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 (Sentinel photo by Bethany Kroeze) Le Mars' Levi Price dives ahead to tack some extra yards on to his run in the Bulldogs' 22-21 loss to Estherville-Lincoln Central Friday evening. [Click to enlarge] |
But the Midgets of Estherville-Lincoln Central drummed up a huge drive - going 60 yards in 20 seconds - to score on a 20 yard run with no time left. Trailing 21-20, the Midgets decided to go for the win and found the end-zone on the two-point conversion to hand Le Mars a 22-21 loss and spoil the Bulldogs' shot at a sub-state game.
Leading up to the thrilling ending, Friday night's game in Le Mars was an exciting roller-coaster ride for both squads the whole way through.
 (Sentinel photo by Bethany Kroeze) Le Mars' Hunter Rohde veers away from an E-LC defender as he returns a kickoff in the first half of Friday's 22-21 loss to the Midgets. [Click to enlarge] |
Le Mars was able to grab a slight edge in the third quarter when Candor connected with Pat Rosacker on a 25-yard touchdown pass. Judd Herzberg grabbed the lead for the Bulldogs with his extra point kick and Le Mars was up 7-6.
The back-and-forth battle continued in the fourth quarter as the Midgets' Jordan Eggers scooted seven yards to the end-zone. A two-point conversion pass completion boosted E-LC to a seven-point lead, 14-7.
Le Mars got back in the mix on a 12-yard run to the end-zone by Levi Price later in the quarter. A missed PAT left the Bulldogs trailing 13-14.
But with 28 seconds to go, Candor found the end-zone on a one-yard run and converted the two-point conversion run to give the Bulldogs a seemingly comfortable cushion with a 21-14 lead. Unfortunately, E-LC quarterback Alex Arends spoiled Le Mars' lead with a 20-yard touchdown run, followed by a Midget conversion run for the win.
"Every time you lose, it always hurts," Le Mars coach Jim Boyd said. "Especially when you come so close. It was a roller-coaster - the lead exchange was going back and forth."
"I was really proud of the way the kids fought back and stood up. With time running out and no time outs left, we managed to weave with Levi [Price] to score. We were in the end-zone but they pulled the ball back one foot, so T.C. converted it. But then they go the whole distance, make the two-point conversion and we lose by one point."
Friday night was definitely a heartbreaker, as the loss kept the Bulldogs out of the playoffs for the first time in four years.
Le Mars was faced with a tough season this fall, battling injuries and illnesses as Coach Boyd and his staff tried to put together a full team every Friday night.
"We never had the same people," Boyd said. "But I can't say enough for our kids. They work hard and represent the community well."
"We still hung in there. I'm very proud of the kids on both sides of the ball. If people could see that [disappointment] with those kids, it just rips [your heart] out. You want to win so bad for them and they worked so hard, they fought so hard for it, and just came up short."
Statistically, the Bulldogs edged the Midgets in most categories. Le Mars rolled up 249 yards of total offense, while E-LC managed 218 against the Bulldog defense.
Leading the offense was Candor. The senior quarterback completed nine of 20 pass attempts for 159 yards and a touchdown. Le Mars gave up two turnovers early - an interception and a fumble - but recovered nicely later in the game.
"I think it bothered T.C.," Boyd said of the early turnovers. "He got out of sync, but in the second half he stepped up and became the leader. He's done everything he should be doing."
Candor's main target was Price, who wrapped up four catches for 75 yards. Rosacker pulled in a pair of catches for 44 yards and the lone receiving touchdown. Tyler Westhoff added 27 yards on two receptions while Jake Conley had a big catch for 13 yards.
"Jake came through and made a fine catch," Boyd said. "It will be the only catch of his career."
"Jake's a fine kid, he works hard and I've never head this kid complain. I don't think he's ever missed a practice this year."
