Lafayette Lancers triumphantly defeat the Lions, ending an impressive streak in a fiercely fought Class 5 state quarterfinal clash.
Cardinal Ritter quarterback Carson Boyd (2 in dark jersey) is about to be tackled by Lafayette defender Drew Austermann in his club’s 30-18 win at Cardinal Ritter in Missouri Class 5 state quarterfinals last month. In the center photo, Cardinal Ritter running back finds a role as teammates Manny Ellis (22) and Bryce Gray (99) are among the blockers. .Meanwhile Cardinal Ritter’s defense had a hard time containing Lancers receiver Terance Ellis (3 in white hauling in a pass here),who caught touchdown passes of 27 and 25 yards to help spark the victory for the visitors and dash Ritter’s hopes for three straight state championships. Photos by Leon Algee
First, the epic winning streak ended. Then a few weeks later, the aspirations of a state title streak of three, also ended. But a 9-2 record and a state quarterfinals finish in the Missouri Class 5 football field is still an accomplishment worthy of recognition, even if it does fall short of the Cardinal Ritter Lions lofty standard.
“We beat ourselves, ” said Bryce Gray. “We made too many mistakes and didn’t capitalize on our chances. We didn’t convert enough third and fourth downs. We turned the ball over (three interceptions) We made costly penalties. We just didn’t play our best game.”
So it was, roughly one month after Cardinal Ritter’s 35-game winning streak was snapped by Lutheran North 50-48 in a regular season contest, Ritter fell for good in the 2024 campaign with a 30-18 home defeat at the hands of the Lafayette Lancers back on November 23 in the Missouri Class 5 state quarterfinals. The Lions were bidding to become the first city program (private or public) to capture three straight state titles, after the Lions won the Missouri Class 3 crown in 2022 and the Class 5 title last year. In fact, until Lutheran North had upended them at home on Oct. 25, the Lions had last tasted the defeat way, way back on Nov. 27, 2021 when they lost to St Pius X of Kansas City 21-20 in the state semifinals.
At one juncture of the campaign, the Lions had been beating teams by an average margin of victory of 33 points. In stark contrast, in the loss to the Lafayette Lancers never led. The Lancers built a 14-0 lead on Ritter early in the second quarter and 21-12 at the half, and never looked back. On the strength of a 10-yard touchdown run by Robby Preckel and touchdown passes of 27 and 25 yards from quarterback Jack Behl to Terance Bills, the Lions were able to control the tempo and momentum throughout. The Lions seemingly got some charge on the last play of the half when quarterback Carson Boyd found receiver Elijah Abdullah in the end zone for a 32-yard scoring strike in the waning seconds. Jamarion Parker had scored the club’s other touchdown on a 5-yard run earlier in the frame.
However, Ritter wasn’t able to sustain any drives in the third quarter, amid key penalties, or the Lancers’ stifling defense, which gave heralded, multi-dimensional quarterback Boyd little open lanes, or open receivers. The only points in the third quarter by either team, was a 48-yard field goal by Jake Ference of Lafayette with just over two minutes left in the third quarter.
The clubs then traded fourth quarter touchdowns (a 2-yard run by Parker for Ritter and a 1-yard run by Preckel for the Lancers). But it was the Lancers’ score, which came with the assistance of Ritter penalties, which came with well over eight minutes provided enough of a cushion for the win. Parker rushed for a respectable 138 yards for the Ritter, but it took 21 carries, for a 6.2 average. Normally, he has averaged a robust 10.1 yards per carry, in rushing for 1,702 yards on the season.
“Our defense played a great game,” beamed Lancers coach Boyd Manne. “To beat a great team like Ritter we knew we had to play with a lot of energy. We had to play aggressively . We had to play assignment football. We had to be ready to match them physically.”
Mission accomplished. In fact, a strong case could be made that the Lancers were the more physical team, with one of their smallest players, defensive back Greg Robinson laying out the most notable licks. He finished with 15 total tackles, in joining fellow defenders Brady Calderon and Nathan Hutchinson with double-digit tackles.
“It came down to playing hard and staying within our assignments to stop them, “said Robinson. “I also watched a lot of film.”
That defense forced Boyd into throwing three interceptions, taking five sacks and countless pressures. That plus an early deficit made it quite the challenge for Ritter to mount a comeback this time, to even advance to the semifinals, much less have a chance at a third title.
“That (early deficit ) made it tough for us,” said Lions coach Brennan Spain. “It’s unfortunate that we had one of our worst games today. We didn’t execute like we normally do. Our blocking wasn’t there. We didn’t take advantage of our opportunities. But kudos to them. They took it to us. They deserved to win.”
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