Cass grinds out victory over No. 3 West Lafayette

WALTON— Lewis Cass used its stable of running backs to grind out more than 300 yards on the ground as the Kings upset Class 3A No. 3 West Lafayette 14-6 Friday night.

Lewis Cass snapped its five-game losing streak to the Red Devils while beating its second straight state-ranked team. The Kings whipped Class A No. 6 Pioneer in their season opener.

It was the second consecutive game where the Red Devils struggled to get anything going on offense. Part of the reason, though, could be blamed on the Lewis Cass offense, which chewed up large chunks of the game clock on each possession.

The Kings rushed 55 times for 312 yards. Lewis Cass didn’t throw a pass in the second half.

“I thought we did a pretty good job working the perimeter in the first half,” Kings coach Scott Mannering said. “They made an adjustment that gave us some problems. We didn’t throw the ball in the second half. We were a little more conservative. In the second half we wanted the fullback to carry the ball more and we were successful doing that.”

The game took a gloomy turn for West Lafayette on its first possession. After getting the ball in good field possession after a bad punt snap by Lewis Cass, the Red Devils drove the ball to the Kings 3.

After a Maurice Woodard run lost two yards, West Side quarterback Parker Ronchetto scrambled right looking for a receiver in the end zone and Drew Shepherd picked off the pass.

“It feels amazing to beat them because the last time was five years ago and we knew this would set the tone for us the rest of the season,” Shepherd said. “It’s been a few years since we’ve had a winning record. We won’t be satisfied until we go all the way.”

The Kings drove 73 yards on eight plays, capped by Garrett Riley’s 32-yard run over right tackle to give Lewis Cass a 7-0 edge just before the first quarter ended.

The Kings collected 13 first downs and rushed for nearly 200 yards during the first half. Yet, Lewis Cass proved to be its own worst enemy with penalties. The Kings finished with 12 penalties for 75 yards.

West Lafayette started the second half looking like a different team, going 65 yards on 10 plays, highlighted by a 29-yard pass from Ronchetto to tight end Ben Griggs, to set up Woodard’s 1-yard touchdown run on the next play.

But Ronchetto’s two-point conversion pass was intercepted, and the Red Devils continued to trail 7-6.

“We had our chances,” West Lafayette coach Marshall Overley said. “We have a lot of people new at their positions and we’re going to get better. You can feel our frustration. We can’t change the scoreboard tonight but we can use it the make them a better team and to be able to handle these situations better.”

Lewis Cass would answer by marching 75 yards and using seven minutes of the third quarter clock, all on the ground. West Side looked like it had the Kings stopped, forcing a fourth-and-8 on the Red Devil 36.

The Kings went for it and Jacob Collins bounded over left tackle for a 14-yard gain. Shepherd scored two plays later on a 21-yard run, lifting Lewis Cass’ lead to 14-6.