Candor continued to lead Le Mars on the ground, as he rolled up 39 yards on 16 carries and a touchdown. Price added 32 yards and a touchdown on 10 carries while Ryan Baue had eight yards on two attempts. Matt Ferris also rolled up eight yards on three carries.
The Bulldog defense added a pair of sacks for a loss of 18 yards against the E-LC quarterback.
Rosacker had a solo sack along with his team-leading 11.5 tackle points. Travis Hansen and Ben Beitelspacher combined for the other Bulldog sack of the night. Hansen had three tackles while Beitelspacher had two.
Nick Plueger and Baue each recorded 5.5 stops in the game while Josh Meredith had four tackles. Anthony Schimek also added four tackles while Jared Riedemann made 3.5 stops as the Bulldogs totaled 47 tackles on defense.
Hunter Rohde returned a pair of kickoffs for 27 yards while Westhoff had one return for three yards. Schimek totaled 33 yards as he returned three punts while Price returned one punt for 11 yards.
Judd Herzberg kicked one extra point for the Bulldogs and averaged 32.3 yards per kickoff, including a long 43 yard kick as he totaled 129 yards on the night. Bryce Dahm got one punt inside the 20 as he averaged 32.5 yards per punt with his six kicks in the game.
With the loss, the Bulldogs end the season with a 3-6 posting overall, including a 3-4 mark in the district.
"I think our kids played pretty well," Boyd said. "They don't shy away from anybody. Anybody we put in [the game] did a fine job."
"Every year, you're faced with rebuilding and it's a new opportunity for new kids to step up. If you're in this long enough, you're going to run into this and work your way out of it. Unless you have great athletes, you can coach them up all you want, but unless you have great athletes, you'll struggle. I think we'll have some of those coming up again. We have about 18 seniors, so we'll lose a bunch, but we have to rely on those sophomores to return next year."
Please coach Boyd, do us all a favor and retire. You obviously can't coach a team unless you have the so called "great athletes" like you've had the past few years. This year you had some very talented people but somehow we still managed to have a horrible season. My son started on offense and when he got home from the games, he would tell me about how you called the same passing play 9 times in a row at the end of the sgt bluff game AND the ELC game. Really? these players have the talent, they just need the guidance and brains on the sideline to know who to play, when to play them, and what plays to play.
1) Who said LCHS coaches were great.....it is the opposite
2) Central Lyon was 4-5 in 2005...don't lump them with Harlan. Just because a tema had a run of 2-3 years don't place them in a category with Harlan......
I think if the coaching staff at all levels is so great then they have time to to mold these kids into the team they want them to be. However as a parent of a player this year it was a very frustrating and disappointing year for us as well as our son. If they would utilize some of the talent on the sideline as well I think things could be a lot different. As we can see some of these other schools (Harlan,Central Lyon) seem to be able to mold their players into the teams they need. I can't beleive that they are just that lucky to get talented players year after year.
The juniors have a good group of boys as well. I would have to say there were at least 10 to 12 that started or were active in playing this past year. Combine those with the Sophmore class and if played and coached correctly it could be a good year next year. Still always have to get by the tough 2--- Heelan and Harlan to get to the dome. MOC lost to Harlan first round 58 to 14 which is who we would have played (Harlan) that is.
I have read the sophmore class is good, can someone tell more about the junior class, and some of the otherclasses of the Bulldog future.
Thanks
Perhaps you need to read Boyds comment over again, emarens. As I read it, " Unless you have great athletes, you'll struggle". That comment from the Head Coach is so wrong in so many ways. He also states " I think our kids played pretty well " As if he is not sure if they did play very well? I blogged some weeks back about the " Waving the Magic Wand statement, and don't know what to do," comment he made. A coach is to lead, set an example, speak highly about the whole team. Instead he finds fault in the players ability. That is so wrong.
