LIMA — On the week of Halloween, it’s customary to receive a scare or two, just not on the football field. On Friday night at Spartan Stadium, LCC was in control with a three-score lead at the end of the first half, but Pandora-Gilboa rallied all the way back to make it a five-point game in the fourth quarter and even had a chance to take the lead with five minutes left. One could say the Rockets gave the T-Birds quite a scare on the gridiron in the first round of the Division VII, Region 26 playoffs, but ultimately, LCC shook off its fear and held on for a 33-28 victory. The win sets up a rematch between LCC and Columbus Grove, who beat North Baltimore 42-8 on Friday night. Columbus Grove topped LCC two weeks ago, 28-20 at Clymer Stadium. On Friday night against Pandora-Gilboa, Brady Parker ran for four first-half touchdowns, and LCC led 27-7 at the break. “We got off to a great start. We got them on their heels and got up on them,” LCC coach Scott Palte said. “Give them (Pandora-Gilboa) credit for regrouping and coming out and taking it to us in the second half. That’s what you’d expect in the 8-9 game, two teams that can play really well at times and not so great at other times. Both teams had really good moments and really bad moments. I’m really just proud of our kids for battling.” The Rockets scored twice in the third quarter on a short run from Andrew Miller and a 37-yard touchdown pass from Cory Gerten to Chase Meyer, cutting the lead to six. After Parker found Matthew Quatman on a four-yard touchdown, Miller scored again with eight minutes left to pull Pandora-Gilboa within five at 33-28. Seven plays later, LCC’s drive stalled out and ended in a punt, giving the Rockets a shot to win the game with 5:22 to go. The T-Birds had a first down on the tips of their fingers, but a third-down pass from Parker went directly through the hands of Quatman, an uncharacteristic play from the sure-handed senior. “He’s made a million really big plays in his High School career but everyone makes mistakes and no one is more disappointed than him when he doesn’t hold onto one,” Palte said of Quatman. “He’s one of our best players and a great leader. He did a great job of bouncing back and continuing to play hard.” “Matthew’s the type of guy where if he makes a mistake, he’s coming back the next play, so I know I can trust him,” said LCC quarterback Brady Parker. “If he makes one mistake, it’s out of his head and he’s forgetting about it. Then he comes back and gets us the first down.” Quatman indeed made up for the missed opportunity. After forcing P-G into a three-and-out, the 5-10, 175-pound back ripped off a 13-yard run that effectively put the game away. He finished the night with four catches for 70 yards and a touchdown and 14 carries for 86 yards. As a team, LCC collected 262 yards on the ground. Brady Parker carried the ball 24 times for 151 yards and four touchdowns. The sophomore signal-caller also completed 10 of 16 passes for 175 yards one touchdown and a late first-half interception. “He really ran the ball hard,” Palte said of Parker. “He took some hits, got up and kept putting his shoulder down and filling up the hole. He’s really improved, really become a better leader as the year’s gone on and he’s doing a great job for us.” Parker said his big night on the ground was a product of exceptional blocking and taking advantage of P-G’s defensive formation. “Their linebackers were wide out so I told myself that I was going to hit the gap as hard as I can, run as hard as I can and our line blocking was amazing so it worked out well,” Parker said. “They attacked the defense instead of letting them get the first hit and the same was true for our running backs.” Pandora-Gilboa got 85 rushing yards and three touchdowns from Miller. Ben Burkholder added 69 yards on seven carries. Quarterback Cory Gerten completed 10 of 16 passes for 172 yards, one touchdown, and an interception late in the second quarter. The Rockets officially ended the season with a record of 7-4. No. 8 seed LCC’s win means the opportunity to face Columbus Grove, the No. 1 seed in Region 26, for a second time this season. “Our kids played hard the first time and we know we’ll get a