To give LaPorte a little variety, junior quarterback Nolan Lorenz hit senior tight end Scott Cooper on a 65-yard touchdown.
More Top Picks Best Portable Butane Cooking Stoves
“I saw him come open, I put it out there, the defensive back tried to tip it and we took off,” Lorenz said after the Slicers’ 35-17 Duneland Athletic Conference win Friday night at Lake Central.
But for the most part, the Slicers (5-0, 3-0) used their typical varied running attack to wear down the Indians (1-4, 0-3), who were playing their first game after coach Brett St. Germain surprisingly stepped away earlier this week.
Brennen Long rushed for 185 yards and two TDs on 15 carries and Drayson Nespo had 97 yards and a TD on 19 carries. In addition to the TD pass, Lorenz rushed for 38 yards and a TD.
“We were pretty efficient,” Lorenz said. “We started out a little slowly, but we got things going — really got things going.”
The Slicers broke open the game with two TDs in the fourth quarter by Long. They lost two fumbles, one that set up a TD for the Indians and another in the red zone.
“We were moving the ball,” LaPorte coach Dave Sharpe said. “Fumbles for us are critical. We practice ball security a ton.”
Anthony Giles ran for 172 yards and a TD on 27 carries for the Indians, having two TDs called back because of penalties. Josh Benson added seven catches for 120 yards.
“They have two players who can hurt you, and they caused us a ton of damage,” Sharpe said. “You can’t let their best players beat you.”
After St. Germain’s move following six-plus seasons, Tony Bartolomeo was listed on Lake Central’s roster as head coach and offensive coordinator.
“My job was to get them into their routine, get them on the field and play football, and that’s what we did,” Bartolomeo said.
“We just have to stay together and work hard, and we’ll get rewarded. You don’t know when it’s going to happen, but you just have to keep working hard.”
Bartolomeo liked the Indians’ effort against the Slicers, who ended a five-game losing streak in the series dating to 2010.
“We played with a lot of energy,” he said. “We came here to win. It wasn’t ‘woe is us.’
“At the end of the day, we’re just not finishing games. If the football gods and Lake Central could get on the same page, it would be great.”
Twitter @MichaelOsipoff