Lausanne vs Notre Dame in the Gold Ball Contest

[kwc]

Lausanne football beats Notre Dame for second straight state title

John Varlas, USA TODAY NETWORK – TennesseePublished 5:34 p.m. CT Dec. 2, 2017 | Updated 6:48 p.m. CT Dec. 2, 2017

     

(Photo: Caitie McMekin / News Sentinel)

 

COOKEVILLE — Everything broke perfectly for the Lausanne football team this season. And Saturday, things broke perfectly for Corteze Love.

Love, a senior, recorded 12 tackles to win defensive Most Valuable Player honors as the Lynx won their second consecutive state championship, defeating Chattanooga Notre Dame, 41-13. It was the first game of the season for Love, who attended Power Center Academy last year while playing for Lausanne as part of a co-op agreement. 

When that attended, he transferred from Lausanne but was ineligible for a calendar year after his last date of participation. If the Lynx had played Thursday — as Division II-AA has done in the past — he still couldn't have taken part.

But he could Saturday.

"I made the statement about a month ago," said Lynx coach Kevin Locastro. "I we got to the state championship game that it would be incredible for him to play and get the defensive MVP. And gosh dang if he didn't do it."

Lausanne players celebrate with their trophy after their Division II-AA state championship victory against Notre Dame at Tucker Stadium in Cookeville, Tenn., Saturday, Dec. 2, 2017. (Photo: Caitie McMekin / News Sentinel)

 

Love's presence was very welcome against a tricky Fighting Irish singe-wing that relied on multiple fakes and lots of deception.

"I worked hard for it, worked hard in practice every day," said Love. "It wasn't very hard because I knew the team was going to lead us to this point. It feels amazing."

"Amazing" is also the word to describe Eric Gray. The junior — who won his second straight Mr. Football award last Monday — ran for 281 yards on 25 carries and scored on runs of 39, 35, 19, 12 and 44 yards.

He ends the year with 3,181 yards and a Shelby County record 49 touchdowns in 13 games. Only Whitehaven's Mark Dodson, who ran for 3,295 in 2012, has run for more.

"Our offensive scheme was actually something that we didn't do a lot, which was to fake it to me and give it to No. 10 (Devin Boddie, Jr.) and get some misdirection going," Gray said. "But give me the ball and I'm dangerous with it, so they just kept riding me.

"Our offensive line came to play hard tonight. They've worked for it all season long. We wanted to show that we weren't going to do 12-9 again (the score of last year's title-game win over Knoxville Webb.)

"We didn't want a close game."

Lausanne's Eric Gray (1) celebrates his touchdown against Notre Dame during the second half of the Division II-AA state championship game at Tucker Stadium in Cookeville, Tenn., Saturday, Dec. 2, 2017. (Photo: Caitie McMekin / News Sentinel)

It really wasn't after the second quarter. University of Memphis commit Nyle Love capped a 12-play 85-yard drive with a 2-yard run to give Lausanne (13-0) a 14-7 lead. Then after a bad snap on a Notre Dame punt gave the Lynx the ball on the Irish 35, Gray weaved his way through the defense for his second score.

Lausanne's Nyle Love (8) runs in a touchdown against Notre Dame during the first half of the Division II-AA state championship game at Tucker Stadium in Cookeville, Tenn., Saturday, Dec. 2, 2017. (Photo: Caitie McMekin / News Sentinel)

 

Lausanne took a 34-7 late in the third when Gray popped it in from 12 yards. That ended a 6-play, 84-yard drive that featured nothing but Gray runs.

 

"The thing is, if I'm playing Lausanne, the No. 1 thing is I don't want No. 1 to beat me," said Locastro. "I'm going to try to load the box and I'm going to try and get safeties down and try to get as many hats on him as I can.

"And I think people tried to do that to us but we were still able to have success."

Consider Notre Dame suitably impressed.

“He's the best runner I've seen since Santonio Beard,” said Irish defensive coordinator Curt Jones, referring to the former all-state standout from Nashville Pearl-Cohn who later went on to play at Alabama.

“He's got extraordinary vision and his ability to cut back and find a seam and break arm tackles is something we haven't seen.”

Lausanne (13-0) is now the sixth Shelby County football team to win consecutive state titles but only the second to do so with back-to-back perfect seasons. MUS went 13-0 each year while winning titles in 2008 and 2009.

