(Lenox) Lenox rolls into playoff football with the #1 seed in 8-Player, District 9 and an 8-0 record.
The Tigers beat Fremont-Mills in impressive fashion last week with a 28-2 final. Next up is 4-4 Colo-NESCO in the first round of the postseason. Coach Michael Nardini says, “Watching them on film, they’ve played some very tough competition. They’ve battled through their schedule. They are a solid football team. They put you in some difficult situations.”
Lenox limited Fremont-Mills to just 119 total yards a week go. The Tiger offense posted 299 yards including 233 on the ground. “More than anything I think it just gets our kids believing and excited to be able to do that in front of our home crowd. It was a very emotional game. There were a lot of ups and downs. Fortunately more ups for us. Our kids just fed off of that momentum and emotion. If we generate that every game in the playoffs we’ll be very tough to beat.”
Lenox ranks 3rd in 8-Player with 48 rushing touchdowns. Isaac Grundman leads the team with 952 yards while Keigan Kitzman has 561 and Gabe Funk 289. They’ve picked up where they left off last season. “We lost the guys up front, but we kept the people in the back and they’ve evolved as better runners. The three guys that we put up as offensive linemen and the two tight ends that we have are all seniors that have been in the system and know how we want to run things.”
Lenox hasn’t allowed more than 20 points in a game since September 16th. Their regular season finale brought an especially impressive performance. Fremont-Mills had been averaging 53 points per game during their six game win streak, but the Tigers held the Knights out of the end zone all game. “Coach Bonde did a great job getting our kids in the right situation and dialing up blitzes when we needed to. They executed and gang tackled. We had eight people flying to the ball at all times. It was a full team effort on the defensive side. They played very aggressive and went after it. It’s scary when our kids are physical and locked in that way.”
It’s the second straight year that Lenox has taken an undefeated record into the playoffs. Last year they won their first round game against Lamoni before falling to Newell-Fonda. “We have to take it as a learning step and build upon it and be more mentally prepared this time around.” Nardini says, “Make sure every time we step on that practice field we get better.”
Lenox allows 20.1 points per game. Keigan Kitzman and Dalton Kitzman are among the statistical standouts. Keigan Kitzman has 58 tackles including 26.5 tackles for loss. 12 of Dalton Kitzman’s 50.5 tackles have been for loss. They’ve defense has forced 22 turnovers, led by Samson Adams with four interceptions and one pick six.
Lenox coach Michael Nardini:
