Outside the Huddle is breaking down every area semistate matchup scheduled for this Friday as teams vie for a spot in the state championship games over Thanksgiving weekend.
We continue by looking at the Class 3A showdown between undefeated Knox (13-0) and Bishop Luers (8-5) scheduled for an 8 p.m. kickoff Friday at Luersfield.
TWO STORYLINES
1. THE CHASE
Last week against Angola, Knox senior Myles McLaughlin set the national single-season touchdown record, as he now has 71 of them on the year.
This week, the hype around McLaughlin is that he is 364 yards shy of the all-time record for career rushing yards at the high school level, currently held by Derrick Henry (yes, THAT Derrick Henry), who rushed for 12,124 yards playing his high school ball in Florida.
After gaining 374 yards on the ground against the Hornets last week, it is not out of the realm of possibility he breaks Henry’s record on Friday.
NFL reporter Kay Adams recently asked Henry about McLaughlin’s run for his record.
“He’s a beast,” Henry said. “Go break it, man. Records are meant to be broken.”
It is up to Bishop Luers’ defense to not let that happen.
2. ECHOES OF 2009
Sixteen years ago, Bishop Luers entered the playoffs with a sub-.500 record at 4-5. In the final regular-season game that year, the Knights lost to rival Bishop Dwenger, 62-0.
All that team did under Coach Matt Lindsay was win six-straight games, including a 24-17 victory over Monrovia, to capture a Class 2A state crown.
Fast-forward to 2025, where Matt’s son Kyle is looking to coach the Knights from a 4-5 regular season to a Class 3A crown.
Knox presents a big challenge to those hopes, however.
FOUR PLAYERS TO WATCH
RB/DB MYLES MCLAUGHLIN, SENIOR, KNOX
As mentioned above, Knox is led by McLaughlin. The Redskins rarely throw, but when they do, it’s McLaughlin, meaning he has the ball in his hands on every single play as QB1.
Running out of the zone read scheme, it is up to McLaughlin to give the ball off or pull it and run. More times than not, he runs. It has worked out pretty well, Blitz would say.
But Bishop Luers must be aware of McLaughlin on defense as well. He clinched last week’s win over Angola with an interception in the red zone as the Hornets were looking to tie or win the game. His seven INTs on the year lead the team.
RB TJ EPPERSON, SOPHOMORE, BISHOP LUERS
One of two 1,000-yard rushers for the Knights, the first time that has happened in the same season in program history.
Epperson is small at 5-foot-7, but he is elusive and quick, with his lack of stature almost an advantage when squeezing through small spaces. He can accelerate quickly and is tough to track down in the open field. He has had just two games this season in which he hasn’t handled double-digit carries, one of those being a nine-carry, three-touchdown effort against Norwell on Halloween.
Bishop Luers will want to control the ball and limit the opportunities for McLaughlin on offense. Epperson, who has rushed for 1,191 yards and 10 touchdowns, will be a significant part of that.
LB CAIN WEBER, SENIOR, KNOX
Getting pressure in the backfield of Bishop Luers, particularly with a sophomore quarterback at the helm, will be of paramount importance for the Knox defense. That will heavily involve Weber, who is a fierce pursuer from his linebacker spot. When Weber lines you up and lowers his head for a tackle, you are going down and you are going to feel it.
Weber leads the Redskins in tackles (85), tackles for loss (17) and sacks (five). In other words, he does it all at the line of scrimmage for the defense.
DL AYLE TAYLOR, SENIOR, BISHOP LUERS
If there is one clear advantage that Bishop Luers has in this matchup, it is with its defensive front. One of the biggest playmakers on that unit is Taylor, who has an astounding 26 tackles for loss this season to go with 60 tackles, 14 quarterback hurries and nine sacks.
Taylor has one thing on his mind every snap, to gain access to the offensive backfield and wreak havoc. He has done that time and time again while partnering with brother Jarron Taylor on the front line.
KEY TO VICTORY – KNOX
SLOW DOWN THE RUN GAME
The success of Bishop Luers relies upon a running game that averages 176 yards per contest. It isn’t a ton of yardage, but it opens up opportunities in the pass game for sophomore Tommy Reichert.
But when the Knights cannot run the ball freely, it puts a lot of pressure on Reichert to make plays vertically. For a quarterback who is still developing, that’s a tough spot to be in.
If Knox forces the Knights to throw more than they want and Reichert beats them, so be it. But the Redskins can’t allow Epperson and Brandon Gaither II to run roughshod over them.
KEY TO VICTORY – BISHOP LUERS
ANSWER MCLAUGHLIN IN KIND
Look, Myles McLaughlin is going to get his. It’s a given. But he is Knox’s offense. He isn’t a cog in the machine, but rather the machine itself.
Bishop Luers will obviously want to limit the star runner as much as possible, but he is still going to run for a couple hundred yards and multiple touchdowns. What the Knights need to do is answer McLaughlin blow for blow. When he scores, you score. It sounds simple, but Bishop Luers cannot fall behind by much in this game, as McLaughlin will bleed clock and pile up yards.
It is up to the Knights’ offense to ensure they are reaching the end zone to match Knox on the scoreboard. They aren’t winning this game by scoring just 14 points, as they did last week at Twin Lakes.
PREDICTION
Coming Friday when Blitz makes his regional picks.
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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