The Lynx also extended their state-long winning streak to 27. MUS' 28-game streak — the Owls won the first two in 2010 after their title years — is the longest in Shelby County history since the modern playoff era began in 1969.

"Coming back two times is very hard to do," said Nyle Love, who is Corteze's cousin. "Last year was special ... but we came back this year and put more points on the board. So they're both special."

 

Reach John Varlas at john.varlas@commercialappeal.com or on Twitter @johnvarlas.

[Booger]

On 12/2/2017 at 10:48 PM, inthagap said:

Ok Booger , you didn't win, but you made the show  your first year in a new class . Lausanne is an exceptional team this year, now you know how high the bar is to win in D2 , even if it is only D2AA. Congrats on a great year, be proud of your Seniors.

thanks gap...we did make the show.....that is one impressive team that Lusiannne has assembled....and yes that is quite a high bar....the Irish just did not have the horses to stay on the turf with the lynxs

....but thinkin its fair to say your day with a Bar sittin that high is soon comin to and end....with the T$$AA taken away all those players that have been co-oppin into that school to play football and other sports without that $23,000 price tag from the likes of Power Center Academy, Bowie Reading School and others school around Memphis.....Lusianne may run short on a continued stable of monster ballers like to the tune of what they just fielded......nor more DI co-opin to DII....graduation and no more large group of visitin school players could take its toll....but they got 2 gold balls in a row.....ND have 0.....dont matter how Lusianne dressed them out....it was very impressive to watch......especially the Love cousins....not bein eligible to play since last years championship game and comin in to play one game and dominate like that...what can u say

...the Irish and their faithful fans have a fairly decent chance of gettin another trip next season.....just lick our wounds and go back to work and see how it plays out

Booger just sayin 

[Booger]

1 hour ago, WilsonJr1990 said:

Congrats to the Irish on a great season. I really thought the game would be much closer, but Lausanne really came to play on Saturday. You could tell that was a group that had been in the situation before. 

Yes, #2 became eligible. I chose not to confirm anything on here as I believed he would be but was not certain. He proved to be a huge factor in the game obviously, so I’m extremely happy for that young man. He made the most of his one opportunity this season. 

Booger said earlier in the week that he hoped the Lynx liked contact. I think it’s safe to say that they aren’t afraid of it. Their defense physically dominated the Irish all night aside from the late drive when the game was already in hand. Even in the secondary they extremely physical. 

Obviously the offense went straight through Eric Gray. Someone talked about him having 300 yards but only 2 TDs and the Irish could still win. 280 and 5 TDs makes that a bit harder. I expected them to have to throw the ball a bit more, but that ended up not being necessary. 

Going into next year, if the Lynx can replace a few of those senior linemen, they should be in a position to get back. Anyone know the team break down of CPA? The west is matched up with them in the playoffs next season. 

thanks wilson....no doubt they liked contact...and yes we may have been a little taken back by the 1st moment...but dont think iut were gonna matter against all them rentals....no matter how mistake free we would have been....we used it all up on the openin drive....

..not only havin to replace some great linemen...what you gonna do about all them rentals....that will have to take a toll

..we were there tho

Booger just sayin 

[Booger]

18 hours ago, MountainTroll said:

Sorry fer yer loss, Booger. I wuz kinda pullin' fer yer leprechauns . . . sort of . . . not really . . . but sort of.

That just twernt a fair fight, though.  When I seen them men from Memphis take the field, I knew yer boys wuz in trouble.

Kinda like takin a chicken to a #### fight. Hope nobody got hurt.

Tell Charles and yer boys congratulations on a great season.  

 

dang Troll...u gonna make Booger motional with all that luv

....no it wernt no fair fight; but we scrapped and very proud of them Sr's and other boys for what they have did.....no doubt Power Academy, Bowie and sum of them othe Memphis Schools rental programs have been awful good to them......we got to figure out how to haul in sum of them big boys

....they did bang us up a bit....pride mostly...but they will recover.....it was an incredible day for Shamrock Nation....will pass it on to coach

Booger just sayin 

[Booger]

5 hours ago, RaiseEmRightnPray said:

Booger.....we Rams fans can't pretend to know how you're feeling right now. I can say you all should be proud of the team you fielded this year. They had one heckuva season! And, I'd say y'all will be the team to beat again next year in our side of the state. Congrats on the Silver Ball.....like someone else said, "It beats no balls!" That's worse on so many levels!

