Gannan Schwartz got hit hard on nearly every play of Friday night’s Division 5 level one playoff game.
He got back up every time.
Schwartz’s gritty play led No. 7 Winnebago Lutheran to a 21-20 upset win against Flyway and cross-town rival and No. 2-seed St. Mary’s Springs Academy.
On multiple occasions, Schwartz could be seen wincing in pain or limping off the field after big hits from Ledger defenders.
"Just trying to give us everything we got because it's win or go home now," Schwartz said. "Everything we got the rest of the way."
The big play came with 3:12 left in the game when Schwartz ran a draw play, bounced to the outside and then juked several Springs defenders on his way to a 47-yard touchdown run to give WLA a 21-14 lead.
Schwartz said the Vikings hoped the play would get him into space because Springs was double-teaming senior wide receiver Mile McAuly on the other side of the field.
"That was the play call," Schwartz said. "Act like I was going one way and cut it back. The coaches trusted me and the line blocked, I just had to make one or two guys miss."
Three plays earlier, WLA (5-5) faced a third-and-7. Schwartz completed a jump ball to the 6-foot-4 McAuly for 13 yards and a big first down conversion.
McAuly said the trust from the coaching staff to throw to him in those situations gives him the confidence to do the job.
"It means the world," McAuly said. "Last year, I don't know if they would trust me this much. This year, Gannan is stepping up and the O-line is stepping up, giving him time to deliver."
Springs’ senior Corbin Ruelle returned the ensuing kickoff 45 yards to the WLA 45-yard line, giving the Ledgers offense a short field with about three minutes left.
Quarterback Ben Anderson led the Springs offense on a seven-play scoring drive, which included an 18-yard pass to Brody Hyland to convert on fourth down. Anderson’s 1-yard TD run cut the WLA lead to 21-20. It was his second touchdown of the fourth quarter.
Springs (8-2) decided to go for a 2-point conversion. Anderson rolled out to the right, but was contained by WLA’s Caleb Wild, who altered Anderson’s pass and caused it to fall incomplete.
"We figured they were going to go for two and I'm so proud of those guys getting that stop," Loehr said. "Unbelievable."
Schwartz recovered the onside kick, which clinched the upset win for the WLA.
WLA’s defense helped spark its offense near the end of the third quarter when sophomore linebacker Eli Muche intercepted a tipped pass, giving the Vikings the ball at the Ledgers 32-yard line.
Schwartz found McAuly in the corner of the end zone five plays later for a 12-yard TD pass, which gave WLA a 14-7 lead.
"It's always great to have tall people," Schwartz said. "We took advantage. They're a smaller team in the defensive backs area so we just took advantage of that, and we've got some good wide receivers."
It was the second time Schwartz threw a lobbed pass to a tall target. In the second quarter he hit Wild, a 6-foot-2 receiver with excellent jumping ability, for a 28-yard score, which tied the game at the time.
WLA moves on to play No. 3 Lake Country Lutheran in Level 2.
The Springs loss marks the end of the legendary coaching career of Bob Hyland after 54 years in charge.
PHOTO GALLERY: WLA at Springs football - Division 5, Level 1 - 10/25/2024
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