Recap and Gallery: Football vs. SM South

With another dramatic ending, the 5-0 Lancers were able to rely on rushing from senior Luke Taylor and strong defensive pressure to recover from multiple fumbles and defeat the SM South Raiders, 27-21.

The first three quarters made a victory for the Lancers seem definite. After stopping South’s first offensive possession, senior Christian Blessen led the East squad in Dustin Delaney’s flexbone offense for a long drive. Also leading the team was Taylor, driving up the middle for consistent gains. On a quick cut to the endzone, Taylor roped in a pass from Christian Blessen for a wide open touchdown, putting East up 7-0.

The defense put out a strong show, continuing to stop the Raiders’ running game. South relied mainly on running the ball with senior Ra’Keim Abdul, their major threat on both defense and offense. Abdul is currently recruited as a safety by Division I schools such as New Mexico, and he carried the ball for the majority of the first half.

In their first drives, Abdul was not able to get past the East defense, led by junior Kyle Ball and senior Dominique Atkinson. The defense put pressure on the line of scrimmage, refusing to allow Abdul to penetrate for long gains.

With the ball in their hands again, the East offense relied on a strong rushing game from Taylor and Blessen. Although they started deep in their own territory, East gouged open the South defense for large gains up the middle of the field. East marched within South’s ten yard line, where Taylor was able to split up the middle for the touchdown.

After a missed point after attempt, the Lancers now led 13-0, and the game seemed to be following the typical pattern of East vs. South games — in the past three years, East had outscored South 50-0. Abdul was unwilling to allow the half to go scoreless for the Raiders, and he began to lead the team in a wildcat formation.

After several long runs by Abdul, the Raiders were within the East red zone. Abdul used his elusive abilities to dive into the endzone, making the score 14-7 as the half came to a close.

The second half would look remarkably different for South, as Abdul would not return to the field for the rest of the game. Suffering this offensive loss, the Raiders saw a new hero emerge for their offense — senior Nick Oliver.

The half started with another long drive by the Lancers. Relying on Taylor’s ability in the middle of the field and several outside runs by junior Sam Huffman and senior Mitchell Tyler, the Lancers made a quick march down the field. Taylor dove into the endzone for another touchdown, and on a quarterback keeper, Blessen also made it into the endzone for the two-point conversion.

With the score now 21-7, the Raiders looked for an offensive response. Without Abdul to run the ball, South switched to an effective passing game. Despite dropping several passes at first, a tricky double reverse pass play left Oliver wide open in the endzone. Sophomore Ryder Terry blocked the point after, but the Lancers were still looking at a one-touchdown game.

Blessen took the field to lead his team from the 17-yard line, hoping to secure an East win with another touchdown. However, a continual problem for the Lancers reemerged — Blessen fumbled the snap for the third time in the game, and South recovered the ball.

The Raiders looked to Oliver again, and he was wide open in the left side of the endzone, beating both of the Lancers covering him to pull down a catch. South chose to go for the point after, and Oliver was the receiver again, jumping over an East defender to barely snag the catch. The game was now tied 21-21.

After an unsuccessful offensive drive by the Lancers, South had the ball in the final minute of the second half. The Lancers defense took the field with intensity, forcing a fumble on their first play, sacking the quarterback and continuing to drive the Raiders back on their heels. Unable to get any momentum going against the physical play of Atkinson and Ball, who had the sack, the Raiders allowed the game to go into overtime.

East’s overtime victory was decisive. High school overtimes give both teams four downs, starting at the ten yard line, to attempt to score. On their first down, Taylor sprinted left of a huge block for a touchdown. The point after attempt was missed, however, leaving the Raiders the ability to still pull out a win.

However, the intensity of the Lancers’ defense would not allow the Raiders to answer. Atkinson hopped over a block to sack the quarterback, and the East secondary disrupted another pass to Oliver. Finally, a hard tackle by Ball knocked the ball loose, and the Lancers recovered the fumble. The Lancers had won their fifth game, securing their places at the top of the Sunflower League.

Next week, the Lancers will take on the 4-1 Lawrence Free State Freebirds in their Homecoming Game. Can’t make it to the game? Watch the broadcast here.