TOLEDO – He didn’t set any school records Friday night but, in some ways, Hayden Lehmann’s play Friday night at St. John’s was his best of the season.
Ross quarterback Hayden Lehmann throws a pass against St. John’s Friday night. RSR/Tony Zimmerman
Whereas a week ago served as a break-out performance, the junior quarterback showed a growth displayed a maturity and a level of comfort Friday night that was hard to imagine just a few weeks ago. Lehmann didn’t just sling the ball around, he ran an offense and did so to the tune of a 23-20 win over St. John’s.
“This is two weeks in a row, this is what we all expected out of Hayden,” senior receiver Devyn Jagodzinksi said. “Him being out last year kind of hurt him a little bit, but we took baby steps with him, kept our cool, let him grow and now everybody is seeing what he can do.”
In Ross’ 55-49 loss to Findlay in Week 4, Lehmann led a remarkable 21-point fourth quarter comeback. While that’s not easy by any means, when you’re trailing so heavily so late, slinging the ball is required. The game script is thrown out and it becomes sandlot football. Go deep. Chuck the ball. See what happens. A player of Lehmann’s natural talents can thrive in such a situation, which is why he set school records for passing yards (428) and touchdowns (6).
Friday night’s win at St. John’s was different. The numbers weren’t quite as gaudy, 23-of-35 passing for 262 yards with three touchdowns but, in a close game, they didn’t need to be astronomical. They needed to economical.
Yes, there was quite a bit of improvisation as Lehmann often bought himself time in and out of the pocket, but there was a coolness in the face of pressure that wasn’t there just a couple weeks ago. And when it was time to get rid of the ball, he remembered his mechanics. You’d have to scour the game film pretty hard to find a pass thrown from his back foot.
When he rolled out of the pocket, it wasn’t just for survival, there was a plan to the improvisation.
“I always tell (the receivers), whenever they see me scrambling, go deep. I always look deep, I love the deep ball, of course,” Lehmann said. “The corners and safeties always come up on me because there think I’m going to run the ball, so once they do that, it opens up and that’s why I tell them to go deep.”
Ross quarterback Hayden Lehmann throws a pass against St. John’s Friday night. RSR/Tony Zimmerman
Which is exactly what happened on the Little Giants’ first possession of the second half. Ross quickly drove deep inside Titans territory. On first down at the 6-yard line Lehmann scrambled out to his right, as he neared the line of scrimmage, a pair of St. John’s defensive backs turned their attention to Lehmann, leaving Jagodzinski along in the end zone, where Lehmann found him for a touchdown.
The play was not only well-engineered, the drive was crucial. The Little Giants went into halftime reeling, having given up a pair of Titan touchdowns in the final two minutes to tie the game. Ross’ third-quarter touchdown didn’t just regain the lead for the Little Giants, it halted the Titans’ momentum.
“He has great composure and he’s getting better, every week he’s getting better,” coach Chad Long said.
That consistent improvement is essential for this Little Giants team. Long knew running the ball was going to be challenge Friday night – which it was. The success Ross was going to have – or not – was going to largely hinge on the eyes, arm and legs of Lehmann. And it did.
Quarterback Hayden Lehmann helps linebacker Caleb Wood to his feet Friday night against St. John’s. RSR/Tony Zimmerman
Ross needed intelligent play. It could not afford turnovers and Lehmann’s only interception came when his receiver turned toward the sideline on a route, rather than to the middle.
Lehmann’s play was intelligent. It was athletic. It was mature.
It was not perfect, but with such great talent come great expectations.
“He didn’t make many dumb mistakes, is he still missing some routes and some things that are wide open, absolutely,” Long said. “I’m going to be hard on the kid because I know the sky is the limit for the kid. He played well, he was smart.”
Friday night marked the official half-way point of the season. Lehmann’s improvement has far exceeded the 1,175 yards he’s thrown for through five games. To see where he’ll be in another five games, will make the second half of the year a lot of fun to watch.