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Bears solidify playoff spot with blowout win

LAUREL — The LCC Bears needed a win to solidify their postseason hopes Friday at Haskell Field.

Mission accomplished.

The Bears rang up an out-manned Elkhorn Valley team for 68 first-half points and cruised to a 74-20 win over the Falcons, finishing a 4-4 regular season and getting them into the playoffs for the first time since the 2011 season.

LCC wasted no time in getting on the scoreboard, as senior Izac Reifenrath ran the opening kickoff back 67 yards for a touchdown. Noah Schutte added the two-point conversion to make it 8-0.

It was the first of five touchdowns the Bears scored in the first nine minutes of the game.

Reifenrath would score on runs of 1 and 32 yards, followed by a 10-yard scoring pass to Schutte and a five-yard run by Austin Brandt to give the Bears a 38-14 lead after one period.

The LCC offense didn’t get much resistance from the Falcons in the second quarter, scoring four more times in a six-minute stretch to lead 68-14 at the half.

After the Falcons ended the first period with a touchdown, the Bears’ offense continued to move the ball at will. Brandt scored on a nine-yard run on the first possession of the second period, and after a Falcon fumble, Reifenrath made a perfect throw that Schutte ran under and made a diving catch in the end zone to make it 52-14.

LCC would score two more times on runs by Reifenrath and Nolan Ohlrich to give the hosts a 68-14 halftime edge. Both teams scored once in the second half as the game finished with a running clock to give the Bears the easy win.

LCC racked up 420 yards in total offense in Friday’s win and had two 100-yard rushers in the contest. Reifenrath ran for 161 yards on 11 carries and also went 6-of-10 for 95 yards passing, while Brandt finished with 125 yards on nine carries. Schutte and Ty Erwin each caught three balls for 63 and 32 yards, respectively.

On defense, Reifenrath had 15 total tackles, Ohlrich and Cael Hartung added seven apiece and Brandt had five. Austin Hall recovered two fumbles.

The Bears are back in the playoffs for the first time since joining the eight-man division and are in the playoffs for the first time since 2011, when they dropped a 64-12 decision at Oakland-Craig in the Class C-2 playoffs.

LCC is the No. 10 seed in the East Division bracket and will play Thursday at Fullerton, with kickoff set for 6 p.m.

LCC 74, Elkhorn Valley 20

LCC 38 30 6 0 — 74

Elk. Vall. 14 0 0 6 — 20

 

Scoring Summary

LCC — Izac Reifenrath 67 kickoff return (Noah Schutte run)

LCC — Reifenrath 1 run (Schutte run)

LCC — Reifenrath 32 run (Austin Brandt run)

LCC — Schutte 10 pass from Reifenrath (PAT failed)

EV — Josh McFarland 74 kickoff return (Braedyn Ollendick run)

LCC — Brandt 5 run (Ty Erwin run)

EVE — Ollendick 34 run (PAT failed)

LCC — Brandt 9 run (PAT failed)

LCC — Schutte 30 pass from Reifenrath (Reifenrath run)

LCC — Reifenrath 9 run (Brandt run)

LCC — Nolan Ohlrich 10 run (Cael Hartung run)

LCC — Brandt 16 run (PAT failed)

EV — Prestin Vondra 2 run (PAT failed)

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