By Pat Dailey (For OzarkSportsZone.com)
LAMAR — Jared Beshore hasn’t had to make many in-game adjustments in his four seasons at the helm of Lamar, what with the Tigers usually well ahead by halftime.
But Beshore showed an uncanny ability to adapt and overcome Saturday, as his play-calling proved instrumental in Lamar breaking away for a 41-14 Class 2 Quarterfinal triumph versus Lafayette County.
This was a 7-all ball game up until the final minute of the first half.
Beshore’s call for more pass plays than usual led to quarterback Alex Wilkerson throwing three second-half touchdowns.
“He made adjustments at halftime,” said running back Cooper Hahn, who had two touchdown runs and one touchdown catch. “We had some three-and-outs in the first half. But we changed up plays. We dug more into our playbook. If (the opponent) puts everybody in the box to defend the run, we can drop back and throw a pass and score a touchdown.”
Lamar put up 22 points in the first eight-plus minutes of the second half to suddenly turn a competitive contest into a rout. Wilkerson found Chase Guerry for a 25-yard touchdown pass, Wilkerson and Hahn hooked up for a 20-yard scoring strike and Hahn ran untouched into the end zone from 42 yards out during that decisive span.
“I’ve got to tip my hat to our coaching staff and players,” Beshore said. “Play-calling is not just a one-guy job. I’ve got (assistant Scott Quinly) giving me ideas and we’ve got players coming to the sideline saying, ‘Hey, they’re making this adjustment, what if we do this?’ When the kids understand the game, that allows them to chip in and say, ‘I know we practiced this, but will this work?’ Our kids did that today. We were able to make some big plays in the second half because of our players and coaches seeing some things we liked.”
Wilkerson naturally liked Lamar breaking from its norm and receiving play calls for a pass.
“When those come in, I get a little anxious,” Wilkerson said. “I have to take a deep breath and know my guys are going to get open and I just have to get them the ball.”
Wilkerson particularly enjoyed throwing deeper balls than usual. On several throws, a Lafayette County cornerback overplayed a Lamar receiver just off the line of scrimmage, only to have the receiver race by and be wide open for a Wilkerson dart.
“We knew we could get them coming up on hitches,” Wilkerson said. “We’ve been throwing hitches all year.”
Things went so well for Wilkerson that perhaps his worst thrown pass of the day resulted in arguably the biggest play of the game.
With the teams tied at 7 and Lamar facing a fourth-and-six at the Huskers 38-yard line and two minutes remaining in the first half, Wilkerson hit Logan Kish for a 19-yard completion. Under a bit of pressure, Wilkerson threw a wobbly pass into the direction of two Lamar receivers.
CLICK HERE FOR PHOTOS OF THE GAME
“I meant to throw it to (Kish), but it wasn’t a very good pass, I know that,” Wilkerson said. “It wasn’t a great ball, but he went up and got it.”
Beshore is confident in having Wilkerson go to the air.
“He does a great job settling in the pocket and making great throws. He’s got one of the strongest arms we’ve ever had at Lamar,” Beshore said. “We don’t throw the ball a lot, but when we do we want to make sure we’re efficient. That starts in practice and Alex does a great job making sure he’s meticulous in details of his steps and what his reads are. I’m very proud and happy for him that he got to have success. This is kind of the first time it’s all come together in the passing game.”
Lamar (11-1) has now scored 35 points or more in five straight games, after scoring a modest 14 points against fellow Quarterfinalists Nevada and Seneca in mid-season.
The Tigers were without Wilkerson for a month and minus Hahn their first seven games. Wilkerson sprained an ankle and Wilkerson broke a foot.
“(Coaches) made me sit out, but I really didn’t want to,” Hahn said. “It was a smart move. Everything’s fine now. I haven’t tweaked it.”
“It’s good to have him back,” Wilkerson said of Hahn. “We missed him for a long time. Getting him back is getting our offense rolling. He was our missing piece.”
”When both those guys are (in the backfield), good things happen for us,” Beshore said. “We’ve got some cohesion now offensively by having guys in the same spots multiple weeks in a row. You’re starting to see more chemistry with our kids because we’re more consistent in what our personnel is.”
Lafayette County’s only scoring drive covered the final minute-plus of the first quarter and nearly the first eight minutes of the second quarter. The Huskers converted on fourth down four times on their way to tying the score at 7.
“It’s tough for a high school offense to go 15-20 plays on a drive without making mistakes, Hats off to Lafayette County on that drive,” Beshore said. “But we knew if we could keep playing with the same kind of intensity defensively, they were going to have drives in which they stalled out.”
The matchup of powers was unique in that it was a rematch of sorts from their time together at Lamar’s summer team camp.
“They wanted to come down for camp and we needed a team, so we said, ‘Hey, c’mon down and we’ll feed you and get better,'” Beshore said. “In the summer, it’s just about getting better. I think the good programs aren’t afraid to show anything to anybody, they just want to do what they do well.
“We had some fellowship hanging around with them after team camp,” he added. “We’re familiar with them and they’re familiar with us. Our players know their players and our coaches know their coaches. We knew this would be a tough game because of that. It’s tough to beat somebody who knows you so well.”
For the first time in its glorious history, Lamar will continue to serve as host for all of its playoff games through the semifinal round. The Tigers entertain Bowling Green (13-0) next Saturday. It will be the third straight week Lamar has faced an unbeaten team.
“From what we’ve seen and heard, it’s smash-mouth football,” Beshore of Bowling Green. “They’ve got some big kids, a stud at running back and they play extremely physical. I would guess it will probably be our most physical game of the year. I’m looking forward to a great semifinal matchup.”
Lamar 41, Lafayette County 7
Lafayette 0 7 0 0 – 7
Lamar 7 6 22 6 – 41
Scoring
L – Alex Wilkerson 21 run (Jose Juarez kick)
LC – Shakor George 4 pass from Brock Page (Cody Gast kick)
L – Cooper Hahn 10 run (kick no good)
L – Chase Querry 25 pass from Wilkerson (Hahn run
L – Hahn 20 pass from Wilkerson (Juarez kick)
L – Hahn 42 run (Juarez kick)
L – Ian Ngugi 24 pass from Wilkerson (kick no good)
