2010 Rewind: LaSalle Lancers

The LaSalle Lancers returned the GCL South's most experienced team and were considered contenders from the outset. The school's senior class was loaded with talent and a ton of experience.

The team got out of the gate fast and enjoyed the best season in school history while featuring one of the Tri-state's most exciting offenses.

Back-to-back losses to GCL South foes to end the season ruined hopes of a deep post-season run, but the team still gave its fans an amazing performance in 2010. There will be big shoes to fill next year at LaSalle as many of this team's top contributors will be lost to graduation.

Here's a game-by-game recap of the 2010 LaSalle Lancers season:

GAME #1 - LASALLE 28, LAKOTA WEST 6: Despite a slow start, LaSalle's offense had a big day in their first game of the season on their way to a 28-6 win over Lakota West in the Skyline Crosstown Showdown at Nippert Stadium. After the first quarter of play the Lancers trailed 6-0 and had done nothing offensively. For an experienced team with high expectations, it wasn't the start they had planned on. Things started looking up midway through the second quarter when the offense drove down the field and running back Matt Farrell scored on a one-yard touchdown run. The successful extra point made it 7-6. The Lancers would never look back. They struck again just over three minutes later when quarterback Andrew Kummer found Matt Woeste for a 9-yard touchdown pass. After an uninspiring first quarter, the Lancers took a two possession lead into halftime 14-6. LaSalle continued the onslaught in the second half when Farrell scored on a 2-yard run. The 21-6 lead was more than enough for the Lancer's defense as they pitched the shutout with Lakota West's only score coming on an interception return. LaSalle running back Antonio Nelson tacked on a 10-yard touchdown run at the beginning of the fourth quarter to round out the scoring and giving LaSalle a 28-6 win. Farrell had 131 yards and two scores on the ground and Kummer threw for two touchdowns to lead the Lancers.

GAME #2 - LASALLE 50, COVCATH 7: The Lancers pounced on Covington Catholic within the first minute of the contest, and the Colonels never could recover as the Lancers treated their home crowd to a 50-7 rout in their home opener. With only seconds having ticked off the clock, Farrell ran in the first score for La Salle on a 3-yard run set up by a 67-yard pass from Kummer to Rodriguez Coleman. From that point on, the Lancers never looked back. The LaSalle offense accumulated 594 total yards. Kummer had 11 completions on 15 attempts racking up 244 yards on the night. LaSalle's defenders allowed the Colonels only 60 yards in the first half. The defense even got in on the scoring as senior linebacker Ben Ingle intercepted CovCath's Blake Bir and returned the ball 20 yards for the score. The pick six was part of a 27-point second quarter to put the game virtually out of reach at halftime. Just before the interception, junior Max Barlag ran 36 yards for a score. Kummer connected with Woeste and Coleman for touchdowns later in the quarter as the Lancers showcased the versatility of their offense. By halftime, the Lancers had constructed a 40-0 lead.

GAME #3 - LASALLE 50, LAKOTA EAST 21: For the second straight week the explosive LaSalle offense scored seven touchdowns before the third quarter had even ended. Lakota East went 80 yards on four plays to take a 7-0 lead. The Thunderhawks would build a 14-7 advantage before Lancers' head coach Tom Grippa told his offense to put an end to the nonsense. Farrell had 113 yards rushing and three scores. Kummer had four touchdown passes and had 313 yards through the air. Coleman was on the receiving end of three of Kummer's scoring tosses. Coleman and Woeste each had over 100 yards catching the football. Farrell, who led LaSalle with 371 yards rushing in '09, now has 348 yards after just three contests. He also bypassed his rushing touchdown total from a year ago as he sits currently with seven on the season.

GAME #4 - LASALLE 48, NORTHWEST 0: The Lancers continued their hot play and put this contest away as they build a 35-0 lead by the end of the first quarter. Kummer ran for two touchdowns and threw for three others, including two to Coleman as well as a 16-yarder to Brett Weinel, all in the game's first 12 minutes. LaSalle held an amazing 401-to-1 yard advantage in total offense by night's end. The Lancers' D was amazing holding Northwest to minus-9 yards of rushing on 31 carries and forcing a pair of turnovers as Jaelyn Price intercepted a pass and Robbrec Harris picked up a fumble. The reserves played a large portion of the game and they produced with their opportunity. Joe Pfiester connected with Devon Steagall on a 38-yard TD pass and Brad Burkhart rounded out the scoring with a 35-yard touchdown run for LaSalle.