great effort from them again,” Palte said. “It’ll be a tremendous challenge against a great football team. No matter who you’re playing, you better bring your best game in the second round of the playoffs. Our kids will be ready and they’ll play hard.” Score by quarters P-G 0 7 14 7 — 28 LCC 13 14 0 6 — 33 Scoring Summary LCC — Brady Parker 7-yard run (Brevan Stolly kick) — 8:28, 1st LCC — Brady Parker 4-yard run (Brevan Stolly kick missed) — 2:08, 1st LCC — Brady Parker 1-yard run (Brevan Stolly kick) — 9:08, 2nd P-G — Andrew Miller 1-yard run (Paul Fischer kick) — 6:22, 2nd LCC — Brady Parker 1-yard run (Brevan Stolly kick) — 1:08, 2nd P-G — Andrew Miller 1-yard run (Paul Fischer kick) — 8:24, 3rd P-G — Chase Meyer 37-yard reception from Cory Gerten (Paul Fischer kick) — 2:48, 3rd LCC — Matthew Quatman 9-yard reception from Brady Parker (Brevan Stolly kick) — 11:03, 4th P-G — Andrew Miller 8-yard run (Paul Fischer kick) — 8:11, 4th Passing P-G — Cory Gerten 10/16, 172 yards, TD, INT LCC — Brady Parker 10/16, 175 yards, TD, INT Rushing P-G — Andrew Miller 22 carries, 85 yards, 3 TDs LCC — Brady Parker 24 carries, 151 yards, 4 TDs Receiving P-G — Chase Meyer 6 catches, 128 yards, TD LCC — Michael Quatman 4 catches, 73 yards Total yards P-G — 319 LCC — 437...
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LIMA — Delphos Jefferson and Lima Central Catholic met on the gridiron for the first time in a decade on Saturday afternoon at Spartan Stadium, and it was all Thunderbirds once the whistle blew in a 56-0 shutout. LCC (5-2, 3-1 Northwest Conference) was without senior two-way star Matthew Quatman in the win but Delphos Jefferson (1-6, 0-4 Northwest Conference) couldn’t take advantage as the T-Birds possessed the ball six times in the first half, scored six touchdowns, and defensively, they held the Wildcats to 37 yards of total offense. “We made some offensive changes this week and our kids really bought in and came out and executed well,” LCC coach Scott Palte said. “We did a really nice job getting off the ball and blocking well for our freshman running backs.” Michael Quatman, however, was available for LCC on Saturday, and he made his presence known with two first-half interceptions of Jefferson quarterback Luke Rode. “Michael (Quatman) did a great job today flying around, reading the plays and he made a couple of nice interceptions,” Palte said. “He just needs to keep grinding and it will continue.” Sophomore quarterback Brady Parker engineered LCC’s run-pass-option offense to near perfection. On the opening drive, he faced a fourth down conversion and calmly fired his first pass of the day 12 yards into the hands of Mylon Cowens in the end zone. Parker finished 5 of 9 for 137 yards and one touchdown with 53 yards rushing and a touchdown on nine carries. “Brady did a great job putting the ball where it needed to be and he was good when he ran the ball,” Palte said. “He’s growing as a sophomore and keeps improving as a leader.” Jaxon White and Michael Quatman each found the end zone on short runs before the Thunderbirds’ freshman backs took over. Leading 28-0 late in the second quarter, Lima Central Catholic was gifted a possession inside Delphos Jefferson’s 10-yard line after a shanked punt. Two plays later, Carter Lester became the fifth different T-Bird with a touchdown. LCC led 42-0 at halftime. Palte said, “Our two freshman running backs (Eddie White and Carter Lester) are two guys that do not look like freshmen. They’re great kids and when Matthew couldn’t go today, they were excited at the opportunity and made the best of it.” Carter Lester scored on runs of 13, and 25 yards in the second half to bring Lima’s total to their season-high of 56 points. LCC – 12-yard TD Pass Brady Parker to Mylon Cowens (Brevan Stolly PAT Good) LCC – 11-yard TD Run Jaxon White (Brevan Stolly PAT Good) LCC – 8-yard TD run Michael Quatman (Brevan Stolly PAT Good) LCC – 3-yard TD run Eddie White (Brevan Stolly PAT Good) LCC – 2-yard TD run Carter Lester (Brevan Stolly PAT Good) LCC – 1-yard TD run Brady Parker (Brevan Stolly PAT Good) LCC – 25-yard TD run Carter Lester (Brevan Stolly PAT Good) LCC – 13-yard TD run Carter Lester (Brevan Stolly PAT Good)...