Some of you are looking at the black and white here! Coach's comment about "great athletes" was taken out of context. I was shocked when I read that the first time too. So, I read it again, and again, and after a few times I got it. What he was saying is that there ARE great athletes on the team this year that will NOT be next year. He is forecasting that just because of the loss of Sr leadership it does not mean that next year will be a lost cause due to rebuilding. I have watched what that mentality can do to a team year after year. It is ugly and makes fans sick!
Also, and more important, coach Boyd and the rest of his coaches are not able to control illnesses or injuries. The only way they can even start to curb injury is the weight program and to my knowledge Le Mars had a great program for that.
Great athletes are not built from August to October. They are built from October to August and then they are showcased in the fall!
The coaches had to put the players on the field that best complimented each other when injuries and illness were a factor. Just because of one season in five that the 'Dogs did not make the playoff does not mean that coach Boyd should go or the sophomore coaches should step in.
I can only hope that the person that wrote that trash does not have a boss or a client that is that critical, especially in this economy!
No actually it was on a varsity game post a while back, but it doesnt matter anyway. I know the players have no say, the coaches put in who they believe are the best players. I just look forward to the next 2 years and hope they can bounce back with great seasons. The talent is there, I hope it is utilized. But now on to Wrestling!!
proudbulldogfan--I think these people are questioning the coaching decisions made by the varsity coaches. You were critcizing the Sophomore coaches for how they didn't play everyone equally/starters still in....in a blow out win. Big difference here. Maybe I have read things incorrectly, but that is how I am reading it. Unless I missed something you said in another post/article. I am just going off the two most recent articles.
The staff wont change, I said in some earlier posts about the talent of the sophs & coaching decisions and got RAILED by alot of the posters for it. I have a son on the soph team, who suited up every varsity game & saw some action. There is a TON of talent coming up, and if the coaches utiliize them, (think QB) we can & will have a great team the next 2 years. Woulda, Coulda, Shoulda, DID!
Anyone can coach "great athletes" at this age level including my 9 year old daughter. It takes great coaches with leadership and respect from the players to find, utilize, and YES teach/coach players. The players didn't lose this game, some of the coaches did. And let's all pray that the staff changes for next year.
The players have absolutely nothing to hang their heads about, there is only so much you can do when the coaching staff holds you back like that. Anyone that was at the game got a chance to see the real ability of this team at the end, if they would have been allowed to play the first three and a half quarters like the last four minutes, this would have been a 40 point game. With all the talent in the sophomore class, it makes me sick to think what will happen when Boyd gets a hold of them full time: counter, off tackle, option, punt. Too bad the sophomore coaches can't move up to varsity also. Once again, to the players, you showed a lot of heart playing for a coach that didn't have much faith in you, that alone makes you "great athletes" even though he doesn't think he had any on this team.
One word " RETIRE"
I consider LeMars my hometown. I read the Daily Sentinel every day, via internet. I always read every Monday on how the Bulldog's football game turned out. Last weeks Heelan vs LeMars game turned out as I expected. Without a doubt, they are probably the best team, or at the very least in the top 3 teams in the state. But, and yes there is always a "but" 3 wins 6 loss season. Lost againts Sgt. Bluffs ??? I can even understand that....... But when you have the lead, 28 seconds on the clock left, the game has been going back and forth all night, you have to kick-off to ELC........YOU ON-SIDE KICK OR KICK OUT OF BOUNDS COACH, DON'T GIVE THEM A CHANCE TO RUN THE BALL BACK. 9 out of 10 times they are going to lateral the ball down field.
Perhaps Coach Chuck Fandel of ELC put into perspective in the Estherville Daily News
" To snatch it away from them "LeMars" is so very sweet " " I am extremely proud of our kids that they never gave up " Also I thought it was nice touch for him to mention every Senior on the team. And the last statement you made about the lack of great athletes, you struggle. Everytime these kids show up for practice, and the game, giving 110%, in my eyes, they too are great athletes. I bet you didn't even play every Senior this last game either.
What a heartbreaker! These kids played hard all night & in cold nasty rain towards the end. Kudos Dogs for an exciting '08 season!!