As the sun set over beautiful Pritchard Park in Racine, the Racine St. Catherine’s Angels and Lake Country Lutheran Lightning lined up against each other for a crucial conference matchup. Both teams were hungry to win for different reasons- with a perfect 6-0 record, the Angels were looking to maintain their win streak, and with a 2-4 record the Lightning wanted to win out as many games as possible to extend their season into the playoffs. But while LCL started strongly, they just weren’t able to contain the St. Cat’s offense, falling 34-21 in the end.
That aforementioned offense exploded immediately in the game, with uncontainable running back Jayvion Hunter breaking through 34 yards of defense for a score four minutes in. The Angels attempted a two-point conversion but it was stuffed by the Lightning, only putting St. Cat’s up by six. LCL’s Blake Thelen then came in clutch on his first offensive drive, picking up a huge gain on a fourth down, and later snagging a touchdown from quarterback Jackson Menzel to take the lead 7-6.
All-state wide receiver Davion Thomas-Kumpula made one of his numerous jaw-dropping catches on the next drive in order to advance his offense, but the Angels went on to be forced into a turnover on downs near the 45-yard line. This shift in momentum led to an easy Sam Hans touchdown in the left corner of the endzone, increasing the Lightning lead to 14-6 and allowing LCL to make a statement in the first half.
Thomas-Kumpula wouldn’t let the lead last long though, grabbing his first touchdown of the night. With a successful two-point conversion from Jakari Oliver this time, the game was tied 14-14 going into the locker room. It was in the second half of the game that the St. Cat’s offense really went off, kick-started by the second Thomas-Kumpula touchdown of the night. It was a beautiful catch, receiver overpowering cornerback for an impressive score, and it restored the Angels’ lead to 22-14. As LCL was forced to punt on their next drive - a boot from Maddux Kiley that sailed to the 11- the star receiver took over yet again. Thomas-Kumpula first brought down a catch for 30 yards before reaching the endzone for his third time of the night. The Angels had extended their lead by two scores, 28-14, with slightly over a quarter remaining.
With a large sense of urgency kicking in for the Lightning offense in the fourth quarter, the ball was fumbled, leading to another St. Cat’s score (although the two-point conversion failed for the second time of the evening). Carter Leibham returned the following kick all the way out to the 46 which moved the Lightning down the field and allowed Matt Dobson to slip through the defensive crevices and score. Though there were still six minutes remaining after the touchdown, the Lightning weren’t able to generate anything else, and fell to the now-7-0 Angels, 34-21.
The next conference matchup for LCL comes at home against Luther Prep, as the Lightning look to hopefully win out the rest of the season and keep playoff hopes alive.