Lakota shuts down Willard

KANSAS — Something was off from the start. Willard never got into an offensive flow Friday with two turnovers and six penalties in the first quarter not helping things. The high-powered offense the Crimson Flashes have been known for under coach Bill Speller never got going in a 36-7 Sandusky Bay Conference River Division loss to Lakota. "We could never get into any kind of flow," Speller said. "I felt like some guys didn't step up to some pressure moments. We have to be bigger than that. We were 4-1 and in first place in our league. It's time to play like that." Isaac Robinson was intercepted on the first drive for Willard (4-2, 2-1 SBC River). CJ Biddle returned it 50 yards to give the Raiders (3-3, 1-2) an immediate chance. It was a third-down 30-yard TD pass from Jalen Wagner to Chase Dussel when Lakota struck. The extra point was good and the Raiders led, 7-0, with 8:45 left in the first quarter. "We took it easy," Speller said. "We took the easy route a lot of times. We took the individual routes rather than doing what the team needed us to do." The second drives for each team nearly mirrored the first ones. Willard was able to pick up four first downs and really get the offense moving, but once inside the red zone, two penalties pushed the Crimson Flashes back. Then, Biddle intercepted Robinson again near the goal line. Lakota followed with an impressive 98-yard drive. Again on third down, Wagner hit Biddle for a 57-yard pickup. The Raiders added two more first downs to get in the red zone. A holding penalty nearly hurt Lakota, but Dussel caught a 19-yard TD pass from Wagner to push the Raiders up 14-0. "We had moments when we had big plays and had penalties," Speller said. "We had guys doing uncharacteristic things and we're going to have to step up and play a lot better because we have some tough games coming." Willard had by far its best drive of the night to respond. Isaac Robinson got his passing game to Cam Robinson going. The two connected for four passes on the drive including the nine-yard score. Luis Antonio's extra point brought the Flashes within 14-7. But Lakota had the answer. After a short run on first down, Wagner connected with Avery Shilling on a 52-yard strike. The extra point was blocked, but the Raiders were up 20-6. Willard moved the ball on its next drive, but three incomplete passes and a short rush forced a turnover on downs. Lakota used all but three seconds of the final 5:51 of the half, slowly chugging clock to keep the Crimson Flashes off the field. The Raiders added a 24-yard field goal to expand the Lakota lead to 23-7 at halftime. "There wasn't any rhythm," Speller said of the offense. "There was no connection. We were turning the ball over. I didn't like our route running tonight. I thought we ran our routes kind of scared to be honest." Willard got the stop it needed to start the second half. It turned the Raiders over on downs, but couldn't cash in. Despite a drive that tallied over six minutes and watched the Flashes move the ball from their own 16 to the Lakota 27, Willard turned the ball back over on downs. The Raiders cashed in as Micah Williams went to work. He had runs of 29 and 12 yards and on the first play of the fourth quarter, he exploded for an 18-yard touchdown run. "We made some mistakes defensively," Speller said. "Things that guys weren't supposed to do left people wide open. That's on us. I guess we didn't have them prepared for that. We played kind of scared. We knew what Lakota was going to do. We had a call for everything they were going to do." Isaac Robinson completed 22-of-38 passes for 189 yards and three interceptions. Cam Robinson registered 14 receptions for 140 yards. "We have to come out and play with a chip on our shoulder and not play scared," Speller said. "We have to come put and be athletes. We have athletes out there. They just have to be athletes. "They can't play with a nervousness like they're going to make a mistake." Willard 0 7 0 0 — 7Lakota 7 16 0 13 — 36 Scoring L — Chase Dussel 30 pass from Jalen Wagner (Brandon Leal kick)L — Dussel 19 pass from Wagner (Leal kick)W — Cam Robinson 9 pass from Isaac Robinson (Luis Antonio kick)L — Avery Shilling 52 pass from Wagner (kick blocked)L — Leal 24 field goalL — Micah Williams 18 run (run failed)L — CJ Biddle 20 run (Leal kick)