'We want the state': Lesch's legacy enters final Perkins chapter

PERKINS TWP. — Since fourth grade, Logan Lesch has been a Perkins quarterback. At each level, he's been a Pirate with a powerful right arm and dangerous athleticism. Since his sophomore season, Lesch has been the Perkins quarterback. He was the unquestioned starter two falls ago and was never going to relinquish the role he wanted all his life. And now, if you let the statistics tell the story, Lesch is already Perkins' greatest quarterback. In an era where the Pirates have thrown the ball more than any other, Lesch has been the maestro. "When I was young, I've always played at Perkins, and I came to every game," Lesch said. "Just growing up watching quarterbacks throughout Perkins and wanting to be like them, it's just chasing something individually and making younger me proud." As Lesch enters his senior season, there's little doubt that he'll once again throw for a lot of yards and a lot of touchdowns and run for a bunch of productivity, too. He's got bigger things in mind than the record books, though. He wants this team to be remembered for how long it keeps on playing. "The team is looking really good," Lesch said. "I'm proud of what happened last year, but that's not our end goal. We're chasing something bigger than last year, something bigger than 9-1, something bigger than SBC champs. We want the state, and that's what we're chasing." To let the numbers speak for a moment: Lesch is already Perkins' career lead in passing touchdowns and passing yards. As a junior, he threw for 3,153 yards and 34 TDs while running for 641 yards and another five scores. That earned him second-team All-Ohio honors in Division IV. "He had arm strength from Day 1," Perkins coach Jalen Santoro said. "He's a football savvy kid. Football has always been his thing. You could see that right away. He loved football." Lesch has always had the arm. You don't wake up one day randomly armed with a precise 50-yard spiral. That, in some ways, is innate. "What stands out to me most is his arm talent," Perkins junior Mikey Young said. "I'll sit back there and watch him take two steps back and throw a 40-yard post down the field to Weston or Braylon and it's just effortless. It's beautiful to watch. His arm talent sets him apart. He's the best quarterback in the area. He's amazing. It's crazy to just watch him and have him on our team." What has made Lesch into a potential scholarship-level quarterback is his work, and while it's cliché, it's also true. He spends offseason weekends with a quarterback coach, often bringing along a couple of his Perkins wideouts. On summer nights, they'll hit the turf or wherever a game of catch can be had. By the time a crucial third down rolls around with the fall wind whipping, it's old hat. Lesch and his buddies on the perimeter have made these throws and catches plenty of times. "His work ethic is unmatched," senior Kaiden Nixon said. "Me and him, we've been throwing since seventh grade, this summer, winter workouts, spring… Even our freshman year before we started football, we were coming out here and coach Santoro would come throw with us. Lots of chemistry there." Lesch's highlight reel is already full of impressive moments. There was the lofted, throwback touchdown on a rollout to his right when he pulled the toss back to the left corner of the end zone to Jayden Rowe in a road playoff game as a sophomore. There was the game-winning 2-point conversion at Huron last fall. There's a bunch of pinpoint, downfield throws to the likes of Braylon Collier and Weston Sturzinger. "It's a pleasure," Sturzinger said. "He's a great quarterback. The work that he put in in the offseason, me and him going to the field and playing catch, that's gonna help this year a lot." Lesch also does the less flashy stuff well, especially in finding the likes of proven possession receivers Wyatt Nemitz and Nixon just beyond the sticks. "He throws it on the money, all the time," Nemitz said. Lesch, like the rest of the Pirates, is motivated this year not to make more highlights but to make some history. They've been stinging from last fall's Van Wert regional quarterfinal loss from the moment it happened. Perkins drove down the field, with Lesch to Nixon converting a key third down to set up a potential game-winning field goal attempt. Van Wert blocked it, and that was that. "We're coming back this year bigger, stronger and faster," Lesch said. Lesch can also gain motivation from his college football prospects. Currently just possessing an offer from Division II Tiffin, one of the best quarterbacks in Ohio might be getting overlooked. Listed at 6-foot-1, Lesch might be a couple inches shorter than the prototypical quarterback. "It's just one of those deals that he has to go prove himself again," Santoro said. "I think for our team and him personally, that's a good thing, because it pushes him every day. As far as, 'That kid might be 6-4 but I think I'm better than him.' He still has to go prove it. It's not like he's gonna sit there or take a day off or relax. His goals and everything he wants are still in front of him. He still has to go get it." Lesch doesn't have to be too focused on impressing others, though. He's part of the program he grew up watching, and he knows what he does this season will go a long way toward how he and these Pirates will be remembered. That's motivation enough. "That's what I've always wanted to do is turn this thing around," Lesch said. "Freshman year coming in with a new head coach, new program, we've done it so far but we're not done yet."