McLouth stays hot in season finale
The McLouth High football team entered the final week of the regular season with a district title already in hand, but that didn’t stop the Bulldogs from causing some offensive fireworks.
MHS racked up 546 yards of offense in a 48-12 win Friday at Leavenworth-Immaculata. The Bulldogs (7-2, 4-0 Class 2-1A District 2) led the Raiders (0-9, 0-4) by just eight points after one quarter, but dominated the rest of the way.
Nick McAferty got MHS on the board first with a two-yard touchdown run in the first quarter, but Immaculata quarterback Drew Sechan answered with a touchdown of his own to make it 6-6. Drew Cerny put the Bulldogs back in front with a two-yard score — his first of four touchdowns — and added a two-point conversion. Sachen responded with a touchdown pass, but the Raiders came up empty on the conversion attempt.
Cerny scored once more in the opening period, this time from 34 yards out, to give MHS a 20-12 lead.
“Immac has done pretty darn good in the beginning of most of these games,” coach Chris Stewart said. “Their quarterback is a really good player. He’s very elusive, hard to tackle and he throws a good ball. He was giving us some trouble because he’s so darn quick.”
Cerny scored the only touchdown of the second quarter on an 83 yard run, and McAferty ran in the conversion to give McLouth a 28-12 advantage at the break.
Cerny opened second-half scoring with his fourth and final touchdown — another 34-yarder — and Jace Carlton and Kevin Gann each added a score on the ground for the final margin of victory.
“For the most part, we kept it on the ground,” Stewart said. “We threw a couple balls, but we weren’t in too good of a rhythm in the passing game.”
Cerny picked up big chunks of yards all night, finishing with 230 on just 16 carries. McAferty complemented that performance with 61 yards on seven carries.
The Bulldogs will welcome District 1 runner-up Troy (6-3) to town for their playoff opener. The Trojans entered their regular-season finale tied with Jackson Heights for second in the district, but clinched a playoff spot with a 34-15 win at Doniphan West.
McLouth hasn’t faced THS since 2009, but the schools were both members of the Delaware Valley League until this year, so there is some familiarity between the programs.
“I think we’re pretty well evenly matched with the players we have. They have a lot of good skill players and a good quarterback, so I just expect a hard-fought game.
“I think it’s a big advantage that we’re at home. They’ve got to come to our field, and this year, we’ve played pretty good at home. I think the kids will be a little more motivated to play on our home field.”
Kickoff is set for 7 p.m. Friday at Stan Braksick Sports Complex.