LA CENTER – Jekoby Tuttle had his thoughts interrupted Saturday by some of his Connell teammates who were diving into a puddle of rainwater on a tarp that covered the long jump pit around La Center’s football field.
“Oh, dear lord, Jaxsen, you’re idiot!” he yelled, then turned almost apologetically. “Uh, yeah, that’s my little brother.”
Well, both Tuttle brothers made big splashes on Saturday.
Jekoby Tuttle rushed for 70 yards and two touchdowns and Jaxsen Tuttle rushed for 89 yards as the 13th-seeded Eagles knocked off No. 4 La Center 17-7.
“We kind of feel like we had an unfair disadvantage in the seeding because we play in the same league with the best team in the state,” Jekoby Tuttle said, referring to No. 1 Royal. “It is what it is. We tried not to worry about. Just go wherever they send us and play our game.”
Connell’s game featured tough defense, effective passing and a bruising running game that was especially pounding in the second half.
“They’re big and fast, and they got after us,” Lambert said. “It’s the kind of game that if a couple thing go a different way, it’s a different outcome. But hats off to Connell. They came ready to play.”
Defense dominated the first quarter, which ended with La Center sophomore running back Bryten Schmitz leaving the game with a lower leg injury. He did not return.
“It really hurt losing Bryten,” Lambert said. “Bryten has run for 200 yards that last couple of games for us. Plus he’s a tremendous defensive player.”
After stopping La Center on fourth down early in the second quarter, Connell drove 82 yards on 17 plays with Jekoby Tuttle scoring from a yard out to give Connell a 7-0 lead.
The Eagles recovered a La Center fumble on the next possession which they converted into a field goal and a 10-0 halftime lead.
It stayed that way until the Wildcats mounted a 56-yard drive early in the fourth. Tom Lambert capped it with a 1-yard run that cut Connell’s lead to 10-7 with 9:21 to go.
La Center’s defense got the stop it needed at its own 40 with 4:37 to play, but the offense was unable to produce a first down.
Connell sealed the victory with six straight runs by Jekoby Tuttle, including a 20-yard touchdown run on fourth-and-2 with 12 seconds to play.
“We’ve got a lot of seniors on this team,” Jekoby Tuttle said. “Our front line is all seniors. … We’re hungry. We want to go as far as we can.”
John Lambert applauded the way his players responded, particularly those who stepped in for injured teammates. Andrew Kysar rushed for 67 yards in Schmitz’s place, and Jeremy Humphrey returned from a high-ankle sprain to make contributions on defense.
“They fought the whole time, they worked the whole time,” Lambert sad. “There was no time I could look out there and someone took a play off. They cared so much for each other, and the program, and their performance. It’s hard to find fault with them.”
CONNELL 17, LA CENTER 7
Connell 0 10 0 7–17
La Center 0 0 7–7
Second quarter
C — Jekoby Tuttle 1 run (Alemu Keskitalo kick)
C — Keskitalo 34 FG
Fourth quarter
LC — Tom Lambert 1 run (Sean Fox kick)
C — Je. Tuttle 20 run (Keskitalo kick)
INDIVIDUAL STATISTICS
RUSHING — Connell: Je. Tuttle 23-70, Jaxsen Tuttle 13-89, Isaac Vanness 5-44, Keyan Francois 1-0, Traver Johnson 1-(-3). La Center: Andrew Kysar 14-67, Lambert 12-46, Bryten Schmitz 3-3, Irving Alvarez 2-2, team 1-(-21).
PASSING — Connell: Johnson 11-20-0-75; La Center: Lambert 7-12-0-89, Andrew Scott 1-2-0-12.
RECEIVING — Connell: Francois 4-38, Vanness 5-21, Cade Clyde 1-8, Josiah Poulson 1-8. La Center: Scott 4-50, Alvarez 1-9, Kysar 1-28, Makai Rivers 1-2, Micah Adams 1-12.
