We came into Friday night at Luers Field anticipating the possibility of history being made by Knox Redskins quarterback Myles McLaughlin. Making National news for chasing Derrick Henry’s all-time rushing yards record, many expected he was on the brink of history. That was until he ran into the Bishop Luers Knights. Per Dylan Sinn from the Fort Wayne Journal Gazette, Luers held McLaughlin to 24 carries for 30 rushing yards. Because Knox struggled to move the ball, the Knights took an early lead and ran away with a 35-0 shutout victory to capture the program’s 19th Semi-State Championship.
The seniors on Luers’ defense stepped up and helped frustrate the Redskins. Christian Brell led the team in tackles with seven, while Brayden Mygrant and Jaxson Hill added five tackles each. McKale Woodson and Dereon Carswell contributed four tackles each as well. In addition, these seniors, both Ayle and Jarron Taylor, also proved to be too much for Knox’s offensive line. Jarron finished with six tackles, including two for a loss; meanwhile, Ayle finished with four tackles and one sack.
Luers defensive coordinator Carson Bradley spoke to us about their approaching coming into the game and how they executed their gameplan.
“Schematically, we knew we couldn’t do anything different than what we have done all year. We feel like we have enough “tools” in our toolbox to adjust our defense to match the opponent’s offense. The thing for us this week was, we haven’t used this personnel package or front since week 7. Regardless of what front we play in, it matches our base defensive rules and adjustments. So we felt confident going from our traditional 4-2-5 look to a 3-4 look. We wanted to spill off the edges and play from depth so we could play with speed. We said it all along, they want to play in a phone booth, and we wanted to rip the door off and give ourselves some room to wiggle. We did not spy him at all. We preached to the kids all week, looking at the QB will get you beat, you have to read your key, and they will tell you want block you need to defeat. Hats off to our kids for being disciplined,” Coach Bradley replied.
Coming into this season, expectations for Luers felt uncertain since the program had lost some key players to graduation and transfer. After speaking with head coach Kyle Lindsay, he spoke very highly about the senior leadership on this team.
‘Without strong leadership from our senior captains, especially early in the season, this team could have fallen apart. Starting the season with three losses and scoring just 7 points in those games, presented a serious challenge to this team. Who were we? What did we want to accomplish this season? Are we willing to work for it? These were questions we were presented with. The reality was that all of our goals as a team were attainable, that we had a strong defense, and that we were going to lean on the offensive line and run game to get the team on track. Our identity as a team, though it didn’t change, was clear to the kids as we entered week 4 without a win. We were going to play physical defense and our offense was going to share that same identity. It’s who we’ve been and it’s what has propelled us to this run to Indy,” Coach Lindsay replied.
Sophomore running backs TJ Epperson and Brandon Gaither Ii both put together another solid performance, respectively scoring all of the team’s touchdowns. Gaither Ii finished with 17 carries for 81 yards and two touchdowns, and Epperson added 21 carries for 177 yards and three touchdowns. The offensive line, led by Zack Wall, Josh Morken, Myante Williams, and Jonas Muya, has helped lead these young backs and even sophomore quarterback Tommy Reichert to feel more at ease throughout this season.
With so much national attention on McLaughlin chasing history, that helped fuel this young Luers team.
“Our approach to Knox didn’t differ from any other week in terms of preparation and what we wanted to do day to day. However, the focus of the team was sharper than any other week this season. Coach Bradley and the defensive staff put together a great game plan, and the kids were bought in on it. Offensively, our staff was united in our commitment to the run (even though we felt there were numerous opportunities for big plays in the passing game). Ultimately, we wanted to run the ball down their throat and wear out their seven two-way starters and keep McLaughlin on the defensive side of the ball. There was an obvious added motivator for the kids last week. Chatter about someone coming to Luersfield and breaking a record with 364 yards rushing put everyone in a foul mood,” replied Coach Lindsay.
It’s been a special year for Luers, playing in a much-improved Summit Athletic Conference helps prepare them for postseason success. With a 9-5 record going into their Class 3A State Championship game against an undefeated 14-0 Cascade Cadets team, it’ll be another match-up where Luers will be an underdog, but that’s something they’ve been hearing all season. That is part of what makes this team so special.
“We as a team took so much criticism throughout the city last year and watched starters leave the program through false adversaries. We stuck together, filled spots, and believed that winning is indeed the most important thing in life. We have embodied that success breeds success. These kids will go into the world as winners because they blocked out the noise and stuck to the script,” Coach Bradley explained.
Because of the success factor, they’ll move up to Class 4A next season, but no matter the result on Friday, this season has been quite impressive to say the least. I remember watching this team against Leo in Week 1 (lost 14-7), and admittedly remember thinking that all of the doubters could possibly be right. They’ve more than proved everyone wrong all season long, no matter what happens against Cascade. But you better believe they’re not done proving all of the naysayers wrong.