Sports Update
Taking Offense: Leopards break season yardage, scoring marks in rout of Denison
BY Matt Welch, mwelch@starlocalnews.com
The Lovejoy football team's offense was a unit possessed Friday night.
Eclipsing 400 yards in all four District 13-4A ballgames thus far, the Leopards (7-0, 4-0) went above and beyond in setting season highs in both scoring and yardage in a 54-30 victory over Denison (1-6, 1-3)
The 54 points were complemented by 724 yards of offense -- 390 passing and 334 rushing.
"I thought our offense came and clicked from the first series on," said Matt Green, Lovejoy head coach. "We had a lot of things go right and we got good production from our quarterbacks, receivers and the line. The O-line really controlled the line of scrimmage, which opened up a lot of things."
After a 21-yard touchdown pass from senior Zach Saffle to senior Grayson Williams gave the Leopards a 7-0 lead through one quarter, Lovejoy shifted gears.
Forty-seven points would follow in the three ensuing quarters, with freshman Bowman Sells finding junior Daniel Sefcik and senior Nick LaSane on touchdowns of 45 and 29 yards, respectively, in the second quarter. Junior Mick Ellis added field goals of 28 and 36 yards during that timeframe to give Lovejoy a 27-7 lead by the break.
"[Denison] played a lot of man coverage on us and lost track of our receivers at times," Green said. "We had some guys who got open and our quarterbacks did a good job finding them and getting that separation."
Sells was the chief benefactor, turning in his biggest line of the season by completing 19-of-24 passes for 345 yards, five touchdowns and one pick.
"The confidence level for [Sells] has to be out of sight," Green said. "He was putting the ball on target, reading the defense and seeing the field. When you're seeing the field and throwing well, you'll put up big numbers."
Between Sells and Saffle, who threw for 45 yards and a touchdown in addition to rushing for 51 yards, the Lovejoy passers spread the ball among seven targets with junior Justice Luce being the night's biggest benefactor in hauling in four passes for 105 yards and two touchdowns. Luce scored on receptions of 32 and 36 yards, while Williams added six catches for 88 yards and Sefcik totaled 79 yards on five catches.
Sefcik paced Lovejoy's rushing attack as well, piling up 110 yards on 18 carries. LaSane contributed 113 rushing yards on just six carries, but the rusher's night was short-lived after sustaining an injury that will keep him out for some time.
"[LaSane is] a little banged up," Green said. "The good news is we think we'll get him back. He did get nicked up a bit, but that's part of football."
In LaSane's place, Green said senior Cullon Greene and sophomore Hunter Pfaff will see an expanded role in the backfield alongside Sefcik.
The Leopards were also tasked Friday with overcoming an ejection of Saffle.
"We hated to lose him in the game and unfortunately it put the team in a bit of a bind, but we had kids ready to play," Green said. "Kids sometimes lose their composure and do things they wish they could take back, but we know Zach is a good kid."
The Yellowjackets were unable to threaten in the second half though, drawing no closer than 27-14 after a 4-yard touchdown run by Denard Whitfield to open the third.
Whitfield scored twice and ran for 130 yards, but the Leopards managed to counter with three third-quarter touchdowns for a 47-24 edge entering the fourth quarter.
The win kept Lovejoy unbeaten on the year and set the table for a home tilt Friday at 7:30 p.m. against fellow district unbeaten Sherman. Pegged by several prognosticators as the 13-4A favorite, the Bearcats are averaging 47.25 points per district contest to 27 points allowed.
Although Lovejoy still has a matchup with 3-1 Wylie East on the horizon, Friday's outcome will go a ways toward determining the 13-4A champ.
"It's a huge game," Green said. "Sherman is as advertised and extremely talented on both sides of the ball. I think they're still the favorite to win the district, but I know our kids are excited to play this type of game and go up against a team of Sherman's caliber."
For continued news and coverage on the local sports scene, follow @MWelchSCN on Twitter.
Eclipsing 400 yards in all four District 13-4A ballgames thus far, the Leopards (7-0, 4-0) went above and beyond in setting season highs in both scoring and yardage in a 54-30 victory over Denison (1-6, 1-3)
The 54 points were complemented by 724 yards of offense -- 390 passing and 334 rushing.
"I thought our offense came and clicked from the first series on," said Matt Green, Lovejoy head coach. "We had a lot of things go right and we got good production from our quarterbacks, receivers and the line. The O-line really controlled the line of scrimmage, which opened up a lot of things."
After a 21-yard touchdown pass from senior Zach Saffle to senior Grayson Williams gave the Leopards a 7-0 lead through one quarter, Lovejoy shifted gears.
Forty-seven points would follow in the three ensuing quarters, with freshman Bowman Sells finding junior Daniel Sefcik and senior Nick LaSane on touchdowns of 45 and 29 yards, respectively, in the second quarter. Junior Mick Ellis added field goals of 28 and 36 yards during that timeframe to give Lovejoy a 27-7 lead by the break.
"[Denison] played a lot of man coverage on us and lost track of our receivers at times," Green said. "We had some guys who got open and our quarterbacks did a good job finding them and getting that separation."
Sells was the chief benefactor, turning in his biggest line of the season by completing 19-of-24 passes for 345 yards, five touchdowns and one pick.
"The confidence level for [Sells] has to be out of sight," Green said. "He was putting the ball on target, reading the defense and seeing the field. When you're seeing the field and throwing well, you'll put up big numbers."
Between Sells and Saffle, who threw for 45 yards and a touchdown in addition to rushing for 51 yards, the Lovejoy passers spread the ball among seven targets with junior Justice Luce being the night's biggest benefactor in hauling in four passes for 105 yards and two touchdowns. Luce scored on receptions of 32 and 36 yards, while Williams added six catches for 88 yards and Sefcik totaled 79 yards on five catches.
Sefcik paced Lovejoy's rushing attack as well, piling up 110 yards on 18 carries. LaSane contributed 113 rushing yards on just six carries, but the rusher's night was short-lived after sustaining an injury that will keep him out for some time.
"[LaSane is] a little banged up," Green said. "The good news is we think we'll get him back. He did get nicked up a bit, but that's part of football."
In LaSane's place, Green said senior Cullon Greene and sophomore Hunter Pfaff will see an expanded role in the backfield alongside Sefcik.
The Leopards were also tasked Friday with overcoming an ejection of Saffle.
"We hated to lose him in the game and unfortunately it put the team in a bit of a bind, but we had kids ready to play," Green said. "Kids sometimes lose their composure and do things they wish they could take back, but we know Zach is a good kid."
The Yellowjackets were unable to threaten in the second half though, drawing no closer than 27-14 after a 4-yard touchdown run by Denard Whitfield to open the third.
Whitfield scored twice and ran for 130 yards, but the Leopards managed to counter with three third-quarter touchdowns for a 47-24 edge entering the fourth quarter.
The win kept Lovejoy unbeaten on the year and set the table for a home tilt Friday at 7:30 p.m. against fellow district unbeaten Sherman. Pegged by several prognosticators as the 13-4A favorite, the Bearcats are averaging 47.25 points per district contest to 27 points allowed.
Although Lovejoy still has a matchup with 3-1 Wylie East on the horizon, Friday's outcome will go a ways toward determining the 13-4A champ.
"It's a huge game," Green said. "Sherman is as advertised and extremely talented on both sides of the ball. I think they're still the favorite to win the district, but I know our kids are excited to play this type of game and go up against a team of Sherman's caliber."
For continued news and coverage on the local sports scene, follow @MWelchSCN on Twitter.
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