Danville (10-2), the final local team still standing in the 2022 OHSAA football playoffs, took another step on its postseason journey by holding off a furious assault from the Hillsdale Falcons on its way to a 42-41 win in Division VII, Region 25 quarterfinal game.
Next up, the third-seeded Blue Devils will face 10th-seeded Lucas (6-6) in a regional semifinal game at 7 p.m. on Saturday at Clear Fork High School.
Lucas beat previously undefeated second-seed Lowellville, 35-25, to reach the regional semifinals. This is the fifth consecutive season in which the Cubs have won two playoff games.
The gritty quarterfinal win for Danville was a major accomplishment for Blue Devils coach Matt Blum and the team.
“The victory over Hillsdale was a great win for our program,” Blum said. “Hillsdale is a very good team; therefore, to be able to get a win over them means a lot to us. I have tremendous respect for their staff and their players.”
Danville took a 21-0 lead and held off a determined effort from the Falcons, whose 35-yard field goal fell just short to end the game.
“We were able to start off very fast on both sides of the ball,” Blum said. “Hillsdale did a great job fighting back and getting back into the game, but we were able to find a way to make plays late in the game to win.”
Max Payne led the way on offense against Hillsdale with 138 yards rushing and one touchdown, while Walker Weckesser completed 10 of 18 passes for 166 yards and a touchdown and Kaiden Colopy had three carries for 29 yards and two scores. Colopy also caught five passes for 101 yards and an acrobatic 47-yard TD as well as an end zone pass breakup on defense. Also on defense for the Blue Devils, Levi Lyons was a force with nine solos and nine assists for 18 tackles – three for loss. Weckesser was in on 12 tackles, and Dustin Beckett and Peyton Horn were each in on 10. Kendall Carter caused a fumble and was in on eight tackles.
For the season, Weckesser has thrown for 1,349 yards, Payne has rushed for 1,204 yards and Colopy has 42 receptions for 529 yards. Lyons is tops in the KMAC with 128 tackles.
With similar offense scoring stats and an advantage to Danville on defense -- Danville has outscored its opponents 337-190 this season and Lucas has a 331-270 scoring advantage -- Danville believes they can score, but must stop the Cubs on the ground.
Lucas relies on a powerful running attack with a controlled passing game. The Cubs average 246 yards per game on the ground and throw 10 passes per game for an average of 75 yards. Junior Logan Toms leads the team with 1,423 yards rushing and 18 touchdowns. Senior Andrew Fanello has added 732 yards on the ground with 11 touchdowns. Cubs senior quarterback Andrew Smollen has 909 yards passing and 10 touchdowns. Toms and Ty Lehnhart lead the team in tackles with 139 and 132, respectively.
Scott Spitler, in his 12th season at the helm of the Lucas program, knows how to prepare a team for postseason success. Spitler has led the Cubs to the playoffs every year since 2014.
"We draw on the experience of our senior leadership, and approach each week the same,” Spitler said. “We focus on being the best version of ourselves each week and being 1-0. We understand that every team in the postseason is very good and that it is going to take our best four-quarter effort to have a chance to earn the victory.”
Lucas finished 4-6 playing a rugged independent schedule before wins over Toronto and Lowellville in the playoffs.
Prior to and during the season, the Lucas coaches were optimistic.
“We lost 16 seniors to graduation and knew coming into the 2022 season that we were going to be very inexperienced,” Spitler said. “But we felt that if our young team could navigate our bear of a schedule to earn a postseason berth, that we would be battle-tested and could potentially have some postseason success.”
Danville understands the toughness that comes with facing the Cubs' squad.
“Lucas is a hard-nosed, tough and physical football team. We have had great games with them in the past, and we are very excited about the match-up,” Blum said. “They are well-coached and have some very good athletes that we will have to contain if we want to continue to advance in the playoffs.”
Lucas is well aware of Danville as well.
“We have a tremendous amount of respect for Danville. Danville is a very tradition-rich program that consistently produces tough, hard-nosed teams, and this season is no different,” Spitler said. “They have a very good football team led by a very talented senior class. Offensively, they are very balanced, and defensively, they get after you sideline to sideline. We know that when you play Danville, you are in for a four-quarter war, and we expect nothing less from this team.”
Blum has some postseason coaching experience and isn’t afraid to ask for advice.
“This is actually my fourth time in the playoffs in my six total years of coaching, just my first time as a head coach,” Blum said. “I am always seeking advice from coaching colleagues, not only on our match-up this week but how to handle practice structure this late in the year, among other things.”
Both teams defeated Hillsdale by one point, Lucas winning 14-13 in the second game of the season and the Blue Devils claiming the playoff victory. Saturday's Division VII, Region 25 semifinals match is expected to be an exciting one. The winner will take on the winner of the No.1 John F. Kennedy (11-1) vs. No.4 Southern (11-1) match-up.