Though we got beat twice by the Irish, I personally enjoyed watching our teams go at it more than any of our other games this year. Y'all play TOUGH and FAST! I watched my son and a bunch of others grow up a bunch playing your studs. We've got a LOT of work to do before next year's matchup to be competitive again.

Enjoy the season's successes, don't dwell on the couple of downward moments and have a great off-season. We'll see y'all next fall down on Vermont Ave.

Or, in my case, we'll see y'all in a couple weeks on the hardwood. Turns out, our new b-ball coach wanted a football player to bang around a little. Gonna be ugly.....and it sure has put the kibosh on my deer hunting! Only have him for a little longer....Bambi can wait.

Booger just sayin 

[WilsonJr1990]

27 minutes ago, Booger said:

thanks wilson....no doubt they liked contact...and yes we may have been a little taken back by the 1st moment...but dont think iut were gonna matter against all them rentals....no matter how mistake free we would have been....we used it all up on the openin drive....

..not only havin to replace some great linemen...what you gonna do about all them rentals....that will have to take a toll

..we were there tho

Booger just sayin 

Have you read any post that I’ve made...? There is not one “rental” or “co-oper” on that team. That was shut down after last season by a bunch of excuse makers. So the Lynx went out and did it again without the co-op. 

It is funny to hear excuse after excuse after excuse whenever Lausanne wins something. Next, they will be going for back-to-back in basketball as well and I can only imagine the outrage if that were to happen. 

[WilsonJr1990]

On 12/1/2017 at 8:57 AM, volahol said:

Ok changed my prediction, ND by 17 and have been 100% this year on my predictions

I sure hate that you aren’t 100% anymore. 

Edited December 4, 2017 by WilsonJr1990

[Booger]

32 minutes ago, WilsonJr1990 said:

Have you read any post that I’ve made...? There is not one “rental” or “co-oper” on that team. That was shut down after last season by a bunch of excuse makers. So the Lynx went out and did it again without the co-op. 

It is funny to hear excuse after excuse after excuse whenever Lausanne wins something. Next, they will be going for back-to-back in basketball as well and I can only imagine the outrage if that were to happen. 

...well now then.....if lusianne quit co-opin on they on without T$$AA requirin it...that is even more impressive...to just quit takin advantage of that perk on their own really says sumthin real special bout them.....

Booger just sayin 

Edited December 4, 2017 by Booger

[somewhereinmemphis]

Congrats to Lausanne - especially to Kevin Lacastro (head coach and AD) and Stuart McCathie (headmaster).  Unfortunately, some of the comments could come across as insulting to both gentleman not to mention the players. 

Lausanne is a unique school both historically and culturally:  An all girls school (with boarding) from 1926 until about 1990.   The high school nearly closed in early 1990's.   The only IB private school in the state.  Historically limited sports culture other than basketball.  No football team until 6 years ago.  Over 25 passports represented in the current student body (yes diverse - not just admitting someone with a consonant at the end of their name).  Most folks in Memphis don't understand the school's culture much less folks in the rest of the state.  Mainly because McCathie is British and still maintains his accent.....

The academics speaks for itself.  It was strong - Then McCathie made it stronger and more unique with the IB program. 

I've watched the growth of the boys soccer and football teams over the last 6 years and understand that it's an EXTENSION of the success McCathie has achieved since he arrived about 15 years ago.   I wont bore you with the details/milestones, but overall, he has been very good two things (1) articulating a vision and (2) hiring talented people which includes Lacastro.   For whatever it's worth, they won the soccer and basketball championships last year as well - maybe the "rentals" had an impact there as well.

With the exception of Webb, Baylor and McCallie, most private schools outside of Memphis and Nashville are "Price/Value schools" (see below).  So for many people, it's difficult to understand why someone would pay over $20,000 for an education.  I appreciate that but am grateful to have had the choice.

The realignment created a great year in D2 AA.  Should be fun to watch both the games and the posts moving forward!

 

 

ISM private school definitions

Price/value: We offer a transformational (nearly always religious) experience for your child at a cost you can afford.

Product: We offer the best academic “product” (graduate) in our market area.
Process: We offer “more” for your child (more electives; more levels of electives; more teams; more levels of teams; more individual attention, and/or a unique pedagogy) than others in our market. 

 

[BreadTruck28]

2 hours ago, Booger said:

...well now then.....if lusianne quit co-opin on they on without T$$AA requirin it...that is even more impressive...to just quit takin advantage of that perk on their own really says sumthin real special bout them.....

