LANCASTER - Dare the Lancaster varsity football team to throw the ball and that’s just what they’ll do. And against visiting Platteville last Friday night, they’ve proven they can throw it pretty well.
In leading his team to a 48-13 victory over the visiting Hillmen, junior quarterback Nate Tranel completed 12-of-15 passing attempts for a school record 271 yards and three touchdowns.
Tranel hooked up with six different receivers to break the school record for most passing yards in a game. The previous mark of 251 yards was set by Greg Stephenson in 1967 against West Grant.
If the record was going to fall, it should be of no surprise it came against Platteville, who last week surrendered 420 yards passing and four touchdowns to Dodgeville in a 48-44 loss.
“They gave us some looks that we were able to take advantage of,” said Lancaster coach John Hoch of Platteville’s defense. “They were really stacking up the middle against our run, which allowed us to use our receivers.”
“There weren’t many long passes, a lot of it was yards after catches, so that was an advantage.”
In the first quarter of Friday night’s game, Tranel hooked up with fellow junior Abe Thompson for a nine-yard TD pass, capping off a five-play drive that covered 67 yards.
In the second quarter, Tranel connected with fellow junior Brett Snider on a 43-yard passing score, that capped off a four-play scoring drive covering 69 yards.
On that drive, Tranel went 3-for-3 passing for 71 yards after a run play lost two yards on first down.
“We’ll take whatever they give us,” said Hoch. “You might think we threw the ball a lot, but we didn’t, we threw the ball 15 times, and we’ve been averaging around 10 throws a game.”
A two-yard touchdown run by junior fullback Tyler Glass gave Lancaster a 21-13 advantage going into the locker room at the half.
The Flying Arrows came right out in the third quarter throwing the ball, and on the very first play, Tranel found an open Glass underneath the coverage for a 48-yard touchdown pass.
The extra-point kick by Jake Taylor gave Lancaster a 27-13 advantage, which opened the flood gates for the rest of the game.
Lancaster’s final three touchdowns included two-yard touchdown runs by Snider and Andy Ryan, as well as a 43-yard TD run by Tranel.
Not only did Tranel finish with 271 yards passing on 12-of-15 completions, but he also led the team in rushing with 65 yards and one TD on 10 attempts.
Glass, who now has 268 yards rushing and six touchdowns on the year, ran for 56 yards and one TD on 15 carries Friday night.
Snider ran for 18 yards and one TD on five carries, but led all receivers with five catches for 164 yards and one TD. On the year he has 97 yards rushing and two TDs on 10 carries to go along with eight catches for 280 yards and two TDs.
Lancaster finished the night with 141 yards rushing compared to 271 yards passing.
Defensively, Lancaster held the Hillmen to 90 yards rushing on 37 attempts, while Platteville completed 8-of-20 passing attempts for 150 yards.
Platteville senior William Cooley was held to 47 yards rushing on 22 carries, but gained 19 of those yards on his final run of the game.
“We were very happy with our defense,” said coach Hoch. “I think that’s what really won the game for us, even though we scored some points. Our defense created some opportunities and didn’t let them get any momentum.”
Leading the team in tackles against the Hillmen was junior Andy Ryan, who had 9.5 total stops, five of which were solo.
Alex Withey, Jake Taylor and Ethan Soderstrom each had five stops on the night, Taylor also having one sack.
On the injury front, senior defensive end Lucas Vincent sat out much of the game with an injury, but is expected to be ready for Richland Center this Friday night.
The same can not be said for fellow senior Hunter Budack, who against Fennimore injured his knee and has not played since. Budack will miss the next six to eight weeks with a hairline fracture on his knee, but hopes to be back in time for the playoffs.
The Flying Arrows (2-0, 3-0) head to Richland Center (1-1, 1-2) this Friday night. The Hornets are coming off a 39-29 win over Prairie du Chien.
Lancaster 48, Platteville 13
(from Friday, Sept. 6)
Platteville 7 6 0 0 - 13
Lancaster 7 14 13 14 - 48
First quarter
L - Abe Thompson, 9-yard pass from Nate Tranel (Jake Taylor kick)
P - William Cooley, 21-yard pass from Logan Butson (James Bailie kick)
Second quarter
L - Brett Snider, 43-yard pass from Tranel (Taylor kick)
P - Cooley, 1-yard run (kick failed)
L - Tyler Glass, 2-yard run (Taylor kick)
Third quarter
L - Glass, 48-yard pass from Tranel (kick failed)
L - Snider, 2-yard run (Taylor kick)
Fourth quarter
L - Andy Ryan, 2-yard run (Taylor kick)
L - Tranel, 43-yard run (Taylor kick)
Team statistics
First downs - P 10, L 13. Rushing - P 37-90, L 31-141. Passing yards - P 150, L 271. Passes - P 8-20-0, L 12-15-0. Fumbles-lost - P 0-2, L 2-1. Penalties-yards - P 4-37, L 4-30.
Individual leaders
Rushing - P: William Cooley 22-47; L: Nate Tranel 10-65. Passing - P: Logan Butson 7-17-0, 108; L: Nate Tranel 12-15-0, 271. Receiving - P: Mitch Knickel 4-57; L: Brett Snider 5-164.
