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Church's clutch kick lifts Louisa

November 19, 2006 12:50 am

LEESBURG--Louisa coach Mark Fischer bought the square-toed shoe the Lions use for field goals and extra points when Eric Church entered high school four years ago.

The athletic freshman, now a two-way starter for Louisa, was a rare straight-on kicker with plenty of promise, so Fischer plunked down $125 after combing the Internet for the old-school piece of equipment.

And yesterday Church used the same shoe--weathered and worn, with Ray Guy's signature fading into the leather--to kick the Lions into the second round of the postseason for the first time in school history.

Church's 44-yard field goal, a career-long in the muck and mud, curled through the uprights with no time left on the clock, helping Louisa to a 24-21 win over Park View in yesterday's Division 4 Region II semifinal game at Heritage High School.

Church was mobbed by his teammates, and Louisa finally had its first playoff victory in the school's 60-year history. The Lions will host undefeated Harrisonburg at 7:30 Friday.

"It's like a dream," said Church, his faced streaked with mud and his white uniform turned brown. "You dream of those moments when you are getting ready to go to bed. You are winning a regional game. I was shaking. I am still kind of shaking."

If not for a fortuitous couple bounces, the kick might not have happened.

Louisa (11-0) dominated the first 36 minutes of play and led 21-7 after three quarters thanks to a 40-yard interception return for a touchdown by Kenny Fleming.

Two fourth-quarter touchdowns by Park View (9-2), the Dulles District champions, changed that, and with 1:04 remaining, the Lions were reeling.

With all the momentum in the world, Park View was driving for the winning score when Thomas Mulabah fumbled. Louisa linebacker Brian Grubbs picked up the loose ball and scrambled 21 yards to Park View's 34-yard line.

"We've been taught to just fall on the ball when we see a fumble but I needed to get my kicker in range for that kick to win the ballgame," Grubbs said.

Four plays and just more than a minute later, Church did the rest. As he does before all extra points and field goals, Church quickly changed from his normal cleat to the clunky square-toed oddity on the sidelines.

Then, he walked onto the soupy field, calmly set himself, and didn't flinch when the snap bounced back to holder Jeff Mehlhaff.

"The field was awful and I thought I was going to slip but Jeff did a good job of picking up the snap," said Church, who grew up playing soccer with his same straight-on kicking style. "I just kicked it and looked up and saw it going straight and I was like, 'Oh my God, thank you so much.' "

Tailback Todd Shelton, who carried 22 times for 131 yards, scored on runs of 2 yards and 29 yards to put Louisa up 14-0 in the first quarter.

Louisa County	14	0	7	3	--	24
Park View	0	7	0	14	--	21

First Quarter

Lo--T. Shelton 2-yard run (E. Church kick).

Lo--T. Shelton 29-yard run (E. Church kick).

Second Quarter

PV--D. Dudinski 81-yard pass interception (C. Parker kick).

Third Quarter

Lo--K. Fleming 14-yard pass interception (E. Church kick).

Fourth Quarter

PV--A. Anyaugo 12-yard pass from D. Dudinski (C. Parker kick).

PV--D. Dudinski 12-yard run (C. Parker kick).

Lo--E. Church 44-yard FG.

TEAMSTATISTICS

INDIVIDUALSTATISTICS

Passing: Louisa County--Jeffrey Mehlhaff 4-11-1 25. Park View--C.J. Leizear 5-12-1 85; Deric Dudinski 1-1-0 12, TD.

Receiving: Louisa County--Eric Church 2-19; Terrell Wells 2-6. Park View--Ryan Pick 2-47; Amechi Anyaugo 3-32, TD; Corbin Barnes 1-11; Deric Dudinski 0-7.

To reach TODD JACOBSON: 540/374-5440
Email: tjacobson@freelancestar.com