LAPEL — Suffering their first loss of the season, Lapel’s football team will prepare to get back on track with the first of three road games Friday at North Decatur.
The Bulldogs are 3-1 after a 34-13 loss to Class 1A Indianapolis Lutheran, the 2019 Class 1A state champions.
Lapel coach Tim Miller said his club failed to take advantage of a few opportunities that could have kept them a little closer, but he, staff and players will look at last week’s loss as a learning experience for the rest of the season.
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“We schedule games like that to get ready for the post season,” Miller said of taking on a strong Saints program that has a long history of going deep into the tournament series.
Quarterback Brennan Stow was one of the Bulldogs’ bright spots in the loss. Stow completed 17 of 22 passes form 168 yards, one touchdown with one interception. He also rushed for 65 yards.
Sophomore receiver Nick Witte had eight catches for 81 yards and a touchdown. Running back Tyler Dollar had 11 carries for 56 yards and a touchdown. He also had three receptions for 38 yards.
For the defense, Dollar and Luke Sundheimer each had 10 tackles. Coleton Kadinger had nine stops, including two tackles for loss, and a blocked punt.
The Bulldogs will go to Greensburg to take on a North Decatur team that is much better than its 0-3 record would indicate. North Decatur, which had eight shutouts last season and advanced to the Class 1A regional round last season, has all of its losses to quality Class 2A teams, opening with a 27-20 result at Eastern Hancock, in a game it led at halftime.
It dropped a 19-18 decision to Monroe Central and lost 20-8 last week to Shenandoah.
Miller said he doesn’t expect his team to overlook a hungry Chargers team looking for their first win.
“This group will be primed and ready to go,” Miller said.
Following North Decatur, the Bulldogs will play at Class 1A Traders Point Christian on Sept. 24 and at Class 2A power Heritage Christian on Oct. 1. The next home game is Oct. 8 against Class 4A Jay County.
