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By RICK SPRUNGER
LEO-CEDARVILLE — It was all offense at Leo Friday night.
Leo’s powerful Allen County Athletic Conference favorites got the better of Southern Wells, 43-27, in an offensive slugfest in which defense was never really much of a factor on either side.
Yes, the stat sheet at the bottom of this story is correct. Southern Wells churned out 22 first downs to Leo’s nine, ran 71 offensive plays to the Lions’ 28, dominated in time of possession, and only punted one time all night.
The trouble was, Leo was getting big-play touchdowns all night. Southern Wells, on the other hand, was grinding out time-consuming drives, only to see them end with fumbles or ill-timed penalties.
Southern Wells coach Mark Lefebvre was quick to credit a talented Leo team and particularly tailback Connor Kacsor, who piled up 172 yards and two touchdowns in just 12 carries.
“(Leo’s) skilled kids are as good as we’re going to see this year,” said Lefebvre.
But he was just as matter-of-fact about his own offense’s capabilities and its missed opportunities.
“We can score against anyone,” said Lefebvre flatly. “Our mistakes are what stopped us tonight. Their defense never stopped us.”
Twice in the first quarter, fumbles proved costly, one of them being returned 60 yards for a touchdown by Leo’s Mitch Kumle for a quick 7-0 Lion advantage.
Southern Wells answered that defensive touchdown with one of its own when Chase Harris intercepted a screen pass and waltzed 13 yards into the end zone.
At that point, the Raiders were pretty much stopping Kacsor and the rest of the Leo offense, having held the purple gang to nine yards in seven offensive plays.
But after that, Leo cranked things up a notch.
For the remainder of the first half, the Lions racked up an amazing 240 yards in just 12 plays, averaging 20 yards for every snap of the football. It was a pace that Southern Wells could not match.
On Leo’s first possession after Harris’s interception return, Kacsor went 64 yards for a score on the first play.
Southern Wells answered with a 69-yard, seven-play drive, including a 46-yard run by Tyler Roush, who rushed for 156 yards on 19 carries himself.
But five plays later, Leo was on the board again, courtesy of a 49-yard run by Kyle Marzec on a reverse.
The Leo defense did stop Southern Wells on its next series, a fourth-and-six pass by Drew Penrod from the Leo 46 falling incomplete.
And that was all the Lions needed to put some distance between themselves and their visitors.
Kacsor covered the 54 yards between his team and the goal line all by himself in just two plays.
Southern Wells answered by ramming the ball right down Leo’s throat. A 76-yard, 12-play drive ate up 6:28 of clock, culminated in a three-yard touchdown run by Roush, and trimmed the deficit to 28-19.
But just that fast, Leo was in the end zone again, going 62 yards in just four plays, the last of which was a 36-yard scoring pass from Andrew Suciu to Nik Kelley.
Down 36-19 at halftime but starting the second half with the football, Southern Wells made a bid to get back in it with another long, sustained drive. But here is where ill-timed penalties really started hurting the defending conference champs.
Starting on their own 36, the Raiders marched all the way down to the Leo 13. On third-and-2, Jordan Caldwell blasted his way to the 6. But a back-breaking holding penalty moved the ball back to the 25.
Instead of first-and-goal, it was suddenly third-and-14. Two plays went nowhere, and a drive of nearly seven minutes went up in smoke.
This time, the Southern Wells defense did hold Leo and forced the Lions to punt.
Again, the offense went back to work, cranking out a first down and penetrating to the Leo 39. But another penalty, this time an illegal procedure call, moved the Raiders out of position to get a first down with their running game.
And again, one play was all Leo needed, getting a 61-yard run by Zac Stilson on its first play to pretty much end it.
Southern Wells, now 2-2 on the season and 0-2 in the ACAC, ended up with 409 yards in total offense but couldn’t match Leo’s quick-strike capability.
“We can score against anyone,” reiterated Lefebvre. “I’m just not sure we can stop anyone right now.”
The Raiders will go back to work next Friday night when they host Woodlan.
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LEO 43, SOUTHERN WELLS 27
At Leo
Score By Quarters
Southern Wells 13 6 0 8 – 27
Leo 21 15 0 7 – 43
Scoring Summary
First Quarter
L--Mitch Kumle 60 fumble return (Alex Egan kick), 8:47.
SW--Chase Harris 13 interception return (Connor Stoffel kick), 5:52.
L--Connor Kacsor 64 run (Egan kick), 5:35.
SW--Jacob Miller 4 run (kick failed), 1:50.
L--Kyle Marzec 49 run (Egan kick), 0:28.
Second Quarter
L--Kacsor 11 run (Egan kick), 9:03.
SW--Tyler Roush 3 run (run failed), 2:35.
L--Nik Kelley 36 pass from Andrew Suciu (Marzec pass from Suciu), 1:15.
Fourth Quarter
L--Zac Stilson 61 run (Egan kick), 10:35.
SW--Jagger Love 15 pass from Trevor Furnish (Love run), 0:20.
Team Statistics
SW LEO
First Downs 22 9
Rushes-Yards 66-377 20-277
Yards Passing 32 53
Passing (Comp-Att-Int) 2-5-0 3-8-1
Penalties-Yards 5-40 2-20
Fumbles-Lost 3-2 0-0
Punts-Average 1-15.0 3-25.3
Time of Possession 35:39 12:21
Individual Statistics
Rushing: Southern Wells, Tyler Roush 19-156, Kyle Jacob Miller 13-46, Drew Penrod 12-62, Jordan Caldwell 9-40, Kyle Jones 6-32, Jagger Love 3-22, Trevor Furnish 2-13, Austin Schortgen 2-6. Leo, Connor Kacsor 12-172, Kyle Marzec 4-42, Zac Stilson 2-60, Andrew Suciu 2-(-2), Taylor Horn 1-0.
Passing: Southern Wells, Drew Penrod 1-4-0 17, Trevor Furnish 1-1-0 15. Leo, Andrew Suciu 3-8-1 53.
Receiving: Southern Wells, Luke Roush 1-17, Jagger Love 1-15. Leo, Nik Kelley 1-36, Drew Adams 1-10, Ian Brumm 1-7.
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