Neither the August humidity nor the heat was able to dampen the spirits of the crowd and football team on Friday night. Lightning fans began pouring into the bleachers as early as 45 minutes before kickoff, filling the bleachers for a new season with no seating restrictions. After all, a team crowned state champions in 2019 as well as regional champions this past season, with a quarterback making his name known in the Milwaukee Journal Sentinel and across the nation, tends to draw a crowd. With the music blaring and the crowd buzzing, LCL drew into a huddle before the game. “Fast and physical, fast and physical!” was emphasized by the coaching staff, as per usual. As Cole Rottman’s kick was off for the Ledgers, out came the Lightning, very fast, and very physical.
This year’s kick returner, Sam Heicher, brought the ball to the 25-yard line, setting up an explosive start on offense. Luke Haertle found John Nehls for a 38- yard play, ramping the crowd up. Nehls’ presence on the field had been sorely missed as he was sidelined with injuries the past couple of seasons. The momentum was quickly stopped for the moment, though, when Haertle was picked off by Isaac Hyland on the right side. St. Mary’s Springs just couldn’t capitalize, and Eddie Farrell pounced on a fumble to give the ball back to the Lightning offense. Haertle was then able to find Colin Amack for a touchdown just minutes into the first quarter, and Levi Benes’ kick was straight through to open the game off 7-0. The Ledgers’ d-line was able to cause some offensive issues for LCL, and force a turnover on downs. Heicher recovered a fumble in the endzone, and on the next drive, there was nothing the Ledgers defense could do. Haertle juked out every defender he faced to scramble for an 80-yard score, with the sideline and crowd exploding. Benes was right on again, making it 14-0. Henry Witte came up big for the LCL defense, sacking Cullen King for a huge loss. In the second quarter, the Haertle-Nehls connection was still rolling, but Haertle was intercepted again, this time by Nate Mueller. Springs couldn’t reach the endzone again, and after a John Nehls first down, Sam Heicher was in for an 8-yard touchdown where he celebrated with fellow running back Stephen Connell. Nehls remained on fire, picking off King, and then making the catch of the night from a scrambling Haertle, gaining 51 yards. Haertle then ran the ball in from 4 yards out, upping the score to 26-0. Matt Dobson contributed to the smothering Lightning defense, recovering another fumble. With under a minute left in the half, Nehls set off for a 33-yard score, cementing the halftime score at 32-0.
Eventually the LCL scoring slowed down in the second half, but the atmosphere was still full of electricity. Amack and Nehls picked up some nice yardage, and Haertle threw a dart to Gunnar Grosenick in between defenders. Stephen Connell broke through the suffocating defensive line for a huge gain, and shortly after, Clay Roehl brought in points on a nice run to the endzone. Dobson tacked on a good run as well, and finally Bryce Damato reached from 17 yards out to set the score as 45-0, which would be the final.
It was quite a start to the season for the Lightning- a home shutout against the #2-ranked team in the Metro Classic Conference, with a full crowd, a healthy John Nehls, a star quarterback, and a defense that’s nearly impossible to break through. While it was only the first game of the season for LCL, the eyes are already on the prize. As Haertle said in the Journal Sentinel: “We have one goal in mind. That’s to win the state championship.”
Final Score: Lake Country Lutheran 45, St. Mary’s Springs
Post Game Interviews: Coach Brazgel & Johnny Nehls