Padua Defeats Lutheran West in a Rainy Battle

The Padua Franciscan Bruins crushed the Lutheran West Longhorns on their home turf 28-0 on Friday, handing Lutheran West their third straight loss of the season. On a rainy night, the Longhorn offense could not get anything going and Padua made them pay. The Bruins were led by their steady offense of field goals and touchdowns over the four quarters. Quarterback Nick Barker had 199 yards in the air and 40 yards on the ground. Wide receivers Christian Ruggiero and Connor Williams both had great games in the air.

The Longhorn offense was carried by running back J’Leon Isom. He had 66 yards on the ground with a long of 33. West’s receivers combined for only nine attempted passes and a combined loss of five yards over the game. Quarterback Jace Palmer had a rough game with negative five yards in the air and negative 14 years on the ground. He also had an interception that turned into a pick six late in the game and three fumbles. Lutheran West had four punts in row to start the game and a total of six in the game as well as two turnovers on downs. Their 3rd down conversion rate was 0 of 7 as well as 0 of 2 on 4th down. J’Leon Isom was the Longhorns only hope as he was the main target for their offense with 12 attempts. Cortlon Campbell and De’Von McDougle had 40 and 59 total yards off of kick returns. The rainy and slippery conditions surely didn’t help the Longhorn offense.

The Padua Bruins scoring was spread out throughout the game, only going into half 13-0. Kicker Caleb Zolkowski knocked in two field goals in the first and second quarter, with a game long of 36. The two field goals were followed up by two touchdowns in the second and third quarter. Padua was the victor in almost every major category. They had more first downs, total yards, passing yards, completed passes, and time of possession.

Lutheran West looks to secure their first win of the season next week on the road vs Geneva.

Players of the game:

For Padua Nick Barker led the Bruins with 199 yards on 16/25 passes. He also had 40 yards on the ground.

For Lutheran West J’Leon Isom led the Longhorns with 64 yards rushing.