'He is that guy' | Owen Smith leads McCutcheon football over Lafayette Jeff
LAFAYETTE — This didn't seem possible two years ago.
It didn't even seem likely two weeks ago.
When former McCutcheon coach Ken Frauhiger elevated a sophomore to varsity quarterback two years ago against Lafayette Jeff at Scheumann Stadium, his response when asked why make the switch was simple.
Owen Smith is going to be really good.
On Friday night, again at Scheumann Stadium, Owen Smith was really good.
The senior quarterback rushed for two touchdowns and threw for two more in McCutcheon's 34-22 victory over Lafayette Jeff, snapping a six-game losing streak to the Bronchos.
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"He is that guy," second-year McCutcheon head coach Josh Strasser. "He showed tonight what he is capable of."
Two years ago when Smith was elevated to varsity quarterback as an unproven sophomore, he left Scheumann Stadium on the losing side of a 41-point whipping.
In the last six years, Lafayette Jeff dominated McCutcheon, outscoring the Mavericks 291-57, including a 57-7 win a season ago.
And when the Mavericks started the season losing three of their first four games, the storyline became same old McCutcheon.
Last week's 10-6 victory over then undefeated and second-ranked Kokomo seemed like a breakthrough.
On Friday night, the Mavericks needed another upset to validate it.
And if beating two teams that outscored McCutcheon by a combined 90 points last season in consecutive weeks wasn't an indication enough that this wasn't the Mavericks of old, how they won Friday night certainly was.
A dominant first half washed away after two Lance Crowder rushing touchdowns and a 49-yard Joel Garrido field goal flipped McCutcheon's 13-0 lead into a 16-13 deficit.
"In years past, you could just feel the energy drop right away," Smith said of similar circumstances. "We did a really good job of keeping the sideline up and just staying positive and staying confident."
One offensive play after losing the lead, Smith hit Shamar Ray for a 78-yard touchdown. The defense forced a fumble and Smith rushed for a 62-yard touchdown and the Mavericks were back in control.
Smith's 41-yard touchdown run with 1:49 to go slammed the door on a Jeff comeback.
"Last week, everybody was saying we got lucky," said junior Broderick Arnold, who threw a 54-yard halfback pass to Aiden Riser for a touchdown and also caught a 15-yard touchdown from Smith Friday night. "Well, if we want to prove to everybody we're not getting lucky, we have to do it again."
Behind Smith's 261 yards, including 119 on the ground, and a stout defense that forced three turnovers, the Mavericks, who were once 1-3, have now won three straight.
Not same old McCutcheon.
"We go back to the beginning and we talked about sticking to the plan and playing together," Strasser said. "Our coaches have done such a phenomenal job with that with our kids. We didn't give up hope. We stuck to the plan together and ultimately, that's what got us to this."
Sam King covers sports for the Journal & Courier. Email him at sking@jconline.com and follow him on Twitter and Instagram @samueltking.
McCutcheon 34, Lafayette Jeff 22
McCutcheon | 13 | 0 | 0 | 21 |
Laf. Jeff | 0 | 0 | 13 | 9 |
Second quarter
M - Aiden Riser 54 pass from Broderick Arnold (Hayden Wagner kick)
M - Broderick Arnold 15 pass from Owen Smith (pass failed)
Third quarter
LJ - Lance Crowder 16 run (Joel Garrido kick)
LJ - Crowder 1 run (kick blocked)
Fourth quarter
LJ - Garrido 49 FG
M - Shamar Ray 78 pass from Smith (Wagner kick)
M - Smith 62 run (Wagner kick)
LJ - DJ Young 44 pass from Trysten Barrett (run failed)
M - Smith 41 run (Wagner kick)
Individual statistics
Rushing-McCutcheon, Keon Scheibe 11-50, Owen Smith 13-119, Keegun Rice 6-25, Broderick Arnold 1-3, Hayden Wagner 1-(minus) 16; Lafayette Jeff, JK Powers 9-37, Team 2-(minus) 16, Lance Crowder 14-45, Trysten Barrett 2-(minus) 10, Marquis Adkins 6-15.
Passing-McCutcheon, Smith 9-20-0 142; Lafayette Jeff, Barrett 9-11-0 81, Crowder 4-10-0 17.
Receiving-McCutcheon, Parker Sorrells 1-6, Aiden Riser 3-67, Mark Fell 1-6, Shamar Ray 3-82, Arnold 2-25, Rice 1-10; Lafayette Jeff, DJ Young 3-45, Terrell Irons 3-14, Ulysses Dubose 3-14, Powers 1-6, Angelo Hausmanis 2-19.
McCutcheon is 4-3; Lafayette Jeff is 3-4.
This article originally appeared on Lafayette Journal & Courier: Owen Smith leads McCutcheon football over Lafayette Jeff
