Facing fourth down with less than three minutes remaining in the game at Jerome T. Osborne Stadium on Sept. 19, the only thing that was screaming louder than the Lake Catholic student section was D.J. Sears’ left ankle. Hobbled since the first quarter when he rolled his ankle, Sears shrugged off the pain and gave his coach a directive — give me the ball. Bulling through the line, Sears picked up two yards for the first down. Three plays later, he plowed in from the 1 to seal Lake Catholic’s 34-20 win over visiting Kenston. Lake had fourth and one in their own territory with a little more than two minutes remaining in the game. They went for it and DJ Sears got the yard to set up the clinching score. pic.twitter.com/HwiR8IMOuN — News-Herald preps (@NHPreps) September 20, 2024 Sears only carried the ball five times against Kenston, but made the most of the carries. He scored three touchdowns and picked up that critical fourth down to help his team move the chains and get the game-clinching score. Touchdown @LCCougarFB . DJ Sears 1 run. With 1:36 left Lake leads @Bomber_Football 34-20. pic.twitter.com/XJBli6SYam — News-Herald preps (@NHPreps) September 20, 2024 “I told him to trust me,” said Sears of his conversation with Coach Marty Gibbons during a timeout. “I told him I’m gonna get this first down for him, and that’s what I did.” DJ Sears had a bum ankle but scored three touchdowns and picked up a critical fourth down late as @LCCougarFB topped @Bomber_Football 34-20 pic.twitter.com/l4CooKefwp — News-Herald preps (@NHPreps) September 20, 2024 Gibbons admitted he was leaning toward punting the ball. There were less than three minutes remaining and the Cougars were on their side of the 50, which meant a failed attempt would have given Kenston prime field position to tie the game, which was 27-20 in Lake’s favor at that time. But Gibbons listened to his players, not the voice inside his head. Coach Marty Gibbons lauds his team’s effort and DJ Sears’ heart after @LCCougarFB win over @Bomber_Football tonight. pic.twitter.com/NT2Hp4x5vM — News-Herald preps (@NHPreps) September 20, 2024 “I was thinking about punting,” Gibbons said. “I trust our defense a ton. I trust (my players) more than I trust myself. They said, ‘Coach, we’re going for it.’ “(Sears) was banged up with that ankle. He responded. He said, “Coach, I’m good. Keep giving me the ball.” The win improves Lake Catholic’s record to 5-0 at the midway point of the regular season, while Kenston falls to 2-3. “Credit goes to Lake Catholic,” Kenston coach Jeff Grubich said. “They got the push when they needed it. I’ve got a find a better way to get our guys to finish.” Harley Forkins with a 25 yard field goal, @LCCougarFB leads @Bomber_Football 27-17 with 9:01 in the fourth quarter. pic.twitter.com/LKiWPJmMrg — News-Herald preps (@NHPreps) September 20, 2024 Lake Catholic looked as if it was going to cruise to victory when the Cougars had the ball late in the third quarter with a 24-10 lead. But Kenston’s Sam Meeks picked off a Frankie Trinetti screen pass and returned it deep into Cougars territory going into the fourth quarter. Lucas Kaltenbach went airborne for the 3-yard touchdown run early in the fourth to pull the Bombers within a score at 24-17. But Lake Catholic responded with a 25-yard field goal by Harley Forkins — his third field goal of the game — for a 27-17 lead. Forkins scored three goals earlier in the day in Lake’s win over AOA in a boys soccer game, hustled to the JTO and practiced a few kicks before the football game started. His three field goals were monumental, Gibbons said. “He’s unbelievable. He’s an all-world athlete at Lake Catholic,” Gibbons said. After Forkins’ third field goal made it a 10-point game, Kenston’s Grady Kucharson kicked his second field goal of the game — a 29-yarder — with 4:45 left in the game to pull the score within seven again at 27-20. PHOTOS: Lake Catholic vs. Kenston football, Sept. 19, 2024 Shortly thereafter, Sears took matters into his own hands with the clutch run on fourth down, followed by his one-yard touchdown plunge to ice the game. Both teams came into the game with injury concerns. Lake Catholic two-way lineman David Iannini tore his ACL in last week's win over South, and running back Caden Boyes also sat out with a knee injury. Kenston's leading running back, Cohen Clark, sat out with a back injury. "The guys stepping up was big for us," Sears said. "We trust in our younger guys to step up." Lake led, 17-3, at the half thanks to two Sears touchdown runs and a Forkins field goal. But Kenston came out of the halftime locker room with a vengeance and scored on a long drive, with freshman Ethan Burge scoring from the 2. Touchdown @Bomber_Football . Ethan Burge 2 run. Impressive drive by the bombers to open the third-quarter. @LCCougarFB leads 17-10 pic.twitter.com/rykdvQhS4n — News-Herald preps (@NHPreps) September 20, 2024 "We talked at halftime about them staying in the 4-2 box and trying to pound the ball a little bit," Grubich said. "We thought we were changing the momentum a little bit, but it kind of got away from us a little bit." The momentum in the 17-10 game swung back to Lake when Trinetti hit Ace Peterlin on a screen that went 25 yards to the house for the 24-10 lead. That led to the thrilling fourth-quarter finish. Touchdown @LCCougarFB . Trinetti to Ace Peterlin 25 yard screen goes to the house for a 24-10 lead over @Bomber_Football with 341 remaining in the third. pic.twitter.com/zHjm85ZFC8 — News-Herald preps (@NHPreps) September 20, 2024 Grubich was pleased with Burge stepping in at running back, pointing out, "It's a physical football game and he showed he could compete with those upperclassmen." Grubich lamented mistakes that stung his team. "Not taking anything away from Lake Catholic, but we made too many critical mistakes," he said. "Roughing the punter when we forced them to punt changed the momentum of the game. Facemasks. Not converting some passes when we dropped touchdowns. ... Making mistakes against good teams like St. Joe's, Lake Catholic and Chardon, they're going to make you pay." Coach Jeff Grubich laments @Bomber_Football’s 34-20 loss to @LCCougarFB tonight pic.twitter.com/EPBwlxBznQ — News-Herald preps (@NHPreps) September 20, 2024 Kenston plays Chardon in a Western Reserve Conference opener next week, while Lake Catholic travels to Holy Name. "We're going to break everything into parts," Gibbons said as his team heads into the second half of the season. "Make sure we're focused on one game at a time." The @LCCougarFB team is fired up after a win over @Bomber_Football tonight pic.twitter.com/JJMnCsnfiv — News-Herald preps (@NHPreps) September 20, 2024