10/6/2024
LIMA — In football, great players often make plays that change a game. But it isn’t every day that a player dominates a single game from start to finish. That’s exactly what Matthew Quatman did for Lima Central Catholic in its 25-7 win over Carey at Spartan Stadium on Saturday night. The 5-10, 175-pound, two-way weapon racked up 196 all-purpose yards and accounted for all four of his team’s touchdowns on two runs, a reception and an interception return. Quatman caught a 20-yard touchdown from Brady Parker late in the first quarter, and on Carey’s first play from scrimmage in the second quarter, Quatman stepped in front of a screen pass and ran it back for a touchdown from 40 yards out. His pick-six was a result of recognizing a play that Carey ran earlier in the game. “They ran the same play on the first play of the game,” Quatman said. “I tried to jump it then, and our coaches got on me for gambling on it. The next time (they ran the same play), I saw the quarterback look over and I knew it was coming, so I pushed a guy into the ball, caught it and scored.” “Matthew said they got that play on him once and he wasn’t happy about it,” LCC coach Scott Palte said. “He told me if they ran that play again, he was picking it off. He didn’t lie to me. He was dead on and he made a heck of a play.” Just like they did last week against Delphos St. John’s, LCC leaned on its running game against Carey and it paid off. As a team, the T-Birds ran the ball 35 times for 217 yards and two touchdowns, both from Quatman, who finished the night with 176 yards on 24 carries. “Week after week we’ve been telling ourselves that we’re going to have a breakout game if someone just steps up and makes plays,” Quatman said. “I got the ball a lot tonight and our line blocked great. It was a team effort. We all did our job.” After the pick-six made it 13-0, LCC closed out the first half with a five-play drive that included a 22-yard pass from Parker to Michael Quatman, which set up a 40-yard run from Matthew Quatman with 50 seconds left. “He put it on his shoulders all week to make sure we practiced and we played hard,” Palte said of Matthew Quatman. “He came out tonight and was the best football player on the field and he did a great job on both sides of the ball. That’s what you expect your senior captain to do.” The T-Birds led 19-0 at the break. Carey opened the second half with an 11-play drive, all runs from quarterback Kyler Boes, Eli Steen and Dash Puckett, to end the shutout on Steen’s two-yard run. The drive took more than five minutes. After a 19-yard run from Quatman on LCC’s next possession, Carey forced a punt three plays later and appeared to be on the verge of scoring after using 12 plays to drive the ball inside the 10, including six straight run plays from Steen that went for 39 yards. The 13th play, however, resulted in disaster for the Blue Devils when Dash Puckett fumbled the ball and LCC recovered. Two plays later, Parker hit Michael Quatman with a 59-yard pass, then three straight runs to Matthew Quatman ended a five-play drive with a 7-yard rushing touchdown. “That’s a huge play, especially when we get the turnover and Brady hits a long pass to get the ball out from the shadow of our goal line,” Palte said. “We flipped the field so that even if we didn’t score, we’d make them have to go a long way if they got the ball back.” It was one of three turnovers for the T-Birds, along with Quatman’s interception and a fourth-quarter interception from Caden Falke. “When you win the turnover battle in a high school football game, I’m going to guess that you win 90% of the time or more,” Palte said. “We were able to create some plays and take care of the football, which is huge to give ourselves a chance. I’m really proud of our kids for the physicality they showed. That’s a big, physical team over there and I thought our guys did a pretty good job holding on up front.” Brady Parker finished the night 9 of 13 for 153 yards and a touchdown with 20 yards rushing. Michael Quatman had 5 receptions for 93 yards and Lausen Flores added 27 all-purpose yards. LCC recorded 370 yards of total offense compared to 261 from Carey. Kyler Boes went 4 of 7 for 101 yards with two interceptions for the Blue Devils. Steen ran the ball 21 times for 99 yards and a touchdown, and Tripp Phoenix made three grabs for 74 yards....
