Elmwood-Murdock has faced adversity on, off field

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By RYLY JANE HAMBLETON / Lincoln Journal Star

It is a whole lot easier to have success when everything is going your way.

The real test comes when a team faces adversity and is still able to come out on top.

The Elmwood-Murdock football team has had its share of both this year. The Knights won their 11th game of the season with a 20-12 quarterfinal victory against Laurel-Concord, the first time the team has reached 11 wins. Now the Knights, rated No. 2 in Class C-2, will travel to Fremont on Saturday to take on Archbishop Bergan at 6:30 p.m. at Memorial Field.

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Elmwood-Murdock quarterback Jon Luetchens, 16, makes a run during the Class C-2 quarterfinal playoff against Laurel-Concord at Elmwood-Murdock Monday, November 10th, 2008. (Heidi Hoffman)

Elmwood-Murdock quarterback Jon Luetchens, 16, makes a run during the Class C-2 quarterfinal playoff against Laurel-Concord at Elmwood-Murdock Monday, November 10th, 2008. (Heidi Hoffman)

“One of the things we told our kids was that there are going to be times things don’t go our way,” said Knights coach Leigh Schmale. “We’ve gotten behind in some games and then proven we can make plays. We can come back. We had some tough games — we played Bergan early, which was a good test and the fact we were able to win gave us a lot of momentum.

“Consistency has been the key. In the first half against Laurel-Concord, we made more mental errors than in the whole season. But we were resilient and controlled the second half, holding them to minus 7 yards. The momentum shifted and we played a lot smarter defense in the second half.”

Schmale said he would not have predicted that this team would accomplish all it has. This will be the Knights’ second trip to the semifinals. They lost to Stanton in 2004 to finish 9-3.

“With the young team we had coming back, this is a nice surprise. If you told me at the start of the year that we’d be in the semis, I don’t know if I would have believed you,” Schmale said. “Each year, we have young kids fill the gaps and that was the case this year. We start a freshman in the line along with two sophomores and two seniors.

“The kids have done a good job of being good and sound fundamentally, holding their blocks and playing through the whistle.”

That’s especially important, considering the Knights’ size and depth.

“We’re not very big. We only have two players over 200 pounds. My son, Tyler, is a tight end and weighs 205, and guard Derek Stubbendeck weighs 205,” Schmale said. “Plus, we have been fortunate to not have a lot of major injuries. That’s something we haven’t always had. It seems like each year, we lost a major player.”

It wasn’t just on the field that this team had to come to grips with adversity. Two team members, Dillon Synovec and Tyler Eggert, were killed in an automobile accident along with Angelica Washington, just before Elmwood-Murdock opened play in the playoffs. The two days after the Knights’ win against Lourdes Central Catholic, the team and the two towns mourned at funerals.

“We knew the kids wanted to play well, doing everything they could to honor the memory of those two boys, Dillon and Tyler. And Angelica was a great fan of our program,” Schmale said. “Our players were emotionally spent and mentally exhausted from everything. But they came out and played a great game. That night and the Ponca game were the two best games we’ve played.”

The Knights beat Archbishop Bergan 7-0 early in September, a fact Schmale says isn’t lost on his team.

“When you play a quality team a second time, I don’t think you have a problem getting up for the game,” he said. “Our kids can visualize what can happen if we win. They will be focused not on just the opponent but the goal. We understand it will take a near-perfect game, not having turnovers or making mental mistakes.

“Bergan does have some pretty big linebackers, bigger than we’re used to seeing. They are one of the hardest teams to prepare for because of all their formations. You can always add a wrinkle here and there, but we will be facing the same team, the same schemes and the same defensive fronts.”

And so Schmale is confident about his team’s journey into new territory.

“It’s something you can’t prepare for. But our kids have handled it all with a lot of class,” he said. “The community and our administration have given them a lot of support. Everyone comes together in times of need.”

Reach Ryly Jane Hambleton at 473-7314 or rhambleton@journalstar.com.