13 WTHR - Indianapolis News |Fort Wayne Luers defeats Monrovia for 2A title

Fort Wayne Luers defeats Monrovia for 2A title

Indianapolis - Fort Wayne Luers coach Matt Lindsey has been one of Indiana's most successful prep football coaches for many years, but even he didn't imagine winning a state championship this season.

His team was young, lost more than it won during the regular season and headed into sectional play coming off a 62-point loss to Fort Wayne Dwenger.

The Knights rallied to win six straight. On Friday night, Luers got a goal-line stand in the fourth quarter, then ran out the clock in a 24-17 win over Monrovia in the Class 2A final.

"This state title was so unexpected," Lindsay said. "We've had so many ebbs and flows over this year."

It was the 200th career coaching win for Lindsay, and the Knights' eighth state title in 12 tries.

James Knapke passed for 140 yards and Ken Mullen ran for 67 yards and two touchdowns for Luers (10-5).

Austin Parks ran for 167 yards and a touchdown and Garrett Johnson ran for 89 yards for Monrovia (14-1), which fell short in its first title game.

Luers had one of the worst records ever for a state champion. NorthWood in Class 3A in 2005 and Indianapolis Scecina in Class 2A in 1990 had been the only teams to win titles with five or more losses.

The Knights didn't play a Class 2A team until sectionals. Luers played three 5A schools, four 4A schools and two 3A programs before knocking off six 2A schools on their way to the championship.

"We play an awesome schedule, and that prepares you if you're still standing," Lindsey said. "We didn't do a whole lot different. I think what changed when the tournament started was the attitude of our leaders."

Parks' 1-yard TD run gave Monrovia a 17-7 lead with 1:56 left in the first half, but Luers responded quickly. Mullen took a direct snap and ran for a 2-yard touchdown with 17 seconds left in the first half to cut Monrovia's lead to 17-14 at the break.

Monrovia ran for 198 yards in the first half and held the ball for 17 of the 24 minutes. Parks ran for 93 yards in the first half.

"I never wanted to get too far behind Monrovia because they can control the ball," Lindsey said. "The first half, we played into their hands until we got that late score before halftime. We then started to feel pretty good about ourselves."

Luers took advantage of a short kickoff to start the second half, and kicker Alex Stronzcek made a 44-yard field goal to tie the score.

Monrovia was stopped on fourth-and-2 from its 49-yard line, and Luers took advantage of a short field again. Steve Kiermaier scored a 2-yard touchdown on second effort to give the Knights a 24-17 lead with 20 seconds left in the third quarter.

Monrovia used up the first half of the fourth quarter on its next drive before facing fourth-and-goal at the 1. Luers' Jordan Presley and Kiermaier stopped Johnson for no gain, and the Knights took over with 6:32 to play.

Luers got a big stop on a two-point conversion in the second overtime of a 54-53 win over Cass in regional play, so they weren't overwhelmed by their predicament on Friday.

"Our defense played well," Mullen said. "We needed a big stop from our defense on fourth down on our 1. We've been in that situation before, so our boys were ready for it."

Monrovia coach Kevin Hutchins had no second thoughts about the decision to go for it. "You have to let your kids run with it, and it just didn't work out," he said.

Luers made a key conversion on a third down from its 38. Knapke rolled right, faked a reverse and threw to Kameron Mack for a 29-yard gain. The Knights ran out the clock from there.

Monrovia's Timothy Conner won the Phil Eskew Mental Attitude Award.

The Bulldogs set a school record for wins and remained proud of their season.

"It's hard, man," Hutchins said. "There's nothing that our boys need to hang their heads about. We had an unbelievable year. We played with the best of them in 2A."

Lindsay said his team matured at the end of the season.

"It's a young, talented team," he said. "We got on a roll, and right now, I know this team is pretty doggone good. We weren't there all year, that's for sure."

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