Let the playoffs begin. Sort of.
After a six-week regular season, the high school football playoffs are set to begin for a number of schools. However for Lima Central Catholic, the Thunderbirds will have to wait a week after a receiving a bye in the first round of the postseason.
Because every school makes the playoffs, a system was put in place to reward schools with better records and giving them a week off and Thunderbird head coach Scott Palte said the off week will give his team time to work on continuity and regrouping as a squad.
Palte added that they did have a bye in the regular season two seasons ago but this one, like the season, is different.
“I guess in this case you can look at it somewhat as an honor,” Palte said. “You are voted one of the top seeds in your region and have the opportunity to have a week off and practice and try to get better. We have had a little bit of experience with it and in our case we have had guys out week three and week four and most of week five so having an extra week and try and get in sync and practice together is really beneficial for us.”
Even though the Thunderbirds will have the opportunity to scout their next opponent this week, Palte said he is primarily focused on working out the finer points with his team and getting them back to peak midseason form.
“But this week not knowing who we were going to play we continue to worry and continually worry about us,” Palte said. “We are trying to see all the films and focus on simple techniques like tackling and blocking and running routes right and the timing of our offense. It has been some good days here and we are just improving some basic skills.”
The Thunderbirds schedule has been full of a number of quality opponents and LCC has continually developed in producing a 5-1 mark.
After opening the season with two big wins over Van Buren (46-7) and Licking Valley (35-13) , the Thunderbirds had to sit six players, some who were starters, for two weeks prior to week three against against Liberty Benton because of COVID-19 related issues.
Playing a freshman quarterback, Carson Parker, and several other less-experienced players, the Thunderbirds hung around for a half before falling 47-28. However, LCC bounced back the next week with a win against Cambridge 56-41 and then shut out Leipsic 51-0.
With the team back at full strength, the T-Birds downed Arlington last week 49-26 last week.
“The schedule has been a really good test for us and it gets us ready for week eight and beyond,” Palte said.
Palte added that dealing with the coronavirus helped a lot of young players some experience that could pay off in the future.
“We won one and lost one but in this type of season it could really benefit us in the future,” Palte said.
The Thunderbirds offense is good as any in the Northwest Conference and Palte said that starts with the offensive line. LCC is averaging 44.1 points a game and has scored 45 points more in four of those contest.
“We returned three starters from last year and this year added Kaelan Howard and Jacob Lauck to the line up and they have done a great job and we have really been able to run the ball really well,” Palte said. “We have a lot of guys contribute up front.
The duo of Shaun Thomas and Rossy Moore is one of the best backfields around and both are capable of scoring on a single play.
Thomas has had a record setting season. The senior sensation has become the all-time leading rusher in Thunderbirds history with 4,429 yards, breaking the 30-year old mark set by Jimmie Freeman. He is also the all-time touchdown leader with 86.
In his most spectacular game this year against Cambridge, Thomas rushed for 308 yards and five touchdowns and netted 106 yards receiving and a touchdown.
Moore has scored two or more touchdowns in all four of his games and has rushed for more than 100 yards in three of those contests.
“Those guys are hard to bring down in space,” Palte said. “We have been able to be a little more open this year and spread out and they have done a great job when they get the ball in their hands. They are talented players.”
The addition of Evan Unruh at quarterback has helped the Thunderbirds become more balanced with a better passing game.
While the defense does not get the accolades the offense does, Lima Central Catholic is giving up an average of 22.3 points a contest. In three of those games, they gave up 13 points or less.
“We went in the year trying to be aggressive and have an attack mindset and our guys have done a great job of really pressing the line of scrimmage and attack,” Palte said.”We have done a better job this year of creating turnovers this year than we have in past years.”
As the team gears up for the postseason, Palte said the team is motivated for a big run in the playoffs. Last year, the Thunderbirds bowed out in the first round against at tough Fairview squad, 29-27.
“Our region may have been the toughest I’ve ever encountered in the playoffs since I’ve been coaching high school football,” Palte said. “I didn’t think we played too poorly they just played better than us so any motivation is from that. Our senior class is motivated to go out on a high note.”
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