Lawrence Central knocks off national power Louisville Trinity
By CLIFF BRUNT
ISL Editor
The decisive play in Lawrence Central’s win over Louisville Trinity resembled many of the plays before it.
Trinity trailed by four points in the final minute and faced a fourth-and-2 from the Lawrence Central 13-yard line. Trinity quarterback Reggie Bonnafon rolled left and tried to make a play, but his offensive line caved in. Linebacker Brandon Lee pursued, nose guard James Jones finished him off for a sack and the Bears held on for a 17-13 win on Friday night in a matchup of nationally ranked teams.
“We knew we had to have a big stop,” Jones said. “Can’t let them score. Our D-line coaches said just get back there and get pressure on the quarterback, and I just ran my play and did exactly what he said.”
Lawrence Central entered the game 17th in the USA Today’s rankings while Trinity was 23rd.
Lawrence Central’s defense scored 10 points — safeties by Lee and Jones and a 12-yard interception return for a touchdown by Marcus Fletcher on a pass tipped by Jack Pounds. Fletcher’s touchdown put the Bears ahead for good.
Bonnafon, a Louisville commitment, completed 21 of 34 passes for 253 yards. He threw interceptions on consecutive passes in the third quarter, yet rallied the team in the fourth quarter and put the Shamrocks in position to win. Even after he missed a snap he wasn’t expecting on the final possession and fell on it for a 15-yard loss, he came right back with a 19-yard completion to Cody Swabek to set up the fourth-and-2.
“Reggie’s pretty good,” Lee said. “He’s shifty running the ball. He’s fast. He’s an athlete. He can also sling it, too.”
Swabek caught 10 passes for 159 yards, but the Shamrocks ran for just 38 yards on 26 carries. Lawrence Central held Trinity’s star running back, Donald Brooks, to 44 yards on 12 carries. Lee hit him in the end zone for one of the safeties.
Though Bonnafon put up some yardage and showed why he could eventually be the replacement for Heisman candidate Teddy Bridgewater, he found himself avoiding pass rushers the entire game and never got comfortable. The Bears expected to be able to disrupt Bonnafon with their pressure.
“We see that every day in practice,” Richman said. “For us, it’s not uncommon to see that sort of thing. I’m proud of how hard the guys played.”
The win meant a lot to the Bears because they lost most of their stars from last year’s state championship team and changed their coaching staff. Lawrence Central’s defense, in particular, wanted to prove it could be elite.
“Last year was pretty dominant,” Lee said. “A lot of people didn’t think we were going to come back and be as dominant as last year’s defense, but I knew all along that we’d be pretty good. A lot of people didn’t think we had much left after last year’s senior group, but tonight definitely showed that we do.”
The defense had to show up because the Bears’ offense mustered just two field goals. Quarterback Tyler Redfern completed 12 of 19 passes for 122 yards and Will King caught eight passes for 110 yards, but the running game produced just 105 yards on 37 carries.
Trinity took a 6-5 lead in the final minute of the second quarter after Andrew Deye made his second field goal.
Trinity opened the second half with a no-huddle offense and marched 80 yards in two minutes to score. Bonnafon’s 20-yard touchdown run gave the Shamrocks a 13-5 lead.
Jones sacked Bonnafon in the end zone for a safety to make it 13-7 midway through the third quarter. Later in the quarter, Fletcher scored on his interception. The Bears increased their lead to 17-13 on a 35-yard field goal by Griffin.
Given his team’s offensive struggles, Richman considered himself fortunate.
“They’re a very, very good football team,” he said. “We’re lucky to get out of here with a win.”
Louisville Trinity 0 6 7 0 — 13
Lawrence Central 2 3 12 0 — 17
LC — Safety, Brandon Lee tackled Donald Brooks in end zone
LT — Andrew Deye 22 FG
LC — Nash Griffin 21 FG
LT — Deye 28 FG
LT — Reggie Bonnafon 20 run (Deye kick)
LC — Safety, James Jones sacks Bonnafon in end zone
LC — Marcus Fletcher 12 interception return (Griffin kick)
LC — Griffin 35 FG
Follow Cliff Brunt on Twitter: www.twitter.com/cliffbrunt_isl.
