Many coaches believe in the phrase, games are won and lost in the trenches.
This became one of those games where the Lloyd Memorial Juggernauts dominated in the trenches in a 40-3 Homecoming victory over the Bishop Brossart Mustangs. Both teams are 3-2 on the season.
Lloyd Head Coach Kyle Niederman told his players, this is a B-minus game. The next step is B-plus.
“I’m proud of our guys,” Niederman said. “It starts with the hard work in practice. It’s a great group of kids. They get good grades. They accept accountability. They accept coaching. We just work to get better all week. What we talk about is put your back to the scoreboard and focus on the field. When you hear the buzzer, that’s when you get to look at what the buzzer says.”
Lloyd outgained Brossart, 381-122 in total offense. Much of the Mustang offense came on the game’s final drive lining up in the Power-I and Double-Fullback sets.
“I felt like (the line play) went well. We have a bunch of big guys up front to put a lot of pressure in the backfield,” said Thomas Plymesser, Lloyd junior lineman. “They can’t really move the ball around. It’s wonderful not to have to march the entire field.”
Running their traditional Wing-T offense behind the huge offensive line behind the likes of seniors DeMarcus Kindle and DeVaughn Townsend, the Juggernauts ran for 290 yards on 28 carries for an average of just more than 10 yards per carry. They converted all four third-down attempts.
Senior running back Kaiden Zulager continued his impressive season rushing for 127 yard on 13 carries and three touchdowns for just under 10 yards per carry for Lloyd. Zulager also had one catch for 52 yards and a touchdown.
“The way the offensive line works in games and practices is just amazing,” Zulager said. “They just move guys down the field and give me big holes. I want to reward them with scores. The chemistry between me and my (O-line) is absolutely insane.”
But seven different players had carries for Lloyd Memorial. Sophomore quarterback Isaiah Sebastian rushed for 98 yards on seven carries for an average of 14 per carry and a touchdown and completed 3 of 6 passes for 91 yards, two interceptions and one touchdown. Freshman wide receiver Alijah Griffin rushed for a 46-yard touchdown.
“Once we figure what their motive is and what they’re trying to run, it’s a lot easier to communicate and let them know where to go,” said DeMarcus Kindle, Lloyd lineman. “We work hard in practice and try to make it like real game situations. We’re trying to put in the work to make our team the best.”
Sebastian also completed two passes to sophomore Elijah Collins for 39 yards and had two interceptions. Sebastian returned one interception about 45 yards for a touchdown.
“It went well. (I give) a shout-out to the coaches in practice putting me where I’m supposed to be on the field,” Sebastian said. “I just go make plays on the ball.”
Bishop Brossart tried two quarterbacks in seniors Sam Willike and Mason Meyer. Willike completed a 53-yard screen pass to senior running back Evan Orth in the third quarter. Orth also had 15 carries for 67 yards.
“We have deficiencies that we’re trying to cover for,” said Paul Wiggins, Bishop Brossart head coach. “We had a lot of positive runs. But the thing is they were one-shot things and it’s hard to keep running those when they have their monsters up front. So we knew this was going to be really tough for us. Milk the clock and minimize the damage is what we tried to do from the beginning.”
The Juggernauts built a 40-0 lead entering the fourth quarter, forcing the running clock. Zulager ran it in from four yards out with eight minutes left in the game and Sebastian scored from 35 yards out with 42.4 seconds left to give Lloyd Memorial a 14-0 advantage.
Zulager took a pass from Sebastian 48 yards for a touchdown with 3:45 left in the first half. Sebastian then recorded his interception to put the Juggernauts up 26-0 with one minute left in the first half.
Zulager added two touchdowns in the third quarter. He darted 44 yards for a touchdown with 7:40 left in the quarter and Zulager scored from one yard out with 1:06 after Sebastian ran for 44 yards after recording his second interception.
Bishop Brossart averted the shutout with 2:58 left in the fourth quarter. Junior Tyler Smith booted a 45-yard field goal.
Lloyd Memorial plays host to Montgomery County (1-3) on Sept. 30 at 7:30 p.m. Bishop Brossart heads to Ludlow on Friday for a 7 p.m. game.
Box Score
Bishop Brossart 0 0 0 0 – 3
Lloyd Memorial 14 12 14 0 – 40
First Quarter
LM (8:00) – Kaiden Zulager, 4 run (Elijah Westwood kick).
LM (42.4) – Isaiah Sebastian, 35 run (Westwood kick).
Second Quarter
LM (3:45) – Zulager, 48 pass from Sebastian (kick blocked).
LM (1:00) – Sebastian, interception return (kick failed).
Third Quarter
LM (7:40) – Zulager, 44 run (Westwood kick).
LM (1:06) – Zulager, 1 run (Westwood kick).
Fourth Quarter
BB (2:58) – Tyler Smith, 45 field goal.