From ihsaa.org
INDIANAPOLIS – No. 13 Fort Wayne Luers made a defensive stand at its own goal line with 6:32 left to go, then melted away the remaining clock for a 24-17 victory over third-ranked Monrovia in the Class 2A state championship game Nov. 27 at Lucas Oil Stadium.
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Leading by seven, Luers’ Jordan Presley and Steve Kiermaier stuffed Monrovia’s Garrett Johnson inside the 1-yard line on 4th and goal from the 1. Luers then converted on a pair of crucial third-down plays, including a 29-yard pass from James Knapke to Kameron Mack on 3rd and 6 from its own 38.
“They were able to sustain that last drive, and we just couldn’t get it back,” said third-year Monrovia coach Kevin Hutchins, who led the Bulldogs to their first state championship game in any sport. “It’s hard, man. We literally came up a foot short.”
It was the eighth state championship for Luers (10-5) and the fourth this decade. All but one have come with coach Matt Lindsay at the helm. Lindsay is the third coach in state history with at least seven state championships.
“We came back against them how we have been doing it all tournament – guts, heart, and hard work,” Lindsay said.
Luers running back Ken Mullen scored on runs of three and two yards, the latter of which came just 17 seconds before halftime to cut the Monrovia lead to 17-14.
“I never wanted to get too far behind Monrovia because they can control the ball,” Lindsay said. “The first half, we played into their hands until we got that late score before halftime.
“We then started to feel pretty good about ourselves. We felt really confident at halftime.”
After an offsides penalty preceded a short kickoff by Monrovia that was fielded at the Luers 44, Alex Stronzcek nailed a 44-yard field goal at the 7:01 mark of the third quarter to knot the game at 17-17.
Steve Kiermaier scored the go-ahead touchdown for Luers on a two-yard burst with 20 seconds left in the quarter. That followed Monrovia’s second straight less-than-ideal second-half possession that ended with a turnover on downs at its own 47 on a failed 4th and 2.
“This state title was so unexpected,” Lindsay said. “We’ve had so many ebbs and flows over this year.”
“We just got on a roll, and right now I know that this team is pretty dog-gone good. We weren’t there all year, that’s for sure.”
Monrovia (14-1), which rolled up 309 yards rushing in the loss, had taken an early 3-0 lead on Dean Reeves’ 26-yard field goal on the game’s opening possession.
Mullen’s three-yard score with 1:44 left in the first quarter got Luers on the board for a 7-3 advantage.
Monrovia then tallied 14 points on back-to-back possessions in the second quarter as Johnson scored from three yards away and Austin Parks (20 carries, 167 yards) rumbled in from a yard out.
“There’s nothing that our boys need to hang their heads about,” Hutchins said. “We had an unbelievable year – we played with the best of them in 2A.”
Monrovia’s Connor named Eskew Mental Attitude Award recipient
Timothy Connor of Monrovia was named winner of the 2009 Phil N. Eskew Mental Attitude Award for Class 2AfFootball by members of the IHSAA Executive Committee. Indiana Farm Bureau Insurance, the IHSAA’s corporate partner, presented a scholarship check for $1,000 to the school in his name.
The award is presented annually to a senior in each classification who best demonstrates excellence in mental attitude, scholarship, leadership, and athletic ability. Since 1989, more than $575,000 in college scholarships has been presented by Indiana Farm Bureau Insurance to deserving high school students in Indiana.
Connor is a senior class officer, National Honor Society officer, and a leader of the Teen Student Leadership Academy. He is an active church volunteer and a tutor, and he’s led clothing drives.
The football team captain, Connor was a two-year starter at quarterback and free safety as well as a four-year starter on the boys basketball team. He was named All-West Central Conference in basketball and football as well as a two-year member of the Academic All-Conference team.
Connor ranks fourth in his class at Monrovia and carries a 4.06 GPA on a 4.0 scale. He plans to attend Wabash or Franklin College and major in sports medicine. The son of Tim and Julie Connor of Monrovia has been named to the honor roll all four years of high school.
The box score:
Fort Wayne Luers 7 7 10 0 – 24
Monrovia 3 14 0 0 – 17
06:51 Mon REEVES, Dean 26 yd field goal
12 plays, 71 yards, TOP 5:09 0 – 3
01:44 Luers MULLEN, Ken 3 yd run (STRONZCEK, Alex kick)
5 plays, 54 yards, TOP 1:55 7 – 3
08:16 Mon JOHNSON, Garrett 3 yd run (REEVES, Dean kick)
11 plays, 78 yards, TOP 5:22 7 – 10
01:56 Mon PARKS, Austin 1 yd run (REEVES, Dean kick)
10 plays, 55 yards, TOP 4:42 7 – 17
00:17 Luers MULLEN, Ken 2 yd run (STRONZCEK, Alex kick)
6 plays, 53 yards, TOP 1:28 14 – 17
07:01 Luers STRONZCEK, Alex 44 yd field goal
12 plays, 29 yards, TOP 4:57 17 – 17
00:20 Luers KIERMAIER, Steve 2 yd run (STRONZCEK, Alex kick)
6 plays, 47 yards, TOP 3:25 24 – 17
Luers Monrovia
First Downs 14 18
Rushing 8 17
Passing 4 0
Penalty 2 1
Rushing 31-124 53-309
Passing 10-17-0 140 0-2-0 0
Total Offense 264 309
Fumbles-Lost 0-0 1-0
Penalties-Yards 3-27 5-44
Punts-Yards 2-53 1-33
Possession Time 21:53 26:07
3rd Down Conv. 6 of 11 5 of 10
4th Down Conv. 1 of 2 1 of 3
Sacks By 0-0 1-10
Fort Wayne Luers
Rushing No. Gain Loss Net TD Long Avg.
Mullen, Ken 15 74 7 67 2 13 4.5
Fincher, Deangelo 3 40 0 40 0 29 13.3
Kiermaier, Steve 7 33 1 32 1 10 4.6
Olivarez, Daniel 1 3 0 3 0 3 3.0
Smith, Jaylon 1 0 2 -2 0 0 -2.0
Team 1 0 4 -4 0 0 -4.0
Knapke, James 3 5 17 -12 0 5 -4.0
Totals 31 155 31 124 3 29 4.0
Passing Cmp-Att-Int Yds TD Long Sacked
Knapke, James 10-16-0 140 0 36 1
Mullen, Ken 0-1-0 0 0 0 0
Totals 10-17-0 140 0 36 1
Receiving No. Yds TD Long
Rogers, Michael 3 34 0 25
Mattox, Quyuan 2 48 0 36
Mullen, Ken 2 22 0 22
Mack, Kameron 1 29 0 29
Chapel, Nick 1 5 0 5
Smith, Jaylon 1 2 0 2
Totals 10 140 0 36
Monrovia
Rushing No. Gain Loss Net TD Long Avg.
Parks, Austin 20 170 3 167 1 33 8.4
Johnson, Garrett 13 89 0 89 1 23 6.8
Hadley, Jake 13 40 0 40 0 6 3.1
Connor, Tim 6 17 3 14 0 7 2.3
Team 1 0 1 -1 0 0 -1.0
Totals 53 316 7 309 2 33 5.8
Passing Cmp-Att-Int Yds TD Long Sacked
Connor, Tim 0-2-0 0 0 0 0
Totals 0-2-0 0 0 0 0
Receiving No. Yds TD Long
Totals 0 0 0 0
