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LaSalle throttles Harrison, moves on to regional final

La Salle LB Brady O'Connor (photo by: Sandy Mahoney/X: @InMotionBySandy)

 ROSS, Oh. – On paper, it looked like a pretty even matchup in Friday night’s Ohio Division II, Region 8 semifinal at Ross High School between the second-seeded LaSalle Lancers and sixth-seeded Harrison Wildcats.

Both teams came into the matchup with identical 10-2 records, along with impressive offenses and defenses that had led them to Friday night, and it was expected to be one of the more competitive games of the third round of the OHSAA playoffs.

It was anything but that, however, as the Lancers and their defense throttled the Wildcats 37-0, marching on to a regional final showdown next Friday versus top-seeded and undefeated Anderson.

Harrison won the coin toss and deferred to the second half, so the Lancers took the opening kickoff and QB Pat McLaughlin promptly took his team 80 yards in only 2:18, capping the drive with a McLaughlin 9-yard touchdown toss to Isaac Goldschmidt. With the extra point, LaSalle was up early 7-0.

The Lancer defense did its part on the first possession for Harrison, forcing them to go three-and-out and punt it away. The Lancers offense moved it to midfield, but the Wildcat defense rose to the occasion, forcing a LaSalle turnover on downs.  The Harrison offense then looked to be getting on track, getting to the Lancer 48-yard line, before RB Cole Koops was drilled in the backfield, fumbled the ball, and LaSalle defensive  back Brady O’Connor recovered the loose ball and sprinted 41 yards  for a score to make it  14-0 with 4:07 left in the first quarter.

That would be the play that broke Harrison’s back.

LaSalle again forced the Wildcat offense three-and-out, and McLaughlin and his mates again drove down the field, knocking on the door of the endzone as the first quarter ended. They opened the second quarter by settling for a 35-yard field goal by Jack Schroer, and it was quickly 17-0 Lancers and the Wildcats were on the ropes.

Both teams would exchange possessions before the next round of fireworks, which came with 4:34 left in the half, as McLaughlin would drive the Lancers down the field again and finish the drive with a  5-yard touchdown pass to O’Connor to make it 24-0. It was McLaughlin’s second TD throw of the night, and  O’Connor’s second score as well. 

Another Harrison three-and-out would give the Lancers one more opportunity to add some more insurance, and it was an opportunity they would take advantage of, as McLaughlin would again deftly take LaSalle down the field and cap it himself, as he scampered in from four yards out. The extra point was no good, but the Lancers would go into halftime leading 30-0.

Their defense came to play in the first half, as they bottled up both Harrison’s running and passing attacks, holding RB Cole Koops to paltry 25 yards on 6 carries, and QB Dickie Engel to 5 of 10 passing for a measly 24 yards. Overall, the Lancer defense in the first half held the Wildcats to 30 yards of total offense, on top of notching three sacks.

With a running clock for the second half, Harrison would take the kickoff and mount their biggest – and only – threat of the evening, as Engel drove his squad down to the Lancer 27-yard line, but they came up short in converting a fourth down, and LaSalle would take over.

The third quarter quickly came to a close, with no further scoring, and both squads would exchange possessions in the fourth quarter before the Lancers – with backup QB Avier Carter in for McLaughlin,  who would finish his night an efficient 13 of 15 for  132 yards and two touchdowns – would put the cherry on top of the victory, as RB Jordan Hall would take it in from three yards out to make it  37-0.

The LaSalle defense held the high-powered Harrison offense — which came into the game averaging almost 40 points per game and with a running back in Koops who had rushed for 1,858 yards coming into Friday, to 25 yards on the ground — to a grand total of 131 yards of total offense and scoreless.

Meanwhile, the Lancers would rack up 318 yards of total offense, with 186 of  those on the ground, on top of McLaughlin’s impeccable game under center.

LaSalle head coach Pat McLaughlin had nothing but praise for his team on both sides of the ball.

“We played well offensively,” he said, “but I think the turning point of the game was early on, when Brady (O’Connor) gets the fumble recovery for a touchdown. And that just changed all the momentum. And to hold that running back of theirs to under 100 yards … our defense played hard.”

McLaughlin said he hopes the Lancers take the momentum from Friday night’s victory into next week’s regional final tilt against Anderson, because he knows what his team will be facing.

Anderson, the top seed in Ohio Division II, Region 8, trounced Mt. Healthy Friday night, 42-0, to advance to the regional final.

“We know the next step’s way more difficult,” McLaughlin said. “Anderson’s going to be a tough ballgame. We’ll celebrate tonight, and get after it tomorrow.”

LaSalle moves to 11-2 on the year, and advances to the regional final next Friday against Anderson. Harrison, the Southwest Ohio Conference champions, finishes their season 10-3.

BOX SCORE
Harrison  0-0-0-0  0
LaSalle 14-16-0-0   37

SCORING PLAYS
L: Isaac Goldschmidt 9-yard pass (Jack Schroer kick)
L: Brady O’Connor 41-yard fumble return (Schroer kick)
L: Schroer 35-yard field goal
L: O’Connor  5-yard pass (Schroer kick)
L: Pat McLaughlin 4-yard run (kick blocked)
L: Jordan Hall  3-yard run (Schroer kick) 

RECORDS: LaSalle 11-2; Harrison 10-3
UP NEXT: LaSalle will face Anderson (12-0) in Ohio Division II, Region 8 final;  Harrison’s season is complete

 

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