Published: August 30, 2008 12:59 am            

Lancaster is simply too much for Cass

West Lafayette QB does it all in 27-20 victory

WALTON — Cass football coach Scott Mannering said before Friday’s matchup with Class 3A No. 4 West Lafayette that he was afraid of the triple threat posed by quarterback Matt Lancaster.

Mannering’s worst fears became a reality.

Lancaster, who passed, ran and punted his team to a 27-20 victory over the Kings at Owens Memorial Field, had a hand in 304 of the Red Devils’ 346 yards of offense and all four scores — almost single-handedly sending Class 2A No. 7 Cass (1-1) to its first loss of the season.

“I thought we played a pretty good defensive game even though we gave up [27] points,” Mannering said. “It was pretty obvious Lancaster was the best football player on the field [Friday] night.”

Lancaster threw for 153 yards and three touchdowns on 14 of 28 passing. Operating out of the shotgun and often an empty backfield, the 6-foot-3, 188-pound signal-caller called his own number 23 times for another 151 yards on the ground and the go-ahead score in the third quarter after the Kings had knotted the score at 13-all.

Lancaster’s 5-yard run capped a 10-play, 49-yard drive with 3:33 left in the third. The big play of the drive was a 12-yard pass to Daniel Wodicka on third and 10.

“When we tied the game in the second half I thought if we can get the ball back, we’ve got a shot to get this,” said Mannering. “But that’s when he stepped up and ran the ball and threw the ball and they scored to go ahead. That was big.”

From there, the Kings mostly shot themselves in the foot. Their next drive halted after being stopped on third and 4 from the West Lafayette 46-yard line, resulting in a 17-yard punt.

Cass managed to stop the Devils on the ensuing drive at its own 7-yard line, forcing a missed 24-yard field goal attempt with 8:39 left, giving the Kings plenty of time to drive for the tying score.

But when the Kings took possession at the 20, they fumbled the ball away on the first play and West Lafayette made them pay as Lancaster threw a 4-yard TD strike to Andrew Pekny, his second of the game.

“I’m real disappointed with the way we executed offensively, especially in the second half,” Mannering said. “We needed to keep some drives moving and we just didn’t. The turnover we had down on our end was a killer.

“Playing a team this good this early in the season is difficult for us because I think we’re going to get a lot better but we’re not there yet. We’re waiting for some guys to step up and play at the intensity level I think they’ve got to get to but they’re not there yet. It showed in some spots [Friday] night.”

Down to one of their last chances the Kings went 76 yards in six plays, using just 1:13, to score on Colton Zeck’s 16-yard run and draw within 27-20 with 3:23 left.

Cass’ ensuing onside kick failed, though, as did one last possession that lasted four plays and netted minus-2 yards.

Zeck led eight Cass ball carriers with 87 yards and two TDs on 17 tries. Quarterback Damon Foreman was 10 of 15 passing for 95 yards and a touchdown pass to Brody Edgerly, who had three catches for 19 yards.

“Cass just kept coming at us and coming at us,” West Lafayette coach Marshall Overley said. “We were wondering when we got up by two touchdowns, OK, maybe they’re going to fold, but they’ve didn’t. They’ve got a lot of heart.”

        

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