GAME #5 - LASALLE 21, LIMA SENIOR 0: For the second straight contest LaSalle's defense pitched a shutout. Jayson Bransen forced and recovered a fumble and Cameron Jones and Jake Ventura each came up with an interception to help lead the way. Joe Burger, Tyler Vogelpohl, Brandon Saho, and Nick Fritz combined to come up with three sacks. Kummer threw two first-half touchdowns, one to Coleman and another to Farrell as the Lancers took a 14-0 lead into the locker room. Barlag rounded the scoring with a 47-yard third-quarter TD run.

GAME #6 - LASALLE 33, WALSH JESUIT 13: LaSalle moved to 6-0 with a total team effort. Farrell led the way on offense as he picked 138 yards and a score on just 15 carries, including a 40-yard run. Barlag added 47 yards and a score of his own on the ground. Kummer completed 16-of-27 passes for 189 yards and a score on a 5-yard TD pass to Brett Wiebell. Kicker Alex Schuster connected on all four of his point-after-conversions and added a 37-yard field goal. Coleman picked forced and recovered a fumble and Zak Cox added an interception to lead the defense.

GAME #7 - LASALLE 27, ST. XAIVER 24: The Lancers got a big night from its passing game as Kummer completed 16-of-24 passes for 273 yards and two touchdowns to pace the Lancers. St. Xavier forced LaSalle to punt on its first three possessions. However, the Bombers couldn't capitalize, managing to put just three points on the board courtesy of a Sean Duggan 30-yard field goal to take a 3-0 lead after one quarter of play. The second quarter was a different story as the Lancers began to move the ball through the air. Coleman set up LaSalle's first score with a 48-yard catch that left his team at St. Xavier's 2-yard line. Two plays later Kummer ran it in from a yard out to give the Lancers a 7-3 halftime lead. LaSalle didn't waste much time getting back on the scoreboard following the break. After forcing St. Xavier to punt, Coleman and Kummer connected on a spectacular 33-yard scoring pass to build the lead to 14-3 midway through the third quarter. Coleman finished the game with six catches for 160 yards and a touchdown. The Bombers would answer though with back-to-back touchdowns to retake the lead. The first came late in third quarter when junior running back Conor Hundley scored on a three-yard run to cut the lead to four at 14-10. Hundley finished the night with 106 yards and a touchdown on 27 carries. Facing a 4th-and-1 from LaSalle's 9-yard line with 6:51 to go in the game, St. Xavier quarterback Griffin Dolle executed the perfect play-action pass and found tight end Robert Dorger Jr. wide open in the end zone and just like that the Bombers were in the lead at 17-14. The lead would last all of two plays as the Bombers left Woeste wide open down the sidelines for a 67-yard score to put the Lancers back on top at 21-17 with 6:34 on the clock. Following a defensive stop, the Lancers would turn to the ground game for their next big play as Farrell took it to the house from 50 yards out to put the nail in the coffin.

GAME #8 - LASALLE 31, MOELLER 21: LaSalle handed the Moeller Crusaders a 31-21 loss and took the next step to their goal at season's beginning: a Greater Catholic League South Title. With a win the Lancers earned at least a share of the division championship. The Crusaders took the early lead on a Tucker Skove 1-yard run. The Lancers battled back and evened the score at seven as Farrell ran for a 16-yard score. The two teams then traded another pair of touchdowns, both aided by defensive pass interference penalties. LaSalle's special teams would give the Lancers the lead with about six minutes left in the second quarter. Following a 12-yard touchdown pass from Kummer to Coleman, Schuster placed the kickoff in no-man's land and the Lancers were able to recover. LaSalle took advantage of the opportunity with a 34-yard field goal to go up 17-14. From there on out, the Lancers settled down, played their game and didn't look back. In the second half, LaSalle tightened up and didn't help the Moeller offense move the ball with unnecessary penalties. Farrell came out of the locker room and took advantage of the Crusader defense igniting the offense as the running back helped the Lancers drive downfield for two more scores. Farrell finished with 70 yards rushing on 20 carries and caught four key passes for another 96 yards while scoring two touchdowns. Kummer finished 16-of-30 for 256 yards. Cox and Ingle each had an interception to help lead the defense.

