LAPEL — Lapel football is heading to the sectional championship game on the road against rival Shenandoah at 7 p.m. Friday, Nov. 2, but they’ll be the underdogs against the No. 5-ranked Raiders.
The Bulldogs came away with an exciting 11-8 come-from-behind win Friday, Oct. 26, against the Knights of Northeastern in Round 2 of Class 2A Sectional 36 action.
The Bulldogs hold a 7-4 record but will have to turn in their best performance of the season if they’re going to win a sectional championship against a powerful Raiders team.
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Lapel will take on a Shenandoah squad coming off a 51-13 win against Alexandria-Monroe in second-round action.
Shenandoah has been steamrolling through postseason play, including the defeat of Madison Grant 53-12 in the opening round, to improve its record to 10-1 heading into the sectional championship.
The Bulldogs and Raiders have already played once this year, and it didn’t turn out well for Lapel, which fell 52-7.
“’Doah is one heck of a team, and I am sure they have their eyes on Eastbrook and then Lucas Oil Stadium,” Lapel coach Tim Miller said. “We have our work cut out for us for certain.”
Lapel will be looking to cool off Shenandoah quarterback Peyton Starks, who torched the Bulldogs in their first match-up for three touchdown passes. Raiders running back Dallas Pugsley also rushed for 108 yards in the teams’ first meeting.
Lapel will need to have a big night from running back Sparky Manis, who was able to gain 122 yards in the first game between the two. Bulldogs quarterback Cole Alexander and receiver Connor Gill also will need to be at their best for the Bulldogs to get the upset win.
“We’re, of course, looking forward to it,” Alexander said. “We’ve been looking forward to a challenge like this all season.”
In the last match-up, the Raiders held the Bulldogs to 20 yards passing, but Alexander is hoping he and the team can break loose in the rematch, he said, by staying focused, doing their individual jobs and giving their best effort.
“We’re going to give it everything we’ve got,” Alexander said. “This is what you work for all summer to have a chance to win a championship.”
In the Bulldogs win against Northeastern, it was a defensive battle from the start. The Bulldogs had a tough time protecting Alexander, who was sacked several times in the first quarter.
Northeastern got on the board first when running back Shane Berry took the ball in from the one-yard line for a 6-0 second-quarter lead. After adding two points, it was an 8-0 lead.
Just when the Bulldogs started moving the ball in the second quarter on a third-and-five on the Northeastern 19-yard line, Alexander was sacked again, killing the drive keeping it 8-0 at the half.
In the third, Lapel had the ball in Northeastern territory, again driving, but a Bulldog fumble stopped the momentum.
The Bulldogs finally got things working in the fourth when Alexander took one in from the right side for the six-yard touchdown run. They got the two-point conversion with a pass from Alexander to Manis and tied it up 8-0.
The Bulldogs then got the ball back after Northeastern fumbled on the ensuing kickoff, and Lapel worked it down for a game-winning field goal by Luke DesNoyers, who was successful from 21 yards out.
“Offensively, we never really got into a groove until the fourth quarter, and hats off to their coaches on their game plan,” Miller said. “They had quite a few adjustments that we had not seen on film from them.”
