L-C zips by Seymour to advance

The Luxemburg-Casco football team possesses speed that is tough to match.

That’s why the Spartans are going to be a tough out in the playoffs.

L-C zipped by Seymour with a 28-8 victory on Friday in a WIAA Division 3 first-round game.

It’s the third-straight year the Spartans (10-0) have won a playoff game.

The North Eastern Conference champion looks like a squad that could win a few more if it can continue to perform like it did in a rematch with the Thunder (4-6).

After rallying for a 23-22 double overtime win at Seymour in Week 3, L-C ensured things wouldn’t be as close this time around by using its attacking defense to shut down the Thunder offense while producing some big runs in the second half to pull away.

“I think they have a lot of good team speed, which we knew,” said Seymour coach Matt Molle, whose team bounced back from an 0-4 start to make the playoffs for an eighth-straight year. “They did a nice job of getting their speed out in space. That’s pretty tough.”

After holding L-C to a season-low 191 rushing yards in the first meeting, the Thunder’s stingy defense allowed only 223 yards Friday.

But it was the few instances where Seymour couldn’t contain the Spartans’ speed that resulted in a second playoff loss to L-C in as many years.

The Spartans led only 7-0 at the half. They scored on their second possession of the game, which saw junior Austin Tlachac rush five times – all to the outside – for 71 yards during an 84-yard drive, which he capped with a seven-yard touchdown. It was the first touchdown Seymour has allowed since Week 5.

L-C added another score on its opening possession of the second half with senior quarterback Jon Deprey reaching the end zone on a one-yard sneak.

After not being able to break free for a run longer than seven yards, Deprey all but put the game out of reach late in the third quarter when he finally broke free for a 34-yard gain to the Seymour 3. Three plays later senior Dalton Smerchek scored from a yard out to extend the lead to 21-0 in the opening minute of the fourth quarter.

“They have a good defense,” L-C coach Dillon Maney said. “Those three kids up front for them are top-caliber kids; the best we see all year. We just had to keep on them and keep on them to give some little cracks. Austin and Jon got open in the open field and did what they did to get us set up in scoring position.”

The L-C defense, meanwhile, nearly pitched its fourth shutout in five games. The Spartans allowed a touchdown in the final 2 minutes of play when both teams had started to trickle in some of their reserves.

Senior Sam Larson came up with an interception for L-C, which allowed only 185 yards of offense. Junior Dawson Gmeinder had two sacks, while senior Trevor Vandenbush had one. Senior Nathan Giachino totaled a team-high nine tackles.

“The defense played well,” Maney said. “We challenged them because they didn’t play real well last week. They’ve been the strong part of our team all year. They rose to the occasion tonight.”

No. 2 L-C will have a tough task trying to do so again next week when it hosts No. 3 West De Pere. The Spartans never defeated the Phantoms during their eight years in the Bay Conference, from 2007 to 2014.

“Offensively, they’re kind of mirror images of each other,” said Molle, whose team played West De Pere in Week 1. “It should be a good game. They both know each other pretty well. That’s a tough one, a toss-up.”

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Seymour 0 0 0 8 – 8

Luxemburg-Casco 7 0 7 14 – 28

Scoring Summary:

L-C: Austin Tlachac 7 run (Sam Larson kick)

L-C: Jon Deprey 1 run (Larson kick)

L-C: Dalton Smerchek 1 run (Larson kick)

L-C: Kyle Routhieaux 3 run (Larson kick)

Individual Statistics

Rushing: S-Jamison Sassman 15-66; L-C: Jon Deprey 20-87; Austin Tlachac 11-93.

Passing: S-Devin Vervoort 6-23-1-81; L-C: Jon Deprey 3-6-0-18.

Receiving: S-Gavin Bunkleman 3-43; L-C: Kyle Routhieaux 2-14.