McGREGOR --
JP Lacsamana and
Godswill Giadolor combined for 229 yards and four touchdowns on the ground to help Bishop Lynch defeat Central Catholic 41-21 in the TAPPS Area Playoff round.
The Friars opened up the game with the ball and had a phenomenal drive to start. After
Legend Howell found
Cooper Alford on a third and long early in the drive, Giadolor had a long run that put the Friars inside the Central Catholic 15-yard line. Howell later found Cooper once again, this time for a touchdown, giving the Friars an early 6-0 lead.
Central Catholic would respond late in the first quarter when SMU commit Braden Flowers rushed for a 10-yard touchdown, giving the Buttons a 7-6 lead. The Friar offense would quickly retake the lead early in the second quarter when Giadolor rushed in from the one to get his lone touchdown of the contest, giving the Friars a 13-7 advantage.
The Bishop Lynch defense played their best game of the season at the best time. The Friars had forced a turnover in the first quarter from a
Weston Pomykal forced fumble, stopped Central Catholic on a fourth down, and then late in the second quarter
Kelsey Caldwell had a huge third down sack to force a punt and gave the offense great field position.
The Friars took advantage of the great field position, and after a clutch fourth-down grab by Alford,
JP Lacsamana found the endzone for his first touchdown of the contest, giving the Friars a 20-7 lead with 0:46 seconds left in the first half.
The Friar defense shut down any hopes of last-second points by the Buttons when
Colton Monroe got a huge sack that took the game to halftime.
Central Catholic started the second half with the ball and had a great seven-and-a-half-minute drive that ended with a touchdown, making the score 20-14. The Friars' offense, using the ground game to its advantage, would respond with Lacsamana's second touchdown on the ground, making it 27-14. The score would remain 24-14 to end the third quarter.
Central Catholic did not back down though, as Flowers would score his third touchdown of the game with 11:19 left in the game, making it 27-21 BL.
Though the Friars had been dominant on the ground, BL would respond through the air this time around. Howell found
Aaron Reeves for a 37-yard touchdown reception, making it 34-21 with 10:44 left in the game. Reeves had missed a good portion of the season with an injury and having him back in the lineup was huge for the offense and defense as he is a playmaker on both sides of the ball.
The defense would once again step up in a big way, stopping the Buttons on fourth down with seven minutes remaining in the game. Behind the offensive line, who had been creating big holes all day, the Friars marched down the field and Lacsamana scored his third touchdown of the game, making it 41-21 with just over 3:30 left in the game.
Lacsamana's third touchdown sealed the game for the Friars and when the clock hit zero, Bishop Lynch had won its third playoff game in two years under Head Coach
Brandon Moats.
"We had a great week of practice with a lot of energy. Haircuts and hairstyles were in full effect. Our boys have had it rough this year but never quit and you saw that Saturday evening against Central Catholic. Super proud of them," said Moats after their Area Playoff victory.
Bishop Lynch football advances to the TAPPS 6A Regional Round where they will face off against the number one seed Parish Episcopal next Saturday.