Booger just sayin 

Booger, I thought you'd be a TSSAA meeting notes reading type of guy.  Last year, another Memphis private made a stink about it.  TSSAA meeting notes came out and said privates could no longer co-op with publics.  

[MountainTroll]

3 hours ago, somewhereinmemphis said:

Congrats to Lausanne - especially to Kevin Lacastro (head coach and AD) and Stuart McCathie (headmaster).  Unfortunately, some of the comments could come across as insulting to both gentleman not to mention the players. 

Lausanne is a unique school both historically and culturally:  An all girls school (with boarding) from 1926 until about 1990.   The high school nearly closed in early 1990's.   The only IB private school in the state.  Historically limited sports culture other than basketball.  No football team until 6 years ago.  Over 25 passports represented in the current student body (yes diverse - not just admitting someone with a consonant at the end of their name).  Most folks in Memphis don't understand the school's culture much less folks in the rest of the state.  Mainly because McCathie is British and still maintains his accent.....

The academics speaks for itself.  It was strong - Then McCathie made it stronger and more unique with the IB program. 

I've watched the growth of the boys soccer and football teams over the last 6 years and understand that it's an EXTENSION of the success McCathie has achieved since he arrived about 15 years ago.   I wont bore you with the details/milestones, but overall, he has been very good two things (1) articulating a vision and (2) hiring talented people which includes Lacastro.   For whatever it's worth, they won the soccer and basketball championships last year as well - maybe the "rentals" had an impact there as well.

With the exception of Webb, Baylor and McCallie, most private schools outside of Memphis and Nashville are "Price/Value schools" (see below).  So for many people, it's difficult to understand why someone would pay over $20,000 for an education.  I appreciate that but am grateful to have had the choice.

The realignment created a great year in D2 AA.  Should be fun to watch both the games and the posts moving forward!

 

 

ISM private school definitions

Price/value: We offer a transformational (nearly always religious) experience for your child at a cost you can afford.

Product: We offer the best academic “product” (graduate) in our market area.
Process: We offer “more” for your child (more electives; more levels of electives; more teams; more levels of teams; more individual attention, and/or a unique pedagogy) than others in our market. 

 

Gotta admit that I didn't know much about Lausanne until this year. I know how difficult the IB program is. To have DI caliber athletes who are also able to withstand the academic rigors of the IB program is truly commendable. Congratulations on the state championship and what you guys are accomplishing at the school.

Edited December 4, 2017 by MountainTroll

[Booger]

3 hours ago, bcd said:

Booger, I thought you'd be a TSSAA meeting notes reading type of guy.  Last year, another Memphis private made a stink about it.  TSSAA meeting notes came out and said privates could no longer co-op with publics.  

sure am......but bcd and sum others ant.....u just had to stick your big honker into Boogers Protectin Awareness Program of Mistreated and Misprepresented Peoples (BPAPMMP).....wernt nuttin said bout PUB co-opin to private...it was just co-opin....she had bought swallowed that hook to her ankles....

..that school and them students r doin some incredibly remarkable things epsecially with that IB scoolin and TSSAA and TSSAA's misprintin and typos b givin them people in memphis a false sense that they ant part of no co-opin rights.....and TSSAA needs to hurry up and make closure to all that misleadin

TSSAA BoC Agenda meeting of Bowie wantin to change to DII so they may co-op with their old 2015 co-opin partner http://tssaa.org/tssaa-board-of-control-agenda-august-2017/

TSSAA BoC Typo of Bowies approval to change to DII only so they can co-op with u-no-who http://tssaa.org/tssaa-board-of-control-minutes-august-2017/

Bowie http://portal.tssaa.org/common/directory/detail.cfm?id=35

TSSAA misprinted Approved TSSAA parntership co-opin programs http://portal.tssaa.org/common/directory/coop.cfm

....now Booger nose it says they got co-opin rights; but Booger nose like Wilson and them others it dont really say so...its just printed in there as a mirage and giggles...

Booger dun admitted it and still does...Lusianne earned and deserved that win big time..best assembled team booger seen in a while ...but TSSAA ought not b lettin all threse memphis people (and Nashvillians) runnin round in false denial with all this misprinted TSSAA material out there....it just ant fair

Booger just sayin BPAPMMP

Edited December 5, 2017 by Booger