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Mount Union’s Tyler Echeverry carries the football during Sunday’s Amos Alono Stagg Bowl game against North Central.
It was a slow, painful way for reality to set in on the Mount Union sideline.
As the minutes dwindled away Sunday night at Houston’s Shell Energy Stadium, all the Purple Raiders could do was watch North Central’s maestro put the finishing touches on another championship performance.
Two-time Gagliardi Trophy winner Luke Lehnen’s 12-yard touchdown pass to Jacob Paradee was the final blow for the Purple Raiders in their 41-25 loss to the Cardinals at the Amos Alonzo Stagg Bowl. The TD with 2:32 left completed a 14-play, 92-yard drive that took almost seven minutes.
Lehnen was named the game’s most outstanding player. He finished 18 of 25 for 298 yards and four touchdowns. He also ran for a TD.
Lehnen wrapped up his career with an NCAA all divisions record-tying 162 touchdown passes.
“He’s an unbelievable football player,” North Central head coach Brad Spencer said on the ESPN broadcast following the game. “I don’t want to think about not having him come tomorrow. Just a great competitor.
“We know that if we put the ball in his hands, he’s going to do everything he can do to help us win. We saw it tonight.”
Lehnen cashed in against a Purple Raiders defense that played well early, but couldn’t get critical stops in the second half. He threw three of his four touchdown passes over the final two quarters.
“We knew that he was throwing the ball much better this year,” Mount Union head coach Geoff Dartt said. “I thought we were around him a little bit. We just couldn’t get to him, and he delivered the ball down the field. It’s tough to cover their guys that far down the field.”
The touchdown pass to Paradee completed North Central’s final scoring drive. Joe Sacco’s 5-yard run extended it when the Cardinals chose to go…
Source link : https://sports.yahoo.com/unbelievable-football-player-luke-lehnen-111028564.html
Author : The Repository
Publish date : 2025-01-06 11:10:00
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