Margaretta swarmed in 26-7 loss to Western Reserve

COLLINS — Margaretta got the start it wanted. The Polar Bears needed just over four minutes to march down the field, score a touchdown and lead early against Western Reserve. Not much else went right for Margaretta's offense. Quarterback Robbie LaCourse was harassed all night as the Roughriders' defense controlled the line of scrimmage in a 26-7 non-league contest Friday. "Early on, I think we were able to stay on schedule," Margaretta coach Lucas Poggiali said. "In the first quarter, we stayed on schedule. Credit to them because they did a really good job of mixing things up with their fronts, blitzes and pressures. We didn't protect the quarterback and I think that made things difficult for us. "When you're out of rhythm as a quarterback early, it's hard to get back in a rhythm." LaCourse completed three of the five passes he threw on the first drive. He was just 7 of 24 the rest of the night, finishing 10 of 29 for 134 yards. "I'm just so proud of our kids," WR coach Ty Stevenson said. "I thought our defensive coaches put together a great plan. Our kids did a good job all week of executing it and studying what they were supposed to do. They went out and executed really well tonight. That's a good football team." The Polar Bears opened the night by going 65 yards in 11 plays. LaCourse hit Carter Luzader for a 17-yard pass on the first play. Later, the two connected for a 10-yard pickup. Then, inside the WR red zone, Luzader took the carry and rumbled 17 yards for the touchdown. The extra point from Jaxon Shearn put Margaretta up 7-0 with 7:57 left in the first quarter. The 'Riders responded with a touchdown of their own. Cooper Roe went 14 yards on the first play from scrimmage and Colton Meagrow added a 22-yard carry on fourth-and-9 at the Margaretta 41. Four plays later, Landyn Wiegel scored from a yard out. Roe caught the two-point conversion from Meagrow and WR was up 8-7. The defense for the 'Riders showed itself quickly, shutting down the Margaretta offense. Lucas Summerfield and James Weisenberger each picked interceptions to help WR. "We mixed in some run and some passes," said Poggiali of his team's first drive. "I felt like even the next drive, we stayed on schedule. That turnover to end the second drive was a momentum shift for them. It was the opposite momentum shift for us and we never recovered." Neither team scored again until the third quarter. WR took its time offensively on the first drive of the half. The 'Riders methodically moved down the field, going 65 yards in 14 plays. On fourth-and-1 at the Margaretta 7, Wiegel covered that distance. The two-point conversion failed, but WR led 14-7 with 5:38 left in the third quarter. "We're still kind of young as far as experience goes," Stevenson said. "We feel them out a little bit instead of just going in there and getting after it. After we did that, we didn't really make adjustments, but we adjusted to the speed of the game. This team is a little better than the team we played last week. We adjusted to that." Margaretta looked to respond, getting to the WR 24 on its next drive. But, a negative rush, two incomplete passes and sack by Peyton Kerby ended the Polar Bears' drive. Mason Kromer was injured during the game and didn't return. "Going into the third quarter, we knew we were in a dogfight," Poggiali said. "We knew it was going to be slugfest. Mason is our middle linebacker and the quarterback of the defense. That hurt us a little bit. The guys that stepped in and played for him and played hard." Western Reserve cashed in, thanks in part to a Margaretta penalty. A personal foul put the 'Riders on the Margaretta side of the field. A face mask against the Polar Bears aided the drive, as well. Eventually, Roe caught a 16-yard pass from Meagrow before Meagrow went seven yards on the ground for the touchdown. Western Reserve kept the pressure on LaCourse on the next drive, sacking him twice. Even after Margaretta got to the WR red zone, the two sacks helped the 'Riders keep the Polar Bears out of the end zone. Roe exploded for 24 yards to start the next WR drive. From there, Westen Reserve slowed it down once again. They went the final 56 yards of the drive on nine plays, capped by a Wiegel one-yard run. That gave WR a 26-7 lead with 2:12 to play. Wiegel ran 19 times for 138 yards and three touchdowns for Western Reserve, which travels to Northwestern next week. "It feels great to be 2-0," Stevenson said. "They're a Div. V team and had a good win last week. They lost some dudes from last year, but have a lot of good guys back. Really good win for our guys." Margaretta hurt itself, committing 14 penalties for 125 yards. "It's really hard to come back when you're giving up over 100 yards of penalties," Poggiali said. "They came early and they came often. I think our kids played really hard tonight. There's no doubt we played really hard. But, we shot ourselves in the foot quite a bit. That's not taking anything away from Western. They're a darn good team." The Polar Bears are back in action next Friday at Brookside (0-2). "For the next 24 hours, we're going to focus on correcting this and getting this game right," Poggiali said. "As soon as we shift gears, it's about understanding about what's in front of us. Everything is still in front of us. We'll stick together and be very intentional about the work we do to get back on the right side of things." Margaretta 7 0 0 0 — 7 W. Reserve 8 0 6 12 — 26 M — Carter Luzader 16 run (Jaxon Shearn kick) WR — Landyn Wiegel 1 run (Cooper Roe pass from Colton Meagrow) WR — Wiegel 7 run (pass failed) WR — Meagrow 7 run (run failed) WR — Wiegel 1 run (run failed)