South Putnam football season ends at Lutheran

Saturday, November 1, 2014
Lutheran defenders need several helping hands to bring down South Putnam back, Zane Yon. (5) (Banner Graphic/TRENT SCOTT)

There were plenty of frightening sights on Halloween as South Putnam made a return trip to Class A No. 8 Indianapolis Lutheran Friday night in a rematch of last year's sectional final.

Between the rush hour traffic, stiff winds with swirling rain and snow, the Saint offensive line was the scariest sight of all as the home side racked up 316 rushing yards in a 47-0 rout of the Eagles.

South Putnam coach Nathan Aker said that Lutheran were on top of their game and deserved credit for the win.

Lucas Lorian (25) drives through a hole opened by his front line. The Eagles effort is written all over the clothes but it wasn't enough to overcome the Saints. (Banner Graphic/TRENT SCOTT)

"Hats off to Lutheran," Aker said. "Coach (Dave) Pasch does a great job with those guys and he outcoached me tonight.

"They had things clicking, they were hitting on all cylinders and they did a great job. They came out and were very physical from the get-go."

The night got off to the worst possible start for the visitors when Cody Moncel ran the opening kickoff back 90 yards to give Lutheran a 6-0 lead.

Aker said the play was not the ideal way to start off the game.

"That was a tough play right out of the gate," Aker said. "The kickoff return hurt but we're used to adversity and the kids battled.

"I don't think it affected anything except the scoreboard. It was an indicator of how the night was going to go, but not because our kids didn't battle or fight."

Already trailing without an offensive snap being played, the Eagles were subjected to a bruising running game as Lutheran's stable of 300+ pound offensive lineman battered the visiting defense.

The hosts got on the board two more times before the quarter closed on an 11-yard run by Jacob Zoeller and a 16-yard run by Dylen Goddard to take a 21-0 lead.

South Putnam's best drive of the game came after the third score, working the ball to the Lutheran 5-yard line on nine plays before a holding penalty stalled the drive out.

Points at that juncture of the game could have been a big boost to the Eagles, according to Aker.

"It would have been big," Aker said. "We were looking for a shot in the arm and something big to happen for us, which didn't happen.

"These guys, though, they battled through thick and thin all night long."

The Saints responded on the following drive with a 10-play drive that finished with Dalton Nidey crashing in from a yard out, giving the hosts their 28-0 halftime advantage.

Lutheran further rocked the Eagles with a 38-yard Nidey score and a 10-yard Andre Jones burst to take a 41-0 lead into the fourth quarter and extended it further on a 34-yard Zoeller run to end the scoring at 47-0.

The loss sent South Putnam to 6-5 on the year, one that started off rocky but, as Aker noted, was still full of important wins.

"We knew we had a good team but to start the season off 0-3, the kids needed to see the proof in the pudding," Aker said. "These kids battled to win the county, the last WCC and had a chance to go to another sectional final here tonight.

"You never want to end early. These guys have some big dreams and while you hate to see it end, they battled until the end."

As for Aker's first year of coaching, it was a learning experience until the end.

"You learn a lot, whether that is from your team or your other coaches," Aker said. "I'm really lucky to have a great coaching staff.

"Coach (Jeff) Duvall was here from day one. Coach (Brian) Baker-Watson joined this spring and has been a great addition to the team and for me.

"I was proud of Coach (Derek) Dean and (Rob) Gibson, former players, for coming to help out," Aker added. "We also had Coach (Aaron) Book join us when he came to South Putnam he, along with the other coaches, helped put this team together.

"Coaches (Mark) Wildman and (Troy) Burgess always talked about never knowing what it's like until you're in charge. You always think you'd do this or that as an assistant but it's funny how different those same things look when you're in the hot seat."

Lucas Lorian, the cornerstone of the South Putnam offense for the past two seasons, ended his career with 26 carries for 67 yards and Aker said the senior, along with seven of his other classmates, would be dearly missed by the program

"There are eight seniors who bought in from day one," Aker noted. "Our motto early was, 'Those who stay will be champions' and they got to do that this year on and off the field.

