By ANDREW FEEBACK
LAGRANGE — After a tough couple weeks, the Bluffton Tigers had fun in the rain Friday night, rolling to a 32-14 win over the host Lakeland Lakers.
With a standout performance on defense by senior Fletcher Wenger, the Tigers took control in the first half and never really let the Lakers get going.
Bluffton finished the regular season 7-2, while Lakeland fell to 6-3.
Unlike the Tigers, the weather started horribly and only got worse, but that was just fine for coach Brent Kunkel and his team.
“Our motto all week was ‘embrace the suck’,” he said. “The rain held off more than we wanted. We wanted the downpour. We wanted the rain and the cold. We got some of that toward the end.”
Wenger got the Tigers on the board first when he intercepted a pass from Brayden Holbrook and returned it 34 yards for a touchdown. That gave the Tigers a boost, with the offense struggling early. Bluffton failed to pick up a first down on its first three possessions.
A 50-yard burst by Khamel Moore early in the second quarter changed that, putting the Tigers up 12-0.
Wenger then picked off a second pass and returned that one 67 yards for another score, a huge shift in momentum after the Lakers were starting to move the ball.
With a three-score lead at the half, Bluffton squib-kicked to begin the second half and got it back after the Lakers muffed it.
Facing fourth-and-goal from the nine-yard-line, Braxton Betancourt took off after the pocket collapsed and reached the end zone for a 25-0 spread.
The Lakers’ Carson Mickem got loose for a 41-yard touchdown pass from Holbrook for Lakeland’s first points, but the Lakers never seriously threatened the rest of the way.
Moore found a hole to his right and took off down the sideline for a 79-yard score to put the Tigers up 32-8.
Lakeland’s final points came on a 67-yard pass from Holbrook to Keyan Arroyo.
Outside of Moore’s two long scoring runs, the Tigers struggled to run the ball, which Kunkel credited to how well Lakeland has always scouted his offense.
The Tiger defense allowed just 50 rushing yards on 38 attempts.
It was a good game for Bluffton to regain its footing after losses to Heritage and Adams Central the past two weeks.
“I didn’t think we were playing bad football coming in,” Kunkel said. “We lost to Heritage in a game that could have gone either way, and we battled probably the best 1A team in northern Indiana. Obviously, you want to go into the playoffs coming off a win, which we were able to do tonight.”
Bluffton probably got the most difficult draw of the contenders in its sectional. The Tigers will travel to Alexandria next week to face an 8-1 team with the same Tigers’ nickname.
Should Bluffton win that one, there’s a possibility Eastbrook could be up next.
Kunkel feels his team is up to the challenge.
“I think we have a mentally and physically tough group,” he said. “We just said if it rains, good. If it’s windy, good. If it’s cold, good. We’re better when we’re able to mentally and physically handle those things, and we were able to do that tonight.”
Kickoff will be at 7 p.m.
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BLUFFTON 32, LAKELAND 14
At Lakeland
Score By Quarters
Bluffton 6 12 7 7 – 32
Lakeland 0 0 8 6 – 14
Scoring Summary
First Quarter
B—Fletcher Wenger 34 interception return (kick failed), 9:29.
Second Quarter
B—Khamel Moore 50 run (run failed), 8:43.
B—Wenger 67 interception return (run failed), 4:51.
Third Quarter
B—Braxton Betancourt 9 run (Yaroslav Serdiuk kick), 8:54.
L—Carson Mickem 41 pass from Brayden Holbrook (Drannon Miller run), 6:29.
Fourth Quarter
B—Moore 79 run (Serdiuk kick), 3:57.
L—Keyan Arroyo 67 pass from Holbrook (run failed), 3:00.
Team Statistics
BLU LAK
First Downs 6 16
Rushes-Yards 23-163 38-50
Yards Passing 49 269
Passing (C-A-I) 7-14-0 15-35-2
Penalties-Yards 6-60 4-26
Fumbles-Lost 1-1 3-0
Punts-Average 6-39 4-38
Time of Possession 21:59 25:57
Individual Statistics
Rushing: Bluffton, Khamel Moore 9-149, Braxton Betancourt 5-14, Cooper Craig 7-2. Lakeland, Carson Mickem 21-67, Levi Cook 3-2, Keyan Arroyo 1-(minus 1), Drannon Miller 8-(minus 4), Brayden Holbrook 5-(minus 14).
Passing: Bluffton, Betancourt 7-14-0-49. Lakeland, Holbrook 15-35-2-259, Mickem 1-1-0-10.
Receiving: Bluffton, AJ Streveler 2-20, Tucker Jenkins 1-20, Trey Bustos 1-5, Andrew Hunt 3-4. Lakeland, Arroyo 6-128, Mickem 2-66, Cook 6-62, Keegan Merrifield 2-13.
