Before the No. 4 Lisbon Lions could do a little dance, they had to make a little football love during Homecoming week. They took care of Danville 50-7 on Friday, Oct. 11, at Walmer Field in Lisbon.
“Homecoming week is something that can worry you as a head coach,” Lisbon Coach Dylan Hastings said. “But the boys were locked in all week. When it was football time, they had fun.”
Danville offered up some different looks with odd formations, but the Lions stuck to meat-and-potatoes football.
That effort was led by senior Tiernan Boots, who rushed for 206 yards on 18 carries and scored three touchdowns. Boots broke a 42-year-old school record for rushing yards in a single season. With one more regular-season game to go, Boots has 1,335 yards. (The record was held by Royce Alger, who set it in 1982 with 1,316 yards.)
“(Tiernan) is a kid who is going to make the most of the opportunities when he gets them,” Hastings said. “He’s a heck of a running back.”
Boots is ranked second in Class A in rushing yards. Hasting pointed out that Boots celebrated by taking a postgame photo with the guys who open the holes, the offensive line.
That group includes Ethan Hoekstra, Jacob Walerius, Evan Coleman, Hayden Jackson and Nathan Ahrendsen, plus Henry Reiling and Kael Chappell.
“None of those records could be set without them,” Hastings said.
Dakota Clark added 109 rushing yards and three scores, and 142 passing yards, including a TD pass to Quinn Coleman.
“Kudos to Darin Hofmeister, our offensive coordinator,” Hastings said. “He is tremendous at spreading the ball around. He keeps defenses guessing.”
Lisbon led 28-0 at halftime, then got the continuous clock going with their first drive of the third quarter. The defense held Danville to just 18 rushing yards. Bears QB Jaden Bauer did have 219 yards on 18-of-34 passing.
“We knew they’d throw the ball against us,” Hastings said. “We emphasized to our defensive backs to keep things in front of them and tackle. Their QB got the ball out fast. They drove down the field, but we got stops when we needed to.”
Clark, at cornerback, set up camp on top receiver Kessler Whaley, who had eight catches for 90 yards. But Clark had two interceptions and eight solo tackles.
Aside from Clark, the defensive backfield includes Daylin Schaefer at the other corner, and Grayson Wollum at safety. Outside linebackers Gage Holub and Boots also roll into coverage.
With the win, the Lions (7-0) earned a share of the District 5 crown. They can take it outright with a win Friday, Oct. 18, at Van Buren County (1-6).
“We want to be undefeated for the playoffs, and keep momentum rolling,” Hastings said. “The biggest thing is the 2-hour-and-15-minute bus ride. That’s always tough. We’ll stay focused and hopefully take care of business.”