"They learned how to be leaders because they learned from good examples and I'm very proud of them for that.

"The things that Lucas Lorian has done for South Putnam football are tremendous and his name is all over the record books here," Aker added. "He's been a heck of a player for us and he's going to go do some great things in the future.

"Zane Yon did everything, playing multiple positions on both sides of the ball and it's unbelieveable what he does. He had to be the most in-shape guy we had because there were games where he never came off the field.

"Chris Migliano was someone you could call a surprise, but he got in the weight room and made himself into a football player," Aker said. "I'm proud of his work ethic, his toughness and he'll go on to do great things.

"Josh Tubbs was a receiver on the team last year but bought in, was selfless and moved to the offensive line. There's not many people who make that change and while he was a quiet leader, he got the job done and got results.

"Oliviero Vurro came to us as an exchange student and had a great experience with football," Aker pointed out. "It was a great experience to have him as part of the family.

"Eli Harris is a hard worker and he transformed his body in the weight room. He was a guy that people wanted to be around because he had a great work ethic and made the people around him better.

"Dan Sechrist and Scott Duggan are both hard workers and they battled their butts off to help these guys get ready on scout team," Aker added. "They were the kind of guys that did their roles and were never afraid to get after it day in and day out.

"These guys are all South Putnam football players forever. What great teammates and great leaders these guys were and we're going to miss these guys a lot."

For the returning players, a brave new world awaits in the newly expanded Western Indiana Conference and Aker said that some of the same sacrifices the senior class made would be necessary for success to continue next year.

"The conference change will be different," Aker noted. "We'll still play some of our rivals but it's going to be a challenge and it will prepare us for the tournament.

"For the guys coming back, they still need to buy into the weight room but some guys will need to be willing to make a change. If they're content with what they're doing, that's probably not going to help us in the future.

"They'll need to be willing to be selfless and be willing to play a different spot. Everybody wants to play but we'll put the best 11 players on the field and do the necessary things it takes to be successful."


At Indianapolis Lutheran

IHSAA Class A Sectional No. 46


South Putnam 0 0 0 0 - 0

Indpls Lutheran 21 7 13 6 - 47


Scoring

1st Quarter

IL 11:46 Moncel 90-yard kickoff return (XP no good) 6-0

IL 6:23 Zoeller 11-yard run (Zoeller conversion) 14-0

IL 4:01 Goddard 16-yard run (Rozema kick) 21-0

2nd Quarter

IL 5:02 Nidey 1-yard run (Rozema kick) 28-0

3rd Quarter

IL 9:49 Nidey 38-yard run (Rozema kick) 35-0

IL 0:00 Jones 10-yard run (XP no good) 41-0

4th Quarter

IL 5:11 Zoeller 34-yard run (Xp no good) 47-0


Statistics

Total Yards

South Putnam 48-126; Lutheran 48-342


Rushing

South Putnam Lorian 26-67; Shaffer 8-(-4); Yon 5-26; McHugh 1-(-10)

Lutheran Zoeller 15-131, 2 TD; Nidey 13-115, 2 TD; Jones 9-38, TD; Goddard 3-39, TD; Knox 2-(-7); Moncel 1-3; Reid 1-(-3)


Passing

South Putnam 1-8-25; Shaffer 1-4-25; McHugh 0-3-0; Rutter 0-1-0

Lutheran 2-5-26; Reid 2-4-26; Rozema 0-1-0


Receiving

South Putnam Rutter 1-25

Lutheran Robertson 1-13; Jones 1-13


1st Downs

South Putnam 7; Lutheran 12

4th Down Conversion

South Putnam 2-5; Lutheran 0-1

Turnovers

South Putnam 1; Lutheran 0

Penalties

South Putnam 3-20; Lutheran 4-25

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