NEW LEXINGTON — A solid start for Logan Elm turned sour as host New Lexington ended the Braves’ season 52-14 Friday night.
It was the final night for 16 seniors on the LE squad.
“I’m just so thankful – it’s such a blessing to be able to coach those young people. They have taken our program to the next level,” Logan Elm coach Terry Holbert said. “And that was my challenge to our young guys – it’s now expected, so what ‘s the next step for the program. It’s a challenge for our younger student-athletes to continue it in the manner it’s been going and take it to the next level.”
After stopping New Lexington on its first two possessions, Logan Elm put together a quick 54-yard, four-play drive that featured a 33-yard run from Michael Bock on the first play and an 11-yard scoring run from Bock to finish it off. Maggie Wilson’s kick gave LE a 7-0 lead with 1:29 left in the first quarter.
The Panthers responded with their own four-play drive. Theirs ended with a 43-yard screen pass from Isaiah Stephens to Carson Kellogg. A two-point pass play put the hosts up 8-0 with 1:03 on the clock.
Then the New Lexington defense shifted into a higher gear holding the Braves to only 19 yards the rest of the half and recorded a safety when Paul Stenson tackled LE’s Aaron Walters in the endzone.
Meanwhile Stephens kept hitting big plays. He connected with Hanson on a 54-yard score, Kellogg on a 51-yarder and then Hanson again from 37 yards out to give the Panthers a 29-7 halftime lead.
“They adjusted very well after the first couple drives of the game because I felt we got some good yards, we were able to score first,” Holbert said. “When they answered quickly, you could just feel the wind in our sails go out almost immediately.
“They scored, they went for two and went up 8-7. Really, from that point on, we were just kind of grasping for our life and really struggled to establish anything.”
New Lexington finished the first half with 354 yards of offense – 279 through the air.
The second half didn’t get off to a good start for the Braves despite beginning the half with the ball. NL’s defensive pressure led to two sacks of Walters in the first three plays. The second – by Stenson and Eli Stephens – resulted in the Panthers’ second safety of the contest.
New Lexington followed that up with a 39-yard TD pass from Isaiah Stephens to Owen O’Brien on the first play after the safety for a 38-7 lead, which started a running clock.
Following an interception that gave the Panthers a very short field, they covered 12 yards in four plays with Kellogg scoring from five yards out.
Another interception set up an eight-play drive that culminated in a 17-yard scoring run from Colton Mathias.
LE added one final score in the fourth quarter on a seven-play drive that featured a 46-yard pass from Walters to Gavin Hoover and finished up with a 10-yard scoring throw from Walters to Preston Piacentini.
Walters, who will graduate as LE’s all-time leading passer, was limited to 92 yards Friday. His wraps up his season with 2,447 yards and 20 touchdowns.
Hoover was the top receiver with two catches for 58 yards.
After picking up 80 yards on LE’s first two series, the Panthers were able to limit Bock’s production as he finished the night with 103 yards on 18 carries and finishes his senior season with 1,761 yards.
Stephens came into Friday’s matchup with 31 touchdowns and more than 2,500 yards passing. He added five more touchdowns to his total and another 325 yards.
The Panthers will now turn their sites to a week 13 matchup with Indian Valley (a 49-14 winner over Waverly) while the Braves will begin to look toward the future.
With 16 seniors moving on, the younger players will have the benefit of the extra practice time and playoff experience as they are called upon to step up next season.
“The practice time for them has just been invaluable. That’s what we’ve really tried to preach to them is really take advantage because there are a lot of teams that don’t get that,” Holbert said. “That’s two extra weeks of practice they get to carry into next season and that’s huge.”
New Lexington 52, Logan Elm 14
By Quarters 1 2 3 4 F
Logan Elm 7 0 0 7 14
New Lexington 8 21 16 7 52
First Quarter
LE — Michael Bock 11 run (Maggie Wilson kick), 1:29.
NL — Carson Kellogg 43 pass from Isaiah Stephens (Bentley Hanson from Isaiah Stephens), 1:03.
Second Quarter
NL — Safety, 6:40.
NL — Bentley Hanson 54 pass from Isaiah Stephens (Owen O’Brien kick), 6:28.
NL — Carson Kellogg 51 pass from Isaiah Stephens (kick failed), 3:07.
NL — Bentley Hanson 37 pass from Isaiah Stephens (pass failed), 0:22.
Third Quarter
NL — Safety, 11:02.
NL — Owen O’Brien 39 pass from Isaiah Stephens (Owen O’Brien kick), 10:38.
NL — Carson Kellogg 5 run (Owen O’Brien kick), 5:43.
Fourth Quarter
NL — Colton Mathias 17 run (Owen O’Brien kick), 9:15.
LE — Preston Piacentini 10 pass from Aaron Walters (Maggie Wilson kick), 3:20.
TEAM STATISTICS
LE NL
First downs 10 18
Rushing yards 26-81 29-112
Passing yards 92 325
Comp.-Att.-Int 6-14-2 17-25-0
Total yards 173 437
Fumbles-Lost 1-0 2-0
Penalties-Yards 2-20 6-33
Punts-Ave 4-31 1-43
INDIVIDUAL STATISTICS
RUSHING –Logan Elm — Michael Bock 18-103, Aaron Walters 8-(-22). New Lexington — Isaiah Stephens 3-18, Carson Kellogg 20-75, Bentley Hanson 1-7, Colton Mathias 3-22, Eli Dixon 2-(-10).
PASSING – Logan Elm — Aaron Walters 6-14-2-92. New Lexington — Isaiah Stephens 17-25-0-325.
RECEIVING –Logan Elm — Justin Marcum 2-11, Gavin Hoover 2-58, Preston Piacentini 2-23.