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Lamar’s Blocked PAT Heart-Breaks Lutheran North 7-6 In Class 2 Semis
By Jim Wieners
A blocked extra point and a fourth down stop late in the fourth quarter gave Lamar a 7-6 win in the Class Two Semifinal over Lutheran North at on a rain-soaked Bill Lamothe Field under a brutally cold and stiff wind.
It gave Lamar their 48th consecutive win and their seventh consecutive state final. Lamar plays Friday, Nov. 24 in a 3 p.m. game against Lafayette County at Faurot Field, on the University of Missouri campus in Columbia. Lafayette County, based in Higginsville, is in their second state final. Lamar, winners of six consecutive Class Two state4 titles, won their first state title over Lafayette County 49-19 in 2011.
Unlike 2013, when Lamar won 70-7 over Lutheran North on a brutally cold and windy but sunny day at Lamothe Field the Nov. 18 game was scoreless until 8:50 left in the fourth quarter when Lamar got on the board first. Running back Cooper Lucas rolled to the right and ran to the east end zone from 49 yards out giving Lamar a 7-0 lead after the extra point by Juan Juar. Cooper rushed for 106 yards on 14 carries.
With 7:09 left in the fourth quarter, Lutheran North scored their touchdown by quarterback Josh Hopkins. Only throwing one pass in the brutal weather, which was incomplete, Hopkins went up the right side off a fake handoff from 30-yards out but Lamar’s Dylan Hill broke around the right side to block the extra point attempt by Tim Branneky, who converted 55 extra points and booted field goals this season.
Lutheran North got one more chance to win and the outcome was decided on a fourth down and three yards to go on the Lamar 24 with 59.7 seconds left, Canaan Brooks, who ran for 1,438 yards and 33 touchdowns but was limited to 54 yards against Lamar and the wet Lamothe grass, got only a one yard game.
While the final of 7-6 was heartbreaking for Lutheran North, it was the smallest margin of victory for Lamar in a playoff since defeating Mountain View-Liberty 21-20 in a 2010 quarterfinal. It is the only post-season playoff game since 2006 that Lamar has played where both teams scored less than 10 points.
In the Nov. 10 quarterfinal, Lutheran North traveled to Caruthersville and the Crusaders rolled to a 64-7 victory. Caruthersville scored first with 5:30 left but that lead held up for only 20 seconds. Nick Lotts had a 55-yard touchdown run and two-point conversion pass to D’Vion Harris with 5:10 left in the first quarter.
Lutheran North scored 56 unanswered points the next 3 quarters as Brooks and Donovan Marshall combined for 286 yards on 20 carries, each 10 rushes, and six touchdowns. Brooks rushed for 148 yards and four touchdowns in the second quarter while Marshall rushed for 138 yards and a pair of second half touchdowns.
