GREEN TOWNSHIP, Ohio - Luke Thiemann's interception at the goal line on the final play of the game capped a desperate defensive stand and helped the La Salle Lancers turn back the Elder Panthers 13-7 in a GCL South battle Friday night.
Three La Salle penalties in the final minute gave Elder first-and-goal at the Lancers' 10 with 23 seconds left.
Elder threw three incomplete passes and Thiemann stepped in front of the fourth-down pass to seal the deal.
PHOTO GALLERY: La Salle 13, Elder 7
Hinton Daniel and Shane McNally also recorded picks for La Salle to stop Elder drives.
Elder led 7-3 until Cameron Porter scored the go-ahead touchdown with four seconds left in the second quarter.
A pair of Jake Seibert field goals accounted for the Lancers’ other six points.
Seibert converted a 33-yard kick just over three minutes into the game to give La Salle the early lead.
Forty seconds into the second quarter, the Panthers went ahead for the only time when Jack Mazza punched in from 2 yards out.
Seibert capped the scoring with a 36-yard field goal late in the third quarter.
Neither team reached 250 yards of offense. Porter rushed for 84 of La Salle’s 204 yards, and QB Griffin Merritt was 8 of 16 for 80 yards.
Elder finished with 242 yards, and Mazza accounted for 102 of them on the ground. Michael Bittner was 11-for-19 for 124 yards.
Both teams are going to the playoffs next Friday. According to WCPO projections, La Salle clinched the No. 1 seed in Division II, but its opponent is TBD. Elder will be the No. 7 seed in Division I and play at No. 2 Colerain.
The Lancers finished second in the GCL South behind St. Xavier while the Panthers took third.
