Published: November 12, 2009 11:41 pm      

FOOTBALL: Cass faces Luers tonight

Lewis Cass’ football team turned back Frankton, Tipton and Northwestern to win its third straight Class 2A sectional championship.

Now, the Kings hope to make it three straight regional championships too.

No. 9-ranked Cass (9-3) and seven-time state champion Fort Wayne Bishop Luers (7-5) meet in a one-game regional at 7 o’clock tonight at Owens Memorial Field.

“I think the team is pretty excited. I think they’re pretty grounded after watching some tape of Luers though. [The Knights] kind of have a way of bringing you back down to earth — they’re an awfully good team,” Cass coach Scott Mannering said. “Regardless, it was a huge win for us last week [beating Northwestern 28-7]. To get the sectional title, playing Tipton and Northwestern back to back, was quite an accomplishment for our guys.”

Luers comes from the powerful Summit Athletic Conference which is filled with bigger schools including Class 5A heavyweight Fort Wayne Snider and Class 4A No. 2-ranked Fort Wayne Bishop Dwenger. The Knights went 4-5 in league play — then feasted on their sectional opponents, outscoring Manchester, Eastern and Winchester by a 148-43 margin.

The Knights feature playmakers on offense, defense and special teams. They create a lot of turnovers with their active defense.

“They’re very young. They play a lot of sophomores, even a couple freshmen, but they’ve been through the Summit Athletic league so they’re battle-tested,” Mannering said.

Cass knows all about Luers. Two years ago, the Knights beat the Kings 14-0 in a semistate game at Cass. The Knights won their seventh state title the following week.

Now comes a rematch.

“We watched the game from 2007 on Monday. Even though most of the players are different, [the Knights’] scheme was very similar to what they’re doing and we’re the same too. The guys got a little taste of what to expect. … I think we’re going to have to be at our best to move on,” Mannering said.

Luers coach Matt Lindsay is expecting Cass’ best shot.

“I remember from two years ago that it was an intense atmosphere. … Our motto all season has been getting out of the gate fast and that’s what we’ll want to do. We want to take the crowd out of the game,” he said.

Sophomore James Knapke is Luers’ quarterback. He has completed 89 of 178 pass attempts for 1,062 yards and 10 touchdowns. He has thrown 13 interceptions. Junior Ken Mullen III is a big-play threat in the backfield. He averages 10.1 yards per carry and has scored 18 touchdowns. He’ll occasionally run from the QB spot in the wildcat formation.

Mannering said the Knights’ team speed is a major concern.

“Big plays will be a killer,” he said. “We noticed that when they played Manchester, which had a good team this year. Manchester did not play bad, but you miss a tackle, sometimes that leads to a score rather than just a 15- or 20-yard gain. That happened three or four times to them.”

Lindsay is concerned with Cass quarterback/safety Damon Foreman, whose all-around play keyed the Kings’ sectional title win.

“Foreman is a good athlete who runs the show. Everything revolves around him. He seems to be a good and intense leader,” he said. “They are very physical and have a couple big kids up front.”

Foreman has completed 41 of 80 passes for seven touchdowns. He has thrown five picks. He has run for 489 yards and 11 touchdowns. Derrick Worden (825 yards) and Josh Knutson (660) lead the Kings’ ground attack.

Foreman and Brody Edgerly started on defense for the Kings in the 2007 semistate game.

Mannering pointed to field position as a key for his squad. In addition, he said the Kings need to limit unforced penalties and also their turnovers, and keep the Knights from dominating special teams.

“We thought the last time we played them, even though talent-wise they were obviously one of the best teams we’d ever played, they’re also one of the better-coached teams that we had seen,” Mannering said. “They’re very disciplined and everything they do makes sense. They have a really good staff there — they use their talent well and they know how to work it and the kids perform for them.

“We think we know what we need to do, it’s just a matter of: Can we execute it, and can we play at the speed and intensity that they’re going to bring?”