GAME #9 - LASALLE 33, DESALES: 30: The Lancers' magical 2010 season continued as they stayed undefeated by picking up a 33-30 win on the road in Columbus against DeSales. LaSalle amassed 438 total yards, including 302 yards through the air. Kummer completed 19 of his 31 passes while throwing for three scores. Farrell contributed with 87 yards for 13 carries and a touchdown. Woeste and Coleman each had huge nights. Woeste caught nine balls for 178 yards while Rodriguez tallied three touchdowns and 112 yards on seven receptions. The Lancers fell behind for with 4:03 to go in the contest when Nick Gentile connected with Sam Borghese on 22-yard TD strike. However, they responded. Ingle capped of a game-winning drive with a two-yard touchdown run less than two minutes later to seal the deal for LaSalle.

GAME #10 - ELDER 31, LASALLE 28: The Lancers traveled to "The Pit" in hopes of securing the school's first-ever GCL South outright title and an undefeated record. However, Elder was attempting to play spoiler. LaSalle went up 7-0 on their opening drive as Kummer came up with a 2-yard rushing touchdown. After Elder went three-and-out on its ensuing drive, LaSalle went to work once again. Kummer directed a 10-play drive that resulted in a 6-yard touchdown scoring pass to Woeste. Kummer went 16-for-36 for 257 yards on the night. Woeste had eight receptions for 88 yards in the first half alone as the Lancers lead 14-0 at halftime. LaSalle outgained the Panthers 186-77 in total offense in the first half. The momentum that LaSalle carried into the halftime transferred to Elder early in the third quarter. On LaSalle's fourth play from scrimmage in the third quarter, Kummer threw a pass that was intercepted by junior defensive back Ian Gunn who returned it 51 yards for a touchdown. On the next Elder possession, the Panthers drove 47 yards on a short field to tie the score 14-14. Ben Gramke threw a 5-yard pass to Ben Coffaro in the end zone for the scoring play. The score remained tied until early in the fourth quarter when Gramke hooked up with Jeff Vorherr on a 14-yard pass play and Elder led for the first time 21-14. On the very next play Kummer connected with Coleman for a 65-yard TD pass to tie the game at 21-21. A Coffaro touchdown with 2:26 left in the game put the Panthers back up by seven. Kummer and Woeste hooked up for a second time to put the game at a 28-28 tie at the end of regulation. The Lancers got the ball first in overtime and came away with zero points. Elder would get a 24-yard field goal from freshman Matthew Murray to pull off the upset, 31-28. LaSalle's perfect season and outright GCL South title was not meant to be for this season as the Lancers fall to 9-1 overall and 2-1 in the division. The Lancers end up sharing the crown with Moeller.

GAME #11 - ST. XAVIER 30, LASALLE 14: The sixth-seeded Bombers handed their GCL South foes a convincing 30-14 defeat in the opening round of the Region 4 playoffs. LaSalle got a huge dose of Conor Hundley before they even knew what hit them. The St. Xavier running back scored three touchdowns as the Bomber built a 21-0 second-quarter lead and never looked back. Hundley would finish the evening with four touchdowns and 150 yards rushing on 32 carries as he came to play in a big game like always. The Lancers shot themselves in the foot with miscues and missed opportunities all night. They looked like an inexperienced playoff squad at times. Kummer did throw two touchdown passes, but there are snaps and throws that he would like to have back. The 14 points allowed by the Bombers' defense was the sixth time in 10 games they've held opponents to 14 points or less. St. Xavier came into this game having lost three of their last five games to end the season, but they avenged a Week 7 loss to the Lancers in this one.

MILESTONES AND MORE

--LaSalle's nine wins marked the most in school history. The team missed out on its first outright GCL South title, but they earned a share of the title for only the second time since joining the league in 1962.

--The GCL South Athlete of the Year, Andrew Kummer finished with 2,228 yards and 26 scores through the air while adding 356 yards and five more scores on the ground. He will continue his career at Miami (OH). Kummer ends his three-year career at LaSalle as the school's all-time leader in passing touchdowns (40) and yards (4470).

--Rodriguez Coleman exploded for 40 receptions for 914 yards and 14 touchdowns to help lead the Lancers to the best season in school history. The effort earned him a scholarship to Cincinnati and Division I First-Team All-Ohio honors.

-- The Ball State-bound Ben Ingle had three interceptions, including taking one to the house, and a sack. His performance was worthy of Division I Special Mention All-Ohio and Division I First-Team All-Southwest District accolades.

-- Kummer, Coleman, Ingle as well as running back Matt Farrell, wide receiver Matt Woeste, linebacker Jayson Brensen, defensive back Zack Cox, and defensive lineman Kyle Herth earned First-Team All-GCL South honors.