LAPEL — In back-to-back weeks, the Lapel Bulldogs football team faced rival schools on its home field and showed why it’s getting noticed in the state rankings.
Friday’s 40-21 dominating win against Shenandoah came just a week after a decisive win over Frankton.
“I kind of predicted how this could go as far as the first half,” said Coach Tim Miller. “It was the first time we’ve played a team that could challenge us in that way.”
It was also the first time Lapel faced a Shenandoah team led by its new head coach, Jake Stilwell, the Bulldogs’ former offensive line coach and offensive coordinator.
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After a tight first half, the Bulldogs opened up the scoring in the second, and the Raiders were never really able to mount a comeback.
Junior Tyler Dollar put the ’Dogs on the board first with a 53-yard run, but the young Raiders answered with a 15-yard pass score to go ahead 7-6 with barely a minute left in the first quarter.
Only eight seconds had ticked off in the second quarter when the Raiders extended their lead to 14-6, but an unfazed Bulldogs squad retaliated with another Dollar long run to the end zone. Dollar’s 80-yard sprint cut the deficit to 14-13. The Bulldogs scored the go-ahead TD when quarterback Brennan Stow found receiver Noah Hudson from 13 yards out, giving Lapel a 20-14 lead.
Not to be outdone, Shenandoah found the end zone again with 1:09 left in the half to take a 21-20 lead.
Starting on their own three-yard line, the Bulldogs got to the Raider nine. Kaden Camp put it through the uprights for a 26-yard field goal as time expired, giving the Bulldogs a 23-21 lead to take into the locker room.
In the second half, the Bulldogs were unstoppable, and the Raiders could not find the yards to challenge.
Dollar scored again from 16 yards. He finished the night with 220 yards and three TDs.
“Tyler’s as talented as they come. If we have to give Tyler a break, we have (Kyle) Shelton, and Brennan can run,” Miller said.
Stow scored on the keeper, putting the Bulldogs up 37-20, and Camp capped off the scoring with a 42-yard field goal to make the final score 40-21.
“Once the chips were going against us, I thought our kids responded really well,” Miller said. “Coach Stilwell had been with us long enough, he knows one of the best things to do against us is to control the clock, which they were able to do in the first half.”
Stow was 10-13 for 183 yards, while Hudson had six receptions for 136 yards. Evan Osenbaugh and Brock Harper each had an interception for the Bulldogs.
Stilwell, also the former Lapel wrestling coach, took over the Shenandoah head coach position this season. The Raiders were hit hard with early COVID protocol restrictions, and the team is just now beginning to find its way.
“Our kids have nothing but admiration and respect for Coach Stilwell. He’s a fantastic football coach,” Miller said.
“These kids have been through adversity, but that’s OK, because life throws adversity at you, and it’s about how they respond,” Stilwell said. “I think they’ve done a tremendous job. We’re still learning and still becoming a team. Don’t get me wrong, I’m disappointed in this result because what we had in the first half was exactly what I know we can be.”
The Bulldogs, ranked 12th in Class 2A, will be tested this week as they face one of their toughest opponents of the season. Lapel will play host to Indianapolis Lutheran High School, which currently sits at No. 1 in Class 1A in the MaxPreps Indiana rankings. The Saints are also 3-0.
“We’re taking things one practice at a time. We’ve got to eat our Wheaties for Friday with Lutheran coming in here,” Miller said.
Kickoff for the Bulldogs-Saints game is 7 p.m.
