough stop time and time again. It forced the Knights to throw a little more weight at at the bowling ball running back, who is listed at 5-foot-8, 200 pounds.
Part of that was moving in Ben Rectanus on many key plays and a harder hitting schemes for Evan Linker, who tied a game high with 10 total tackles.
“Ben has been a staple of the offensive line all season, at least since week five when we made the change. He’s a kid that bounced back and forth between offensive and defensive line,” Bishop Luers coach Kyle Lindsay said. “He’s one of the heart and souls of this team and he made lots of key stops throughout this postseason run. I’m really going to miss Ben Rectanus.”
The Knights had to be tougher up front to slow Taylor and it really made the WeBo possessions run long, which played nicely into Luers’ hand when they had the lead. The first five Western Boone drives took an average time of five minutes and 47 seconds each. It also forced the Stars to have to go to the air late, which actually paid off with them getting 10 points on two drives that combined for just two minutes and eight seconds at the end of the game.
“If they have to use more time there, I like to think that we probably run the clock out even if they score. They scored so quickly and that in itself gave them a chance. So you know, you tip your cap and move on,” Lindsay said.
TAKING CHANCES
Despite being just 3-of-7 on third down, the Knights were not swayed to kick or punt on fourth much. Bishop Luers completed both of their fourth down plays they ran, including a Carson Clark to Krashaun Menson touchdown on fourth and goal from the seven yard line with 3:38 to go and the Knights up two.
Kicking a field goal in that situation was never in Bishop Luers’ plan, even after a delay of game penalty pushed them back five yards.
“We had several downs behind the sticks tonight where [Carson] threw the ball and when you are second and 20, first and 25, it’s tough to play the game and it didn’t seem to faze him,” Lindsay said. “He’s a special kid and I know he will use today as motivation this offseason.
The Knights had taken another chance in the third quarter while looking like they were stalling. Although it was just second down, an illegal block in the back and a passing yardage loss set up a 2nd and 19 that could have given Western Boone momentum if they were able to get a stop. Instead, Clark went over the top to familiar target Brody Glenn, who hauled in the catch and raced down to the one yard line before being brought down. That 2nd and 19 play led to a 78 yard pass; which actually would have been a record breaker in two classes, but not 2A.
Western Boone, to their credit, was 12-of-14 on third down and also 2-of-2 on fourth down.
A SEASON BEST FOR GLENN
All season long, we’ve talked about how clutch that Carson Clark to Brody Glenn has been. The same was the story on Friday when Clark went to Glenn to bail the team out in some critical moments. You already know about the 78 yard completion in the third, but that wasn’t all.
The first scoring drive was set up by a pass to Glenn for 43 yards before Clark saw Glenn cut to get nearly wide open in the back right of the end zone three plays later for the 11 yard touchdown. In the second quarter, facing a 4th and 7, the pair connected again for 22 yards that set up a Ramon Anderson touchdown run. That particular run put Bishop Luers up 14-13, a lead they didn’t let go of until the winning WeBo field goal with seven seconds left in the game.
Glenn set a personal season high with 171 yards receiving on six catches. It was his seventh game with over 100 yards receiving.
WHAT IS NEXT FOR LUERS?
The Knights will return a big chunk of their players next season. Back will be their leading passer, rusher, top two receivers and top four tackle leaders, among many more.
Of the 21 defensive players that registered at least a tackle assist in the Class 2A state title game on Friday for Luers, 17 of them return in 2021. That means that 27 solo tackles and 56 assists from the game will be back next season.
A shot to the arm in that will be the return of Clark, who became the state’s leading passer with his state title game performance; whether that holds throughout the state final games or not. Injured running back Sir Hale being back is huge too, although Ramon Anderson shined early in the season and after Hale’s injury, running for 206 total yards in the Sectional and Regional title games. Anderson is one of just nine seniors on the Bishop Luers roster.
But for now, it is those seniors and this current dynamic that coach Lindsay is focused on.
“Hopefully our underclassmen use this as fuel for their offseason. We’ve got to get stronger in all facets of the game,” Lindsay said. “You hate to think about what can happen a year from now when you are still feeling the sting of just letting one slip away. That’s what happened.”
RELATED: Bishop Luers falls to Western Boone in Class 2A state title game
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