LaSalle’s trip to Deville on Friday, Sept. 18, delivered the kind of emotional whiplash only high school football can produce — momentum swings, explosive plays, gut-punch turnovers and a finish wild enough to leave both sidelines stunned in a 27-22 loss.
Buckeye opened the night with a long, clock-eating drive, punching in a touchdown on the opening possession for a 7-0 lead. LaSalle answered immediately.
Luke Lasiter dropped a perfectly timed screen to Lane Burnham, who tore down the field for 60 yards, flipping the momentum and setting up senior quarterback Wyatt King for a trademark power run into the end zone. The Tigers didn’t stop there. Lasiter found Jace Corley on the two-point try, giving LaSalle an 8-7 advantage.
Buckeye struck again to open the second quarter, grinding out another long drive and converting the two-point try for a 15-8 lead. From there, both defenses dug in. Turnovers, stops and physical play defined the rest of the half, sending the teams into the break with Buckeye still clinging to that seven-point margin.
LaSalle came out of halftime with purpose. A balanced, methodical march down the field ended with Lasiter powering in for a touchdown. Senior Alex Richmond ran a gorgeous route on the two-point conversion, flipping the scoreboard to 16-15 in favor of the Tigers.
But Buckeye snatched momentum right back with a kickoff return touchdown. Their failed conversion kept the score at 21-16.
The Tigers kept fighting back, however. King bulldozed his way into the end zone again, reclaiming the lead at 22-21, a score that held into the fourth quarter.
The final quarter was pure pandemonium. LaSalle appeared to have a pick-six, a game-changing moment, but it was erased by a controversial blindside block penalty, a call that had the Tigers’ sideline in disbelief.
Pinned deep, Lasiter tried to convert a first down but threw an interception. Buckeye capitalized on the short field, punching in a touchdown to go up 27-22.
Then came one of the wildest sequences of the season so far.
LaSalle fumbled while trying to make something happen in its effort to retake the lead, and the game seemed over right there.
But on the very next play, King ripped the ball right back, stealing possession and igniting the Tigers’ hopes once more.
The final drive stalled, however, as the Tigers turned it over on downs, and Buckeye held on for the win.
After battling larger schools and surviving back-and-forth slugfests, LaSalle returns home this Friday for a matchup with Glenbrook, making the trip from Minden.
Kickoff is set for 7 p.m., and the town should pack the stands. The Tigers are hungry to turn these hard-fought lessons into a win and will need the community’s support to do so.
Go Tigers!
