Determining where Ludlow senior Carson Evans was most effective on Friday was hard.
Maybe it was his three catches for 91 yards and a touchdown in the Panthers’ 46-35 win at Bishop Brossart – or it could’ve been his two sacks, an interception for a touchdown or a hurry on Mustangs quarterback Tyler Holtz that led to another pick.
“That’s a great question, man,” Ludlow coach Woody McMillen said. “Where is Evans more valuable? My god, what a player, what a player. He had catches in the first half, he’s an exceptional defensive player and just a great kid.”
Evans said he enjoys both offense and defense.
“It’s 50-50,” he said. “Last year I just played defense, but now they gave me a shot on offense, and I like it the same.”
What was equally certain: Ludlow did not improve to 6-2 overall and 2-0 in Class A, District 4 because of just what Evans did.
There was Dameyn Anness’ 173 rushing yards, including a 64-yard jaunt around left end on the game’s second play and a 22-yarder late in the third stanza. He left a lot on the field when he threw up in the second half.
“Just high carbs,” Anness said. “A lot of potatoes, just high carbs to keep our energy going. A bunch of water.”
Next was Austin Smith-Baxley’s 57 rushing yards and two touchdowns.
And finally, there was something Ludlow fans might never have seen before: Matt Brock blocking a field goal to teammate Gabe Payne, who took off for a 55-yard score late in the second quarter.
Ludlow won its fourth straight after a 32-30 loss to Newport on Sept. 20 on what Anness thought were a few bad calls – a setback that brought down the Panthers’ state ranking.
“This game was really a statement to let everybody know that we’re one of the top teams in the state,” Anness said.
To be sure, the Panthers needed every last inch of their 344 total yards.
Brossart (6-2, 1-1): rebounded from a 21-7 first-quarter deficit to gain a 28-28 halftime tie, got 198 rushing yards and three touchdowns from Cameron Mandel and Holtz’s 159 passing yards and TD tosses to Nicholas Cozzi and Landon Geyer.
Brossart coach Adam Kozerski liked his team’s resilience.
“Our offense was really able to do a lot of the things that we wanted to accomplish,” Kozerski said. “There have been times this season where our defense was able to buy our offense time to figure things out. (Friday), we needed our offense to help buy our defense some time to figure things out.”
For the night, the Mustangs gained 339 total yards.
“We wanted to be physical,” McMillen said. “Brossart really punched us in the mouth in the first half.”
What the Mustangs could not do was recover from Ludlow’s 18-point third quarter. In a little less than eight minutes, the Panthers scored on Smith-Baxley’s 2-yard plunge, Anness’ 22-yard run and Evans’ 42-yard pick-six.
Three plays after Evans’ 46-yard pass from Jackson Mays, Smith-Baxley’s 2-yard plunge gave Ludlow a 14-0 lead, which Brossart cut in half when Mandel broke a couple tackles on the way to a 66-yard score.
Mays and Evans practicing the mid-range pass to the right corner paid off – they connected for a 25-yard score on fourth-and-3.
“We have a good connection,” Evans said. “He knows he can get me the ball, he knows I’ll catch the ball. We trust each other.”
The result: Ludlow, 21-7.
If you thought Ludlow would hurry to a mercy-rule win, Brossart emphatically channeled Lee Corso’s Saturday morning catchphrase on ESPN – not so fast.
A little more than two minutes into the second stanza, Mandel scored from a yard out, completing a nine-play, 61-yard drive in which he carried seven times for 39 yards.
When Brock blocked Max Runge’s 38-yard field goal attempt with less than five minutes left before intermission, Payne didn’t let the ball touch the ground and scored his first career touchdown.
“It was right there,” Payne said. “I turned, and it was right there.”
After Payne’s score with 4:43 left in the half, Holtz found Nicholas Cozzi for a 13-yard score. Mandel’s 21-yard run with a minute left completed the comeback.
McMillen reminded his team of the week’s theme: toughness and resilience. They were the topics during Thursday’s team meal.
“We challenged them at halftime with that,” McMillen said. “And they answered the bell.
Holtz’s 8-yard pass to Landon Geyer with 27 seconds to go in the fourth ended the scoring.
After the handshake line, Ludlow started a new tradition – a jumping jack for every point scored.
PANTHERS 46, MUSTANGS 35
LUDLOW— 21-7-18-0 — 46
BISHOP BROSSART — 7-21-0-7 — 35
Scoring Plays
First quarter
L-Dameyn Anness 64 run (Finn McMillan kick), 11:13
L-Austin Smith-Baxley 2 run (McMillan kick), 6:43
BB-Cameron Mandel 66 run (Max Runge kick), 6:29
L-Carson Evans 25 pass from Jackson Mays (McMillan kick), 2:25
Second quarter
BB-Mandel 1 run (Runge kick), 9:49
L-Gabe Payne 55 return of blocked kick (McMillan kick), 4:43
BB-Nicholas Cozzi 13 pass from Tyler Holtz (Runge kick), 2:34
BB-Mandel 21 run (Runge kick), 1:00
Third quarter
L-Smith-Baxley 2 run (kick blocked), 8:13
L-Anness 22 run (pass failed), 4:34
L-Evans 42 interception return (run failed), 0:40
Fourth quarter
BB-Landon Geyer 8 pass from Holtz (Runge kick), 0:27
Game Stats
Passing Yards: Ludlow 91 (Mays 3-4-91-1 TD-1 INT, Anness 0-1-0-1 INT); Brossart (Holtz 10-25-159-2 TD-2 INT).
Rushing Yards: Ludlow 262 (Anness 19-173, Smith-Baxley 14-57, Brandenburg 1-14, Conley 4-17, Mays 2-(minus-9), Clary 1-1); Brossart 180 (Mandel 22-198, Gulley 1-5, Holtz 5-(minus-23)).
Receiving: Ludlow 91 (Evans 3-91); Brossart 159 (Mandel 2-34, Cozzi 3-66, Geiman 1-7, Ruth 1-6, Geyer 2-40, Tischner 1-6).
First downs: Ludlow 15, Brossart 9.
Turnovers: Ludlow 4, Brossart 2.
Penalties: Ludlow 4-35, Brossart 4-27.
Records: Ludlow 6-2 (2-0 in Class A, District 4), Bishop Brossart 6-2 (1-1).