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La Salle escapes at Elder

La Salle at Elder (photo by: Sandy Mahoney / X: @InMotionBySandy)

CINCINNATI, Ohio – With postseason seeding on the line, Elder and LaSalle met for a highly competitive GCL South season finale, as the two evenly matched squads both battled hard for their first conference win of the season in the WLWT Blitz 5 game of the week. 

After both respective defenses held strong during the majority of the first quarter, it was LaSalle who used the arm of talented senior quarterback Patrick McLaughlin to break into the scoring table for the first time. McLaughlin found fellow senior Brady O’Connor open for a 16-yard passing touchdown. 

From the second quarter on, the contest became an offensive shootout, as Elder answered back quickly with a nice offensive drive of their own, capping it off with a 1-yard rushing touchdown by senior Joey Thamann. The Lancers followed that right up with another touchdown from McLaughlin, but this time with his legs. La Salle’s quarterback found an open running lane and strolled into the endzone for an 8-yard run.

PHOTOS: La Salle at Elder

With neither offense letting up, the game rolled into halftime tied 14-14 after Thamann found the endzone for Elder once again, this time on a 2-yard run. The second half started with more of the same from both squads, efficiently running offense and driving down the field. LaSalle was able to make a stop early in the third quarter, holding the Panthers to just a Adam Re field goal.

McLaughlin continued his impressive night, guiding the Lancers down into Elder territory, and he once again found a La Salle receiver, tossing a 26-yard touchdown throw to senior Max Welter. The visitors began to hold the momentum, finally forcing the Elder offense to punt the football. But it was the Elder defense who found the tide-turning play on defense. Senior safety Joey Ditullio picked off McLaughlin and returned it 55-yards to the house, igniting the home crowd at The Pit. 

McLaughlin shrugged off the unfortunate turnover and calmly took his offense down the field once again, as O’Connor found the endzone for the second time, this time on a 1-yard run. 

In addition to his impressive night offensively, Brady O’Connor also had an impressive night on the defensive side of the ball as well, leading the Lancers in tackles with 10 solo. Senior Zach Gates tacked on 1.5 sacks from the edge spot, and senior corner Walter Berry, Jr. also had 10 tackles of his own.

With Elder trying to play spoiler late, LaSalle’s star defensive back Sayre Smothers called game, picking off Kaden Estep for a 26-yard pick-six. The Lancers survived a hotly contested offensive battle and capped off their season with a solid conference win. 

Both offenses put up similar numbers throughout the contest, as Elder out-gained LaSalle 378 yards to 313. Thamann led the way for the Panthers, with 57 yards and two scores on the ground, in addition to 59 yards receiving. Estep found success with both his arm and his legs, throwing for 261 yards and rushing for 66. Senior wideout Christopher Paff led the team with 71 yards receiving. Jackson Ruth had an additional 54 yards receiving on just two catches.

Defensively, Elder’s Pete Fortkamp led the way in tackles, with 12. The Panthers were unable to break through the Lancer offensive line for any sacks, but racked up two tackles for a loss. Senior Corey Selle had 10 tackles of his own, respectively. 

It was LaSalle’s offensive efficiency that determined the outcome, and the Lancers scored touchdowns on all but two of their offensive drives, while Elder was held to three without points and a field goal on one. Both teams will now turn to the first round of the OHSAA State Tournament, where they will receive their seeding and matchups this week. 

POSTGAME INTERVIEW

SCORING BY QUARTERS
La Salle: 7-7-7-14-35
Elder: 0-14-3-7-24

SCORING PLAYS
L: Brady O’Connor 16 pass from Pat McLaughlin (Jack Schroer kick)
E: Joey Thamann 1 run (Adam Re kick)
L: McLaughlin 8 run (Schroer kick)
E: Thamann 2 run (Re kick)
E: Re 23 field goal
L: Max Welter 26 pass from McLaughlin (Schroer kick)
E: Joey Ditullio 55 interception return (Re kick)
L: O’Connor 1 rush (Schroer kick)
L: Sayre Smothers 26 interception return (Schroer kick)

RECORDS: La Salle (8-2, 1-2 GCL South); Elder (5-5, 0-3)
UP NEXT: OHSAA Playoff Round 1 matchups (TBD)

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