Lehman Catholic removes the MAC monkey
By Tim Langevin
MAC football teams have been “coup de cruel” to Sidney Lehman the past six seasons, winning 10 straight, including seven against Dick Roll coached teams.
Last Friday, the Cavaliers bucked that trend with some bullish screen plays to defeat Minster 34-13.
The last time these two schools played in 2005, the Wildcats easily defeated the Cavs 46-13. This time, however, it was a different fiddle and FB Kaleb Goins played it to the cadence of 206 total yards, 154 on the ground and 52 receiving with three scores.
“Kaleb ran hard,” Roll said. “People in the secondary wanted no part of him.”
The 5′ 11″, 195-pound senior has 3,349 career rushing yards and 49 TDs on a resume that screams D-I college prospect. In addition, he has over 150 career tackles at his LB position.
Goins suffered a serious leg injury last spring playing baseball and coach Roll has been bringing him along slowly. Coach said, “Kaleb is at 100 percent, but still has pain. He has learned to live with it. Lots of ice after practice and games.”
Lehman flew out of the chute, scoring two TDs within seven minutes to take a 14-0 advantage. The first score was a 32-yard series after Minster fumbled the opening kickoff. Goins carried the ball three times for 15 yards and then QB Jonathan Slagle went to the sky on a perfectly executed screen pass to Goins for a 19-yard TD play.
Minster’s first possession lasted seven plays, but netted just three yards, thanks to a huge sack by Andrew Gilardi. The sophomore LB had a big night with three sacks and several tackles.
The Wildcats punted and the Cavs were back in business, starting from their 47-yard-line.
The first play, Slagle dropped back, baited the defense, then dumped another perfect screen pass, this time to Evan Goffena for a 16-yard gain. Travis Ratliff gained eight yards on two carries and Goins rambled for 13 yards and then the five-yard TD.
Roll said, “We needed this. We got off to a positive start. Sure, we made some mistakes, but the screen pass plays were good for us.”
Lehman’s third score with 9:57 left in the half was a well-balanced drive of 62 yards in 10 plays. The Cavs gained 28 yards through the air and 34 on the ground. Federal Express would have been impressed.
Goins carried four times for 22 yards and Slagle converted passes of seven yards to Nick Cordonnier, eight yards to Goins, and a 10-yard TD strike to Goffena. For the game, Slagle connected with five different receivers.
Minster QB Chase Paxson, coming off an impressive start last week with 202 yards and two TDs, hooked up with Mitchel Poeppelman on a 15-yard TD to cut the lead 20-6 with 2:43 left until the band played.
That was plenty of time for the Cavaliers’ “new look” offense. The first play Goins skirted the edge, stiff-arming his way for 37 yards. Slagle completed back-to-back 14-yard passes to Goffena and then found Goins, once again, on a screen pass for the 25-yard TD.
Lehman was in control 27-6. The drive covered 80 yards in seven plays and took just 1:14 to complete. Of more significance, the drive consisted of two runs and five pass attempts.
Whatever happened to “three yards and a cloud of dust”? Perhaps coach Roll is suffering from mid-life crisis. During a summer golf outing, offensive coordinator Bill Zimmerman said that Lehman was tweaking their offense. Evidently, he wasn’t kidding.
Lehman expanded the lead 34-6 to open the second half. They marched 74 yards in five plays. Slagle hit Goffena for a six-yard gain on first down and then Goins ran for 11 yards. The next play, Slagle found Goffena for a 16-yard gain. Two plays later, newcomer from Indian Lake, Travis Ratliff, sped 37 yards for the score.
Ratliff rushed six times for 57 yards and one TD. “He ran hard and did a nice job of blocking,” said Roll.
Not wanting to be accused of trying to swat a fly with a hatchet, Roll substituted freely in the third and fourth quarters. He said, “I wanted my JV kids to get more experience. We will need them as the season moves along.”
No doubt. The Cavalier roster consists of 38 players.
Minster scored the final points of the game late in the fourth quarter on a five-yard TD run by Troy Kauffman. He finished the game with 33 yards on eight carries.
RB Adam Kaiser was the Minster workhorse with 66 tough yards on 17 totes. Paxson, who was flushed out of the pocket all night, struggled with his rhythm, completing 6-of-22 for 74 yards.
Slagle looked steady for Lehman, completing 12-of-20 passes for 136 yards and three TDs. His favorite target, Goffena, had six catches for 62 yards and one TD.
Coach Roll said, “We need to improve our passing. We had too many incompletions. We need to become complete players by blocking better.”
Lehman stuffed the stat sheet with 14 first downs, 379 total yards, 243 on the ground and 136 by air. Minster managed 165 total yards with 74 passing and 91 rushing.
The Wildcats drop to 0-2 on the young season with no relief in sight, hosting Delphos St. John’s this week and traveling to Marion Local next week.
Lehman evens their mark at 1-1 and plays Indian Lake at Piqua High School this Friday.
Should Lehman face another MAC team this season it will have to be in the playoffs. And that would be fine with the Cavs.
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