Held scoreless and down 20 points heading into the fourth quarter, the Danville Blue Devils performed a comeback for the ages and took down a determined Lucas team, 27-20, Saturday night.
Danville was confident going into the Division VII, Region 25 semifinal match against No. 10 Lucas (6-6). The No. 3-ranked Blue Devils had just withstood a tough challenge from Hillsdale in a 42-41 quarterfinal win and were riding a four-game winning streak.
Still, Danville coach Matt Blum knew his Devils would be in for a tough game.
“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 before the game. “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.”
The game began as a defensive battle and was scoreless after the first quarter. Then things started to go the Cubs’ way as they put up 10 points in the second to take a 10-0 halftime lead. In the third quarter, Lucas again controlled the field and another TD and field goal made it 20-0 Lucas heading into the fourth.
Instead of hanging their heads and taking a loss, the Blue Devils came out fighting in the final quarter.
Marching down the field, Danville got its first score on a Walker Weckesser 10-yard TD pass to Spencer Payne with 7:46 left. With time dwindling and down 20-7, Blum called for an onside kick, which the Blue Devils recovered. On the first subsequent play from scrimmage, Weckesser connected on a 40-yard TD pass to Kaiden Colopy with 7:27 left.
After a stop, and down 20-13, Max Payne ran the option and completed an 8-yard TD pass to Colopy with 1:23 left. A 2-point conversion pass from Max Payne to Ryan Lucas, tied it at 20-20. After another onside kick recovery, Max Payne lofted a 43-yard TD pass to Weckesser with 13 seconds left to win it.
Blum said his team never gave up.
“Our kids never quit and kept fighting 'til the last whistle,” Blum said. “They could've thrown in the towel, but they never stopped battling. I am super proud of them and their effort to come back from a 20-point deficit while scoring all 27 points in the fourth quarter. This performance truly embodies our program slogan: ‘No excuses; find a way.’”
Blum said he was proud of the team’s defensive performance and specifically Danville’s defensive box.
“We held their rushing attack under 170 yards on almost 50 carries,” he said. This was led by linebackers Levi Lyons (21 tackles) and Lucas (15 tackles), as well as defensive lineman Dillon Looney, Kendall Carter, Jordan King and Gavyn Lepley.
Offensively, Weckesser passed for 123 yards, and Payne was good for 93. The rushing effort was held to 128 yards with Payne getting 65, and Colopy led receivers with six catches for 103 yards.
Danville (11-2) heads to the District VII, Region 25 final Saturday against No. 1 John F. Kennedy (12-1) at 7 p.m. at New Philadelphia Quaker Stadium.
