Seniors leave strong foundation for future teams despite loss to Lexington
- Jeremy Schneider
- Nov 8, 2024
- 3 min read
By JEREMY SCHNEIDER
IMA SPORTS
Friday night was the end of the road for 11 Maumee football seniors. In reality, though, it was just the beginning for the Panthers program, thanks to the foundation and expectations they leave behind.
Maumee rallied from an early deficit to take a lead at halftime only to see its season end in the first week of the playoffs with a 28-14 loss to Lexington at Kazmaier Stadium.
The remarkable turnaround largely led by the Class of 2025 shouldn’t be judged on the outcome of one game. Remember, it wasn’t too long ago simply winning a game was the goal let alone making the playoffs and hosting a Week 11 game.
“It hurt my heart when I came in and our guys were embarrassed to be Maumee football players,” Maumee coach Evan Karchner said. “I want them to have pride in it and go around and say, ‘Yeah, I play for Maumee football.’
“I think this senior class can do that now and be proud with the mark they left, showing the young kids how it looks.”
The 12th-seeded Minutemen came in and set the tone early, driving the ball right through the heart of the Maumee defense for a pair of scores and a 13-0 lead less than four minutes into the second quarter.
While Karchner admitted his team came out flat, a spark finally appeared in the second quarter. Donovan Mays got behind the Lexington defense, and Ben Kubicz found him for a 25-yard scoring pass.
Then with 17 seconds left until halftime, Cody Wulf punched it in from two yards out and a 14-13 lead at the break.
After a scoreless third quarter, Lexington found the end zone twice in the fourth, including a 59-yard run midway through the quarter for the final score of the night.
With the win, Lexington (6-5) moves on to the Division III regional quarterfinals. It will travel to face fourth-seeded Rocky River.
Meanwhile, Maumee will begin a long offseason of regrouping and preparing for next year. Much like a Week 10 loss to Otsego last season put some fire into the Panthers, Karchner expects this loss to serve as a similar motivator.
“There are kids who play in the playoffs every year and never have a home playoff game,” Karchner said. “It was a big deal for us when I played, and we lost. We lost by a lot. We kind of got our butts kicked by Avon Lake.
“Who knows, next year we might be at a Lexington and we can go give it back. I tell those guys, ‘Remember this. Remember how it feels when you want to take a rep off or you don’t want to go hard at practice or pay attention at film. You should remember this.’”
The senior class went down swinging in their final game. Wulf finished with 161 rushing yards and the score. Carson Graetz had a team-high four receptions for 44 yards, and Mays had two grabs for 29 yards and the TD.
“This will eat at me all year,” Karchner said. “We’ll get ready for Week 1 next year.
“I’m just excited to be a part of Maumee football and be around guys like Cody Wulf and Donnie Mays and Pierce (Simpson) and that senior class. Those are the guys I want to surround myself with and have fun every day. Also with me, I want football to be the best part of my day, and those guys did that.”
Photo courtesy of Pride of the Panthers
Reach IMA at insidemaumeeathletics@gmail.com
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