As Carter Minix ran down the sideline in the third quarter for a 66-yard touchdown after hauling in a ball that caromed off a pair of Leo defenders, you could almost hear the collective groan from Lions fans.
Here we go again.
Friday’s matchup with Bishop Dwenger was the fifth-straight year in which Leo had played in the sectional championship game. The previous four? All defeats.
Last year, Leo fell to Columbia City by six.
The year before, a heartbreaking loss at Northridge by one.
The previous two seasons, losses to rival East Noble.
The Lions were still comfortably ahead by 11 points after Minix’s score, but with four years of falling short in the title game and a dozen years overall since the program last hoisted a sectional trophy, the tension was palpable.
How was this year going to go wrong?
But it didn’t. Leo recovered to get a stop on the ensuing two-point conversion, then emphatically put the game away on a 79-yard touchdown strike from Kylar Decker to Kaden Hurst on its next possession as the Lions ended the 12-year drought with a 31-13 victory.
The post-game celebration was as much relief as it was exuberance. The coaches recognized the pressure thrust upon them to lead the team and end the sectional dry spell. Players knew about it too, constant reminders inside and outside the program that the Lions hadn’t been able to get over the top in the postseason since most of them were barely in grade school.
In storybook fashion, Friday was a team effort. Dearious Carter had another outstanding game out of the backfield, rushing for 112 yards and a pair of touchdowns. Kylar Decker once again executed the way a senior quarterback is expected to, protecting the football, not turning the ball over and making big throws, including a perfect 23-yard pass to Kellan Hulburt that put the Lions up by two scores.
And the defense? It was relentless, never allowing Bishop Dwenger quarterback Ethan Springer to be comfortable in the pocket. Brock Schott was his typical dominant self (anyone who thinks he is a tight end over a defensive end at the high-FBS level is delusional), but it was guys like Aiden Furnish and Lucas Sheron who were just as impactful. Springer was constantly flushed to the outside and forced to make throws on the run. He did what he could, but it wasn’t enough.
A key sequence came late in the first half with the Saints driving and trailing by only seven. Pressure forced Springer to make a quick decision, throwing an errant pass that was picked off and returned for a score by Landin Hoeppner. The touchdown was called back due to penalty, but the turnover stood and Leo took the lead into half, adding to it on its first possession after the break.
As the buzzer sounded and the Lions celebrated, Blitz thought about Coach Jason Doerffler, a guy who put in the work at Northrop for so many years and was criticized for that program’s lack of success. It’s an almost no-win situation there, evidenced by the struggles of the Bruins since his departure. He took a risk going to Leo – a place with more resources but also more pressure. He had faith in his abilities, as did the administration that hired him to replace the ultra-successful Jared Sauder.
In many ways, Coach Doerffler deserved Friday’s title as much as anyone.
Now, Leo preps for regionals for the first time since 2011. That team got all the way to semistate before falling to South Bend Washington.
How far can this team go?
Let’s not worry about that quite yet. Instead, let’s take in the euphoria from Friday’s dub.
Or was it relief?
These opinions represent those of Blitz and Outside the Huddle. No opinions expressed on Outside the Huddle represent those of any of our advertisers. Follow Blitz on Twitter at Blitz_OTH
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