By STEPHEN GLOVER
For the Call
Life is about as sweet as it can be for the Lindbergh High School football team.
The Flyers (6-0, 5-0 Suburban West) traveled to Lafayette Friday evening and prevailed 14-10 over the Lancers.
“It was a hard-fought game with a lot of good hitting,” Lindbergh head coach Tom Beauchamp told the Call. “The kids did what they had to do in order to win and our de-fense played phenomenal.”
Lindbergh didn’t take long to take a 7-0 lead on a one-yard touchdown run by quarterback Joe Haas with 8:17 left in the first quarter. The senior was 6 of 16 for 127 yards and one touchdown with two interceptions. He also carried the ball 16 times for 30 yards.
“Joe didn’t have his best night of the year, but he was solid,” Beauchamp said. “He threw a couple interceptions late in the game trying to make something happen. But I think he learned his lesson.”
Lafayette scored late in the first quarter on a 26-yard field goal by Ryan Grate and again in the second quarter on a one-yard run by Grate.
But the Flyers scored the game-winning touchdown with 58 seconds left in the first half as wide receiver Kelan Bannecke hauled in a 25-yard touchdown pass from Haas.
The senior wide receiver had five receptions for 106 yards, which Beauchamp was glad to see.
“Kelan had over 100 yards in that game,” Beauchamp said. “He did a phenomenal job catching the ball and making things happen after the catch.”
On the defensive side, senior linebacker Chris Gal led the Flyers with eight tackles and six assists. The Flyers’ defense is holding opponents to just 9.33 points a game this season.
“Ironically, we made him (Gal) a captain for this game andhe’s really coming on here late in the season,” Beauchamp said. “He had some tre-mendous hits for us at crucial times during the game.”
The Flyers are at home Friday when they play host to Suburban West Conference opponent Parkway South. The Patriots are 3-3 overall and are coming off an 18-9 win over Oakville.
“They (Parkway South) are a pretty good ball team,” Beauchamp said. “Parkway South is one of those teams that if you don’t come to play, they’ll run it right down your throat.”
The Flyers’ home game against Parkway South begins at 7 p.m.
