LAPEL — After two straight losses, the Lapel High School football team scored a 51-36 win at Rushville Sept. 27 — but the Bulldogs will face a bigger road challenge this week against Heritage Christian.
Coach Tim Miller saw his offense produce a stellar night, with quarterback Cole Alexander throwing for 391 yards and four touchdowns. Alexander also rushed for 2 TDs.
While the offense fared well, the Bulldog defense found itself down five starters due to injuries and struggled on special teams.
“With so many out, it was a bit of a learning curve,” Miller said.
The Bulldogs were missing some of their top defensive backs, including Brock Harper, Tyler Dollar and Drew Darlington.
Miller is hoping at least two or three of his injured players will be ready for Friday’s matchup.
“We’ll go with the best group we got and hope we’re covered against a very good team,” Miller said.
Heritage Christian (5-1) is ranked No. 8 in Class 2A and hasn’t lost a game since a 23-5 defeat Sept. 6 against Class 3A No. 7 Guerin Catholic.
The Eagles have one of the top rushers in the state in Colton Brown, who at No. 16 in ranking has more than 900 yards on the ground. Eagle quarterback Maxwell Milton comes in on the list at 29 with 1,112 yards passing, and receiver Harrison Eckel is just under 500 yards receiving.
However, Lapel has some similar matchups. The Bulldogs’ Alexander ranks at No. 24 statistically with 1,157 yards, and receiver Prough, at 512 receiving, is in the top 20 of receivers in the state.
Against the Lions, Charlie Prough picked up 261 yards receiving and scored three touchdowns for the Bulldogs, while one of Tanner Mroz’s two catches resulted in a TD.
Josiah Scott made up the rest of the Bulldog touchdowns, running two across into the endzone.
Kicker Jorge Moneo was good on three PATs.
As the post-season approaches, Miller is hoping history repeats itself.
“What usually happens is we kind of hit our stride this time of year,” Miller said. “Each week, we’ve gotten a little better.”
