43
LEAVITTSBURG: LaBrae Vikings stop Girard Indians 22-14 as Cameron Truss leads the way
Photo
LaBrae's Cameron Truss (29) returns an interception for a TD against Girard during their game at LaBrae on Friday night.
By Doug Chapin
Cameron Truss led LaBrae as the Vikings shattered Girard’s undefeated streak.
LEAVITTSBURG — Going into Friday night’s Girard at LaBrae matchup, it seemed high school football fans could find any angle they wanted.
There was the matchup of two of the best running backs in the area in Girard’s Kyle Stadelmyer and LaBrae’s Cameron Truss. They were key parts of two prolific offenses, both coming into the game averaging almost 40 points per game.
The contest also would decide the first champion of the All-American Conference Blue Division, and it seemed likely that only the winner would have a shot at the postseason.
What few people were talking about during the week were the team’s defenses. But those units stole the show as LaBrae came away with a scrappy, hard-fought 22-14 triumph.
“I didn’t know what to expect. We scored a lot of points and they scored a lot of points,” LaBrae (8-1, 5-0 AAC Blue) coach Bill Bohren said. “But tonight, they played good defense and we had a hard time moving the ball, and the same thing was true for them.”
“Both defenses played well,” Girard coach Bud McSuley said. “Plays we worked against, they hit, like the halfback pass. I don’t know how many turnovers we had, but we turned it over enough for a season.”
Truss had a hand in all of LaBrae’s points, returning an interception for a touchdown, throwing for a score on the aforementioned halfback pass and catching a pass from quarterback Jordan Miller for the decisive touchdown. He also tallied a pair of two-point conversions, both on passes from Miller.
But the Girard defense made him work hard for all 67 of his rushing yards, which came on 25 carries. The Indians (8-1, 4-1 AAC Blue) also came up with two fumble recoveries, intercepted a pass and held the Vikings to 185 total yards and just eight first downs.
The LaBrae defense more than matched those numbers, holding Stadelmyer to 6 yards on five carries, recovering four Girard fumbles and intercepting five passes.
The Vikings also yielded just eight first downs and limited the Indians to 141 yards.
“We told our kids after we lost the first game that all we lost was a chance at a perfect season,” Bohren said. “We knew we still had a shot at the playoffs and to win our league.”
After the first quarter, no one would have been calling either offense prolific. The teams combined for one first down, three lost fumbles and four penalties. The latter continued to be a problem for the Vikings, who finished with 16 penalties for 140 yards.
Truss came up with his interception and returned it 35 yards for the first score of the game with 7:56 remaining in the second quarter.
LaBrae’s Luke Montecalvo then recovered a fumble on the Indians’ first play of the ensuing possession.
The Vikings put together an eight-play, 40-yard scoring drive which ended with the pass from Truss to Todd Collins covering 26 yards. The two-point conversion, on a pass to Truss from Miller, made it 14-0 with 4:34 remaining in the half.
Girard rallied behind freshman quarterback Dan Graziano. He connected with Landon Smith for a 44-yard completion down the seam and, two plays later, hit Smith on a flag pattern from 17 yards out for Girard’s first touchdown. That came with 2:23 left in the half and a missed extra point kick left the Indians behind 14-6.
The Indians tied the score midway through period three. After a stop by its defense on fourth down, Girard took over at its own 23. Graziano connected with Stadelmyer on a throwback play and the senior back turned the short pass into a 77-yard touchdown. Stadelmyer ran for the two-point conversion to knot the score with 6:14 left in the quarter.
LaBrae’s winning drive covered 49 yards and six plays. Miller hit Truss down the right sideline on third-and-12 from the 30 at the 10:38 mark. The junior quarterback then passed to Truss for the important two-point conversion.
Girard had three more possessions, but they resulted in two lost fumbles and an interception.
“You’ve got to rise to the occasion. They made one more play than we did and that’s why they have one more touchdown than we have,” McSuley said.