LAPEL — Lapel High School honored all fall senior athletes prior to the start of the final gridiron home game Friday, Oct. 5, and the senior football players kept the emotion high as they handed visiting Tri-Central a 42-6 loss.
The Bulldogs got off to a shaky start in the opening drive. The kickoff return by Kyle Shelton went deep into Trojan territory, but quarterback Cole Alexander was sacked for a big loss on the next play, and a bobbled pass on the next down resulted in an interception.
Once the erred drive was behind them, the Bulldogs settled down to play, and on their next drive, Alexander hit receiver Justin Engle to get to the one-yard and Alexander on the keeper got in for the score.
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Lapel recovered a fumbled kickoff return by Tri Central and retained possession. Connor Gill caught the pass from Alexander to reach the 10-yard line, and Sparky Manis ran in for the touchdown.
Lapel had a 14-0 lead by the middle of the first quarter.
Barely a minute into the second quarter, Engle made a 30-yard run to the end zone, and the Bulldogs were up 21-0.
One of the keys to the night’s win was the Bulldogs’ ability to convert.
On a fourth-and-13, Lapel went for it, and Alexander’s pass to Gill earned the first down. Dane Bush caught a pass from Alexander to score, and with another good PAT from Luke DesNoyers, the Bulldogs took a 28-0 lead into the locker room at halftime.
DesNoyers has missed just two PATs all season.
Manis made another short-yardage run in the third quarter to give the Bulldogs a 35-0 lead, and Shelton scored in the fourth quarter.
Tri Central found the end zone with three minutes left in the game but missed the extra point to make the final 42-6.
Several Lapel players gained experience during the night’s play.
“Games like this, it’s always good to get in as many people as you can.”
With 70 players on the team, on-field time is not always easy.
“Always happy to take the win, but there’s some things we need to correct,” Miller said. “We need to execute a little better in some areas. You learn from it and try to correct it for next week.”
The Bulldogs allowed the Trojans just 144 yards of offense for the game.
Alexander went 14-20 for 243 yards, two touchdowns and one interception. He also had a rushing touchdown.
Gill and Engle each racked up more than 100 yards receiving — Gill at 104 and Engle at 107.
The Bulldogs have won two in a row after suffering four difficult defeats. “
We played four really good teams in a row, and we had some growing up to do,” coach Tim Miller said. “We’ve been able to win two in a row and hopefully make it three with a little momentum going into the sectional.”
Heading into its final game of the season, Lapel is 4-4. The Bulldogs travel to Eastern Hancock for their final regular season contest set for 7 p.m. Friday, Oct. 12.