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Leopards' perfect season comes to an end: Lovejoy turns the ball over 10 times in playoff loss
BY Bill Conrad, bconrad@starlocalnews.com
RICHARDSON -- Lovejoy (11-1) protected the ball all season en route to a district title and 11-0 start.
That all changed Friday night in the area playoffs from Wildcat-Ram Stadium as the Leopards turned the ball over 10 times in a 41-16 loss to state-ranked Lancaster (11-1).
The Leopards threw four interceptions, lost two fumbles, turned the ball over on downs twice, muffed a punt and let Lancaster recover a pooch kick in a game where Lovejoy never led.
Lancaster is led offensively by a pair of run-first quarterbacks -- DeMarcus Ayers and Nick Harvey.
However, it was big pass plays that continually hurt the Leopards on Friday.
The Tigers took the opening kickoff, but the drive appeared to stall after two penalties set Lancaster up with a third-and-23 from the Lovejoy 33-yard line. Rather than keep the ball on the ground, Ayers found receiver Nick Alexander wide open down the right sideline for a touchdown and 7-0 lead. The Lovejoy defense stiffened and forced a turnover on downs on Lancaster's second possession, and then a quick three-and-out on the third. However, the ensuing punt struck the leg of Lovejoy's senior linebacker Austin Turnbow and was recovered by the Tigers at the 10-yard-line.
Two plays later Ayers ran the ball in from 2 yards out.
Lovejoy pulled within 14-3 midway through the second quarter on a 19-yard field goal from junior Mick Ellis, but the gap would soon widen again. With 55 seconds left in the half, Ayers connected with Harvey on a 31-yard touchdown pass on fourth-and-12 to extend the lead to 21-3 going to the break.
Playing his final game in a Lovejoy uniform, senior Zach Saffle came out of the locker room and immediately made an impact.
Saffle scored on a reverse less than two minutes into the third and then intercepted Ayers on Lancaster's first drive to set the Leopards up at their own 35. With a 21-10 score and the momentum shifting, Lancaster's defense forced a fumble by junior Dan Sefcik near midfield.
Seven plays later Ayers was in the end zone yet again, this time from 18 yards out to extend the Tigers' lead.
The Sefcik fumble sealed the Leopards' fate.
Following the fumble, Lovejoy turned the ball over on its next five possessions, setting up two Lancaster scores -- a 63-yard scoring strike from Ayers to Tim Taylor and an 11-yard run from Harvey.
"Some of the turnovers were self-inflicted," Green said. "We had some silly turnovers; some things that were almost freakish. But that is just football and you have to credit them. I think tonight just wasn't our night. Things never got on track. We would start to move and then would shut down."
The Leopards moved the ball well at times, gaining large chunks of yards up the middle on runs by Sefcik, who had 11 carries for 108 yards. He also hauled in six passes for 26 yards.
Outside of Sefcik, the Leopards never got things going offensively.
Saffle caught only two passes for 40 yards and added another 28 on the ground, while senior Cullon Oldham-Greene gained 34 yards and scored a touchdown on eight carries. Quarterback Bowman Sells didn't play as he had all season, completing 12-of-25 passes for 112 yards and three interceptions.
However, Green said the blame cannot be placed on his freshman signal caller.
"I thought [Sells] played well," he said. "I wish he wouldn't have turned the ball over, but he was playing in a big ballgame as a freshman and not many kids get to do that. I thought his season was remarkable."
Ayers led the Tigers in rushing with 15 carries for 102 yards and two touchdowns. He also completed 11-of-18 passes for 183 yards, three touchdowns and one pick in the 41-16 win.
While the season didn't end the way Green wanted, he believes something special is building at Lovejoy and the Leopards will look to build off the success they had in their first year at Class 4A.
"Our (28) seniors were an unbelievable group and I can only hope we can have a group like that in the future," Green said. "The leadership they provided and the talent they had made them an incredible group. I am so glad I got to coach them."
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