Pirates thump TC 55-28, win second straight SBC Lake championship

One thing was going to be true for Columbian's football team by the time Friday night rolled into Saturday morning no matter what.The variable loomed larger in the moment, a chance at a league championship. But the constant was this: No matter what happened, the Tornadoes would have to move quickly on to their next set of goals with the dawn of the playoffs."We talked about, you've got to be keyed up, you've got to be excited," TC coach Judd Lutz said. "But, no matter the outcome, you've got to flush it in a couple hours."It'll likely be an even more welcome shift into the postseason after what happened Friday night at Frost-Kalnow Stadium. D-IV No. 2 Perkins (9-0, 4-0) pulled away for a 55-28 win over D-III No. 8 Columbian (8-2, 3-1).The win took the outright SBC Lake Division title for the Pirates for a second consecutive season, both times leaving the Tornadoes in second place."They're a great team," Lutz said. "Every time they needed to make a play, it seemed like they made one."The Pirates fired the immediate salvo by forcing a three-and-out after the opening kickoff.On their third offensive play, Braylon Collier faced single coverage wide to the left side with no safety help. Perkins ran its designed rollout right for Logan Lesch with Collier running a post, and the senior quarterback pivoted to fire a dime for a 45-yard touchdown.Columbian's response depended on a brilliant, leaping Brady Gooding interception after another three-and-out. Senior tailback Damien Brockington proceeded to squirt through traffic near the line of scrimmage and outrun everyone for a 75-yard TD.Isaac Bunts followed suit out of Perkins' backfield, answering with a 56-yard sprint up the right sideline to the pylon. "We didn't tackle great, and that was a point of emphasis," Lutz said. "We've got to get off blocks and tackle when you get a chance to."The pivotal sequence came next — Columbian drove all the way to third-and-goal at the 4-yard line. The Tornadoes went QB run with Brayden Roggow on the next two steps.On third down, Mikey Young sprinted to the defensive left sideline and made a diving stop at the 2. And on fourth, Dylan Crabtree led a host of tacklers to stuff the QB power run at the 1."That's one of the moments," Lutz said. "Obviously you'll put on the tape and re-live it all, miserably."Perkins barely got out of the end zone on a Bunts wildcat run to avoid a safety, then picked up 5 more yards with Bunts to get a little space.The room to throw was crucial, because Lesch delivered a back-foot dart to Weston Sturzinger down the seam that the junior raced 90 yards all the way to the 4-yard line.After a negative run, Sturzinger ran a slant and Lesch delivered a 7-yard touchdown throw."That was very crucial," Lesch said. "We knew we could get some stops on defense, and that's what we did."The Tornadoes stayed in touch when a fake punt throw on the ensuing drive drew a pass interference, then Roggow hit his twin Bryce on fourth-and-8 for a 16-yard gain. That put Brockington in position to carry 15 yards into the end zone and pull within 21-14.Perkins took over with 8:12 until halftime and put together a mega drive. The Pirates went 65 yards on 18 plays, chewing up 8:02. It included three fourth-down conversions — a screen pass to Bunts, a pass interference and a Bunts run.Perkins capped the drive with a near-identical slant for 7 yards from Lesch to Sturzinger. It was the exact same play as the first one, Sturzinger confirmed postgame.Bunts pulled a Houdini act to start the second half. He ran into a mass of bodies on the right side and seemed likely to be tackled by, well, someone.Instead, he appeared as if out of nowhere, beyond any attempting tacklers, and raced 35 yards to score."We saw on film that they collapse a little bit, and we knew the bounces would be there," Perkins coach Jalen Santoro said. "Isaac did a good job of keeping his feet moving and saw the crease and took it."The touchdowns alternated from there with Columbian trying to stay in the game — the Roggow twins connected on a 3-yard score, then Lesch ran for a 1-yard TD, then Roggow threw a screen to Jack Koerper that went 55 yards to score.Perkins put it away with the last two scores.First, on fourth-and-nine, Brady Legando ran an out route before ad-libbing to race back across the field, wide open, for a 28-yard passing touchdown from Lesch.Bunts put the exclamation point on proceedings with a 6-yard power finish out of the wildcat.Columbian could only watch as Perkins celebrated on the turf in Tiffin, but a team with 17 seniors and a strong group of veteran leaders would soon look toward the bright side.They'll be home for a playoff game in Week 11, and if they win that one, they'll be home for another one. There's still plenty to play for."They're a hungry bunch," Lutz said. "They've got big fish to fry and a lot of great teams to play."