9/8/2024
After making progress in the form of its first win of the season Lima Central Catholic’s football team and coach talked about still being a work in progress. LCC evened its record at 1-1 with a 14-13 victory over rival Delphos St. John’s at Spartan Stadium on Friday night which combined scoring on its first and last drives of the night with a little luck. More than half of LCC’s 257 yards of total offense came on those two drives, but the Thunderbirds delivered under pressure when they went 80 yards in 12 plays late in the fourth quarter for what proved to be the decisive points. “We got it going when we needed it,” LCC coach Scott Palte said. Quarterback Brady Parker, who threw for the Thunderbirds’ first touchdown and ran for their second, said, “It definitely is a work in progress. We’re doing good now but we definitely could improve on a lot more.” LCC’s first score came on a 5-yard touchdown pass from Parker to Michael Quatman, followed by an extra point kick by Matthew Quatman. St. John’s responded less than a minute later with a 70-yard scoring run and extra point kick by quarterback Drew Boggs, an eerie flashback for LCC to Shawnee quarterback J.J. Spyker’s 88-yard touchdown run in the Indians’ 33-19 win over the Thunderbirds in week one of the season. The game remained tied at 7-7 until LCC’s fourth-quarter drive, which actually began with a defensive stop when St. John’s came up short on fourth-and-six at the Thunderbirds’ 21-yard line. Eleven of the 12 plays on the 80-yard LCC drive that followed that defensive stop were running plays – six of them by Matthew Quatman and five by Parker. Running Parker that often was by design, Palte said. “We thought with an extra blocker we could use him and he could make some plays. I thought he did a really good job.” For the running game to dominate LCC’s play calling, the offensive line had to become more consistent than it was in the middle of the game. “Our line – that right side of the line – was doing its thing. We were just running behind them and trusting them,” Matthew Quatman said. Offensive tackle Gianni McKee said, “Once it started working we kept running the ball and we got into the end zone and that’s all we wanted.” Parker scored on a two-yard run with 4:26 to play and Matthew Quatman kicked his second extra point of the night for a 14-7 lead. St. John’s marched 60 yards for a touchdown, on a 1-yard run by T.J. Werts with 1:59 to play but Boggs’ extra point kick was wide left. It was the second moment of disappointment for St. John’s at the north end of Spartan Stadium on Friday night. In the first minute of the second quarter, it lost a fumble at LCC’s 2-yard line when it appeared ready to take the lead. “You’ve got to hope some things go your way and I think tonight they did. But we’ve got to get to practice and get better and keep working,” Matthew Quatman said. “I think we’re still figuring out our identity as a team. We’ve got a new offense that we didn’t run last year. Running the ball is what I think is going to be best for us going forward. We have a really good coaching staff. They’re going to figure it out.” Michael Quatman rushed for 66 yards on 8 carries and Matthew Quatman gained 53 yards on 16 carries for LCC. Parker completed 8 of 13 passes for 90 yards and rushed for 41 yards on 7 carries. St. John’s (1-1) had 295 yards total offense. Boggs was 11 of 16 passing for 88 yards and rushed for 100 yards on 10 carries. Werts had 57 yards on 17 carries. ...
8/30/2024
Now, in just his sixth season as a head coach, Powell has LCC (26-2) riding a 15-game winning streak heading into this weekend and just two wins away from its fourth state championship since 2010....
3/20/2024
LIMA — Carson Parker held the Lima Cup, which goes to the winner of the annual boys basketball rivalry game between Lima Senior and Lima Central Catholic, as he stood on the court at the Monsignor E.C. Herr Gymnasium after the Thunderbirds’ 56-47 overtime win against the Spartans on Saturday night....