The Lafayette Generals swiftly defeated the Henry Clay Blue Devils on the road this weekend, coming away with a 35-20 victory in a game that was played over four days. The win accounts for the Generals second straight win of the season, upgrading Lafayette to a 2-6 record on the year.

Of course, considering the potency and muscle that the Blue Devils boast on offense, the game wasn’t without its fair share of adversity. The Devils drove the pigskin up the field not once, but twice to open up a 13-0 lead midway through the first quarter. However, the Generals had a swift answer of their own early in the second, when Dez Hanley found the end zone to top off a 36-yard touchdown drive that would split the Devil’s lead in half.

But one touchdown would be all the Generals would get to score on Thursday night, as area thunder and lightning would stall the game for roughly 70 hours. Nonetheless, the Generals were unfazed by the delay, scoring 28 unanswered on the Devils the following Sunday night to emerge victorious. Lafayette would merely cede a touchdown to the Devils late in the fourth quarter, when the game was already out of reach.

TEAM EFFORT

When asked about what has made the difference for Lafayette in the past two weeks, Head Coach Eric Shaw said that “it’s just a matter of believing [that our players] can do it. That’s the biggest thing, we’re just playing with some confidence… nothing really has changed schematically, we’re just starting to believe”.

Lafayette also proceeds to battle the injury bug, and thus both offensive and defensive adjustments are continual as the Generals persist in their contention for late season victories.

“It’s about finding a groove, staying with it, and getting committed to it. Any time you lose a throwing quarterback, you have to adjust your offense some, [and] this is what we believe highlights everyone’s ability and we just go with it. But the biggest thing… [is] just playing with confidence, [we] got to believe, believe [we] can,” was Coach Shaw’s comment on Lafayette’s adjustments to mid-season injuries.

Defensively, it felt like an entirely different team was out on the gridiron Sunday night. Despite limited schematic adjustments, the team that once allowed anywhere between 30-50 points to district heavyweights held the Devils to a paltry 20 points, seven of those in garbage time. It must also be noted that the other 13 points were all scored on the preceding Thursday.

The numbers affirm the Generals success on defense, as Henry Clay turned the ball over a flabbergasting four times. The Devil’s starting Quarterback, Blake van Horn, threw three interceptions, one of those being returned for six points by Lafayette senior Everett Laurance to take the lead. The Generals also had a superb outing in the trenches, sacking van Horn four times, as well as nine tackles for loss for 35 lost yards. The trio of Ruben Garcia, Everett Laurance, and Bond Jacobs also accounted for nearly half of all tackles.

MOVING FORWARD

The Generals have a proper win streak on their hands, winning two straight for the first time since the 2017-18 season, where the Generals defeated Dunbar and George Rogers Clark in a 3-7 season. It is both exciting and promising to see the potential this Generals’ squad has when they are able to not only play as a team, but simply believe in themselves– a mentality issue that has historically haunted the Generals in losing seasons.

Up next is another district bottom feeder in the Tates Creek Commodores, who have just one win on the season. Remember, last year Lafayette seized their only win of the year against the Commodores, 23-19. Unlike Henry Clay, the Commodores have found themselves in the win column only once this year, grinding out a 22-12 win at Mason County.

Assuming the Generals can keep up the momentum from their last two wins, a third win at Tates Creek would be huge heading into the Generals homecoming date with Dunbar. A win at GRC may only mean so much, but it’s now evident that Lafayette has drawn their swords, vying to win out before playoff ball. If the Generals can finish their final eight quarters of the regular season as they did Sunday night, four in a row isn’t just possible, but probable.