Lake’s playoff run ends with 14–12 loss to Hudson in defensive showdown

All season long, it’s been the Lake offense that’s received most of the attention and discussion, and rightfully so. The Blue Streaks exploded out the gate averaging almost 40 points per game over their first five wins.

Lake has a defense, too, showing its chops on more than one occasion this year. And that defense showed up Nov. 7 in a Div. II, Region 5 quarterfinal home game versus No. 5 seed Hudson.

The only problem is Hudson’s D — which has recorded six shutouts this season — is for real, too. In a low-scoring affair, the Explorers won out, toppling fourth-seeded Lake 14-12 for the chance to face off against No. 1 seed Archbishop Hoban. Hudson harassed the Blue Streaks into four interceptions, limiting Lake to only 208 yards of total offense.

The contest started well enough for the Blue Streaks as they took the opening kickoff and drove 67 yards to the Explorers’ 13-yard line. Lake’s Ty DeGeorge, who returned from a broken ankle in spot duty two weeks ago, looked exceptionally sharp, breaking off runs of 14 and 16 yards on the drive. However, Hudson’s defense stiffened, forcing the Blue Streaks to settle for a JP Moorhead 30-yard field goal and a 3-0 lead.

The Explorers responded with a 65-yard touchdown drive that took little more than three minutes off the clock and featured a 39-yard pass play from Hayden Lipinski to Myles Pratt that gave Hudson first-and-goal at the 9. Following a false start, Nathan Judy hauled in a 14-yard TD for a 7-3 lead.

The Explorers added to their lead following Louie Castellarin’s interception of Alex Quior’s deep pass intended for Ty George. Starting from Lake’s 47-yard line, Hudson marched down the field and scored on Judy’s short pass to Anthony Paolucci with only 19 seconds remaining before halftime for a 14-3 lead.

In the third quarter, Lake cashed in on a safety after a high snap on a fourth-down Hudson punt flew out of the end zone for a safety, making the score 14-5. The Blue Streaks could do little on offense, however, as Quior suffered through a stretch of three consecutive picks on three attempts.

Fortunately, Lake’s defense came to play as well, as the Explorers failed to capitalize on any of the three turnovers. Thus, when Quior connected with DeGeorge on a 30-yard scoring strike with 7:38 left in the game, the Blue Streaks were only down by two at 14-12.

On defense, Lake forced Hudson (10-2) to punt, taking over at its own 19 with 2:30 remaining in the contest. Quior scrambled for 22 yards on third-and-8 to the Lake 45 before Davis Matson’s 14-yard run to the Explorers’ 41. Matson then rushed to the 37 on first down, but Brennan Funyak’s tackle for loss on a DeGeorge second-down run made it third-and-11 from the 42. Two consecutive incomplete passes ended the drive and Lake’s season.

For the game, Matson paced Lake (7-4) with 96 yards on 15 touches, while DeGeorge added 28 yards on four carries and Quior had 25 on eight. Quior was 7-of-18 for 72 yards passing with one touchdown and four interceptions, his primary target being DeGeorge, who was the only receiver with more than one reception at three for 29 yards and the score. Chase Fuller ended with 30 yards receiving on one catch. Fuller and Gavin Salzwimmer each had five solo tackles.