It was only a matter of time before he’d break one…Bryston Toronto took this one 74 yards to the Laker 5-yard line, setting up the final London score of the night. (Press Pros Feature Photos by Brian Bayless)
Paced by a 201-yard, two-touchdown performance from Bryston Toronto, the Red Raiders built a big halftime lead and cruised to a 29-7 victory.
London, OH – Despite coming off back-to-back wins by 30-plus points against struggling programs, London entered its matchup Friday against visiting Indian Lake knowing it needed to work on using its quickness and physicality to control the action with its schedule toughening.
It was noticeable to both parties that the Red Raiders were up to that task as they built a three-touchdown lead by halftime and overcame a contest littered with penalties to win 29-7.
On London’s first play from scrimmage, junior Isaiah Near did his part to the tone when he grabbed a short pass from junior quarterback Colt Hughes and sprinted 45 yards for a touchdown.
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“Basically tonight we came with a different kind of mentality coming in,” junior running back Bryston Toronto said. “We decided we weren’t playing our best football and we were kind of going to switch the tempo. We had to turn it up another notch. We had to put it into a different gear—we came in here ready to play some football, and that’s what we did. It’s kind of how we practice, with a high tempo, high energy.”
While London improved to 3-1 and Indian Lake fell to 2-2, the non-league matchup of CBC programs pitted a pair of teams which each posted double-digit wins a year ago.
The Red Raiders’ fast-paced mentality was just as evident to Lakers coach Jonn Rapp, whose team followed a 44-14 loss to London a year ago before winning its next nine games and reaching a Division V state semifinal.
“We saw it on the film that they just play with really high motors, and I’m very impressed,” Rapp said. “It’s kind of a chaos defense. They’re never going to line up in the same place two plays in a row. We caught them a couple times with some big passes and deep balls because we caught them running around and not being where they needed to be, but when you play them, you have to match their motors first and foremost.”
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Indian Lake failed to reach London territory in any of its first three possessions. London started its third drive at the Indian Lake 28 with 2 minutes, 31 seconds to go in the opening quarter, and five plays later, Toronto ran in from 3 yards for a 15-0 lead.
London’s JC Clark gets a sack on Indian Lake quarterback Brady Golliday.
Lakers quarterback Brady Golliday entered the game already having surpassed 1,000 yards combined passing and throwing, but the London defense stopped him for four negative-yardage plays in the first half—including a 10-yard sack by senior linebacker Jaydon Cooper to force fourth-and-22 with 8 minutes left in the second quarter.
London took over the next drive at its own 43 and held the ball for the next seven minutes, with Hughes plunging in from 1 yard on first-and-goal following a 22-yard run by Near with 47.9 left before halftime.
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“(My first touchdown) definitely set the tone for the rest of the game because it helped us to know we were there for strictly business and nothing else,” Near said. “Last year we had more experience on the field for sure, and this year we’ve got some younger guys we’re developing. We’re growing at a rapid pace, and we’re in a good spot after week four.
Isaiah Near receives a pass from Colt Hughes and scampers 45 yards down the sideline for the first score of the night.
“This was a good, hard-fought win. They came out and gave us a shot and did what they had to do, but ultimately we played better and we put the work in.”
Golliday, who was limited to (minus)-34 yards rushing, completed 14 of 28 passes for 240 yards—including connecting with Braden Tussing for a 78-yard touchdown pass with 2:52 to go in the third quarter.
The Lakers got the ball back with 35 seconds left in the third at their own 45, but the possession featured two penalties on Indian Lake and three on London. A 37-yard pass from Golliday to Jordan Henderson got the Lakers to the Red Raiders 15, but the drive stalled when Brodey Reisinger was held to eight yards on fourth-and-12 from 17 with 8:24 remaining.
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Braden Tussing finds himself all alone behind the London secondary and hauls in a pass from Brady Golliday for a 78-yard TD, the Lakers first and only score on the night.
London then drove 91 yards on the next drive, with Toronto bursting for a 74-yard run that moved the Red Raiders to the Indian Lake 5. He finished off the drive with a 1-yard run with 3:35 left.
Toronto rushed for 201 yards on 26 carries and two scores to give him seven touchdowns on the season.
On the Lakers’ final possession, junior Lucas Goubeaux sacked Golliday for a 7-yard loss and Cooper followed with back-to-back sacks.
“Our brotherhood brings us all together,” Cooper said. “We wall want to be better. We all came out with the energy we needed.”
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While the Lakers will look to bounce back next Friday at home against Bellefontaine, the Red Raiders will travel to Graham in a matchup of 3-1 teams.
Traivon Howard denies Braden Tussing a potential TD pass reception late in the 4th quarter as the Lakers found a little spark and tried to mount a comeback.
“Any win is a great thing,” London coach Kyle Cutler said. “Indian Lake is a very well-coached team and I think they’ll win a lot of games. The flow of the game seemed a little bit off for both teams for whatever reason, and we’ve got to figure out what that was about.
“We talk about playing hard and that we don’t care about wins and losses, but that we care about the effort on the field. (Toronto) is absolutely a kid with character, and character shows up at tough times. … (Near) is a playmaker and he’s got tenacity. We’ve got to get better. Graham is a good program and the CBC is a tough conference.”
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