LIMA – Lima Central Catholic at full strength is a scary proposition for opposing teams to deal with as Leipsic found out firsthand on Saturday night in a 51-0 loss.
Despite not being at full strength the past few weeks while dealing with injuries and missing starters due to COVID precautions, the T-Birds offense quickly kicked into high gear on this night at Spartan Stadium.
Last week the T-Birds offense scored in just over a minute on a touchdown run by Shaun Thomas, on this evening the hosts took just :31 and two plays to get on the scoreboard as Thomas rushed through the heart of the Leipsic defense for a 38 yard touchdown to put LCC on top 7-0.
Working from just across midfield after forcing the Vikings to a three and out on their first possession the T-Birds offense struck fast and furiously once again on their second go round with the football as they scored on their third play from scrimmage from three yards away on a Rossy Moore scamper for a 14-0 lead with 8:44 left in the opening quarter.
Leipsic was forced to punt once again on their second possession after just a trio of plays and one yard gained and watched as their opponents set up shop at their 33 yard line.
Shaun Thomas a week ago became the all-time leading rusher in LCC history and broke the all-time scoring mark, on this night he would raise his total to 88 career touchdowns on a nine yard rush off right tackle and untouched into the Spartan Stadium endzone for a 21-0 LCC first quarter lead with 5:19 remaining.
Three offensive drives and three punts for Leipsic led to the fourth touchdown of the first period for the hosts and and capped off a 30 yard three play drive to run the lead to 28-0 when Dylan Wilson’s fourth carry of the season ended with a 12 yard score.
Viking QB Dillan Niese connected for a first down and a pair of big catch and runs to wideout Trent Siefker for a total of 26 yards on the fourth drive of the game for his team, but was forced to summon the punting team once again when a fumble and loss of yards disrupted the drive.
Entering play on Saturday evening the LCC offense came in averaging over 400 yards of total offense per game through their first four games.
Despite facing a third and long after an 18 yard loss on a fumble over the head of QB Evan Unruh, the T-Birds offense quickly recovered thanks to a 37 yard run by Rossy Moore and a pair of follow up first down runs by Moore and Wilson to charge into Leipsic territory.
Though they were able to move deep into the redzone, the LCC offense was forced to settle for a 24 yard field goal from kicker Nate Davisson and took a 31-0 with 7:03 remaining before the halftime break.
After the fourth three and out of the game by Leipsic the T-Birds used just one play, a quick screen pass to Rossy Moore who spun and slashed his way across and down the field for a 70 yard score to run the lead to 38-0 with 6:17 to go in the second stanza.
Third quarter action began with a running clock by virtue of the 30+ point differential and the Vikings began with the football but not for long as QB Niese was sacked and stripped and watched as the football bounced off of the turf and into the waiting arms of Dylan Wilson for a 19 yard score.
Adrian Carrillo blocked the ensuing extra point attempt for Davisson and kept the score at 44-0 with 10:34 left in the third.
Lima Central Catholic’s speed rush and swarming defense forced a fumble on the next offensive play for Leipsic as they ripped the ball away from back Caleb Ellerbrock that saw Wilson again get his hands on the pigskin.
Five plays into their first possession of the third quarter the Thunderbirds pushed across the final marker of the contest on a 23 yard rush by junior Bryan Hines to run the advantage for the hosts to 51-0.
Since erupting for 34 points in their season opening win against Riverdale the Vikings have been unable to reach the endzone but just one time and have been shut out in three of their four contests since. Next week the Vikings (2-3) will take on Blanchard Valley Conference mate McComb in their regular season finale.
#7 ranked LCC moves to 4-1 and will battle #6 ranked Arlington next week in their last regular season tune up before the OHSAA Playoffs begin in a battle of state ranked squads.
LCC finished the first half with 298 total yards and 334 in the contest while holding the visiting Vikings to 85 in the first half and 100 total yards unofficially.