Indianapolis Lutheran Saints: Journey to the State Championship
All teams begin offseason workouts and conditioning sessions with the same goal: to hoist a State Championship trophy at Lucas Oil Stadium. But when Thanksgiving weekend rolls around, only six team in the state will realize that dream. With State…
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Continue ReadingAll teams begin offseason workouts and conditioning sessions with the same goal: to hoist a State Championship trophy at Lucas Oil Stadium. But when Thanksgiving weekend rolls around, only six team in the state will realize that dream. With State Champions having now been crowned, we will be spending some time in the coming days reviewing the seasons that the state’s best put together. That starts off with a look at the 1A State Champions, the Indianapolis Lutheran Saints.
For Lutheran, their 30-13 victory over Adams Central allowed them to remain seated on the throne. The Saints proved to be consistently dominant all season. They finished the year 15-0 overall and 7-0 in the Indiana Crossroads Conference.
The Saints offense put up incredible numbers throughout the year. At the heart of that is Quarterback Jackson Willis. The Sophomore Jackson Willis racked up nearly 3,900 passing yards with a surreal 51 touchdown passes. Willis protected the ball better than just about any underclassmen who played as much as he did. He only threw six interceptions. Putting that in context, his touchdown-to-interception ratio was better than 8:1. While he is not known for running, Willis’ running ability should not be slept on. He added a pair of rushing touchdowns this season.
Surrounding Willis was a remarkable supporting cast. Leading the way on the ground was Senior Joe Davis. Davis closed out the season just under 1,800 yards rushing. With 229 carries, Davis averaged 7.7 yards per carry. That average will the offense to wear down opposing defenses. Davis found the endzone eight times. His ability to keep the offense moving opened up many things in the passing-game.
Willis’ receiving core was full of outstanding contributors this season. Senior Micah Mackay led the way for the Saints. In his final year of high school football, Mackay surpassed 1,400 yards through the air. He reeled in an outstanding 16 touchdowns. His classmate Curbrian Shelby was one to watch as well. With 863 yards and 14 touchdowns on 36 receptions. If it was not the veteran leadership of Mackay and Shelby that shined through, Willis was able to turn to his classmate Boss Jones to find even more production. Jones tallied 800 yards and nine touchdown receptions.
As explosive as the Indianapolis Lutheran offense was this year, the level of intensity and production did not dip on the defensive side of the ball. Leading the defensive effort was Junior Jonny Hall. Hall reached the triple digits for total tackles this season. He recorded one sack and four interceptions. Hall notched half-a-dozen tackles-for-loss on the year. He also forced four fumbles and recovered one.
A prospect to watch out for in the years ahead is Freshman Defensive End Cameron McHaney. In just his first season at this level, McHaney flashed potential. He recorded 73 tackles with four sacks. McHaney forced and recovered one fumble. I will be looking for him to McHaney to make even more strides next season. If he does, do not be surprised to see him put up outstanding numbers.
Senior Spencer Bauer ended his high school career on the best positive note. With 82 total tackles and four tackles-for-loss, Bauer was always in on the action for the Saints. Bauer compiled a trio of sacks. He managed to get on a pair of fumbles. Bauer put together a great senior campaign. He can be a solid contributor for a college defense.