It had been 329 days since the Lindbergh High School football team last took the field for a game when the Flyers took on Northwest Friday night in Cedar Hill. But you wouldn’t know it from the convincing 41-20 victory for the Flyers.
Lindbergh (1-0) wasted no time scoring the first win of the season by throttling Northwest (3-3) at the Jefferson County high school in Cedar Hill, which was already five games into its season. The location was significant, since the game was the first, and perhaps only, game Lindbergh will play despite St. Louis County restrictions that limit games in high-contact youth sports. Lindbergh said it would play games in Jefferson County while those restrictions were in effect, starting with Friday night’s game, but St. Louis County announced Monday morning that the restrictions would end as long as the county approved each school’s plan for holding games. Jefferson County had no restrictions on football games.
“We’ll take it,” Lindbergh head coach Nathan Norman said of the victory. “The difficult part has been keeping the kids motivated for such a long period of time without a game to look forward to. What I was most proud of was our kids’ focus and their positive attitude over such a long period of time.”
Lindbergh’s Adam DuPont got the Flyers on the scoreboard with 10 minutes to play in the first quarter on a 41-yard touchdown run which resulted in a 7-0 lead after a Josh Lorenz extra point. DuPont carried the ball four times for 64 yards rushing in the win over the Lions.
“Adam is a very dynamic player, as he plays offense and defense,” Norman said. “He’s a very tough kid that’s one of the hardest workers that I’ve ever been around and he had a really good night for us.”
The Flyers extended their lead to 14-0 as Jake Hnilo hammered in a nine-yard touchdown run with 2:20 to play in the first quarter after the Lorenz extra point. Hnilo grinded out 87 yards rushing on 10 carries for Lindbergh.
“We knew that Jake was going to be something special last year as a freshman,” Norman said. “He’s a throwback football player that plays much bigger than his build, that’s for sure. Definitely glad to have him at running back and outside linebacker.”
Northwest’s Chase Viehland brought the score to 14-7 as he scored on a five-yard run with 10:41 to play in the second quarter. But Lindbergh’s Logan Kopp extended the Flyers’ lead to 21-7 as he pounded in a nine-yard touchdown run with 7:44 to play in the first half as Lorenz nailed the point after touchdown or PAT.
“Logan is a kid that if we play someone that has a better player out on the field than him, I’m going to be really excited to see that kid play,” Norman said. “Logan is a super special player all the way around, and I’m definitely glad that he’s on our team.”
Kopp scored again with 3:04 to go in the first half on a 22-yard run to extend Lindbergh’s lead to 28-7 going into halftime, with Lorenz cementing the PAT. The senior running back carried the ball 17 times for a whopping 198 yards rushing against Northwest.
“I really can’t say enough positive things about Logan,” Norman said. “He’s a great team player and a phenomenal high school football player.”
DeShaun Ramey extended Lindbergh’s lead to 35-7 late in the third quarter with a 10-yard touchdown run with 4:50 to go as Lorenz notched the extra point. Ramey finished the game with four carries for 14 yards rushing.
“He was able to come in and really take advantage of the situation,” Norman said. “That’s what we were hoping that he would do and we look for more positivity from DeShaun in the future.”
Northwest’s Mikel Davis shocked the Lindbergh defense with an impressive 72-yard touchdown run to trim the score to 35-14 with 1:09 left in the third quarter of play. The Lions scored again on a 15-yard touchdown pass from Trey Davis to Andrew Lenzen with 4:02 to go in the game as the Flyers held on to a 35-20 lead.
Hnilo scored his second touchdown of the evening on a 29-yard outburst with 3:11 to play to give Lindbergh its commanding 41-20 win after Lorez missed an extra point.
The Flyers return to action this Friday as they take on Eureka at Union High School. LHS Athletic Director Scott Luczak told The Call that if the county approves, the location will likely be switched to Eureka. Check back to www.callnewspapers.com to see if the location changes due to the lifting of St. Louis County restrictions.
“Eureka is always a quality opponent that’s well coached,” Norman said. “We’re excited to play another game, and we look forward to the challenge because it’s always going to be a challenge with them. Our goal is to get better every week.”
