Successful Debut: Third-Ranked University puts it all together in McGlynn’s Debut
by William Weathers // GeauxPreps.com Contributor
For two years, University High quarterback Ethan McGlynn waited patiently for his opportunity to lead the Cubs’ offense.
With Emile Picarella having graduated and being part of LSU’s program, McGlynn battled some early jitters before settling down and leading No. 3 University High to a resounding 49-8 victory Thursday over Woodlawn at Jeff Boss Field.
“There was definitely a little case of nerves making the first start,” McGlynn said.
McGlynn engineered a stretch of 34 unanswered points over the last 30 minutes of the game that was played with a running clock in the season opener for both teams.
McGlynn completed 7 of 15 passes for 175 yards with a touchdown and helped U-High outgain Woodlawn, 401-231. The Cubs, led by LSU defensive end commitment Lamar Brown, the team’s starting left guard, unleashed the punishing running tandem of Sage Ingram and Corbin Odell, who combined for 207 of the team’s 226 yards and three rushing touchdowns.
“It makes my life so easy,” McGlynn said, having Ingram and Odell in the backfield behind a talented offensive line. “Those guys are just incredible.”
Ingram (15-114, TD) paced the team’s rushing attack, which averaged 6.6 yards a carry, with Odell adding 93 yards and 2 TDs on 12 attempts. Back-up quarterback Cooper Odle capped the team’s scoring with a 17-yard run with six minutes remaining.
“Our offense has been kind of trucking along,” U-High coach Andy Martin said of the team’s scrimmage with St. Charles and jamboree against Dunham. “They’re doing their thing. It was another good job by them.”
Placekicker Mason Melancon proved that he’s going to be a weapon for the Cubs with successful field goals of 37 and 33 yards in each half. He narrowly pushed a 32-yard effort wide left on the final play of the first half.
“It took us a little while to get going,” Martin said. “I think the defense is what I was disappointed in. We missed tackles early and then we started making tackles, and the offense was consistent all night long. We ran the ball hard. We were able to throw the ball when we needed to.”
Melancon’s 33-yard effort finished U-High’s opening drive of the third quarter – a series where McGlynn found tight end Charlie Pettit for a 16-yard reception and Ingram followed with a 22-yard gain.
The Cubs’ defense, which held the Panthers to 15 yards in 18 plays, extended the score to 36-8 at the 7:48 mark when senior linebacker Lane Mixon picked up a fumble by quarterback Ahmad Price and returned it 32 yards for a touchdown.
Woodlawn encountered difficulty with its shotgun snap, leading to seven fumbles that resulted in two turnovers and minus-73 yards in losses.
“They had been having fumble problems all night,” said Mixon, who already had a pick-6 earlier in his career. “I was looking for that, and luckily, I picked it up and scored it. Throughout the game, we knew we had them, and that was the nail in the coffin.”
U-High put the game clock into continuous motion at the end of Ingram’s 3-yard TD over the left side. Melancon’s third extra point made it 43-8, and with the Cubs going exclusively to their reserves, Odle scored around right end on third down.
U-High outgained Woodlawn 126-16 in the second half, limiting the Class 5A Panthers to a pair of first downs.
“We came out more physical in the second half like we planned to be the whole game,” Mixon said.
U-High answered Woodlawn’s lone first-half touchdown with 10 straight points for a 26-8 lead.
The Cubs dug into their bag of tricks on first down when McGlynn passed behind the line of scrimmage to Lawson Dixon. He found a wide-open William Martin for a gain of 47 yards down to the Panthers’ 27-yard line.
Odell kept on three of the next four plays for 19 yards, including the final three for a touchdown on second-and-goal with 1:43 left. The Cubs converted their second two-point conversion with a run from Talamesi Albert that accounted for the halftime score.
U-High bolted to a 15-0 lead two plays into the second quarter when Odell scored on a 9-yard run on second down and added the two-point conversion. The combination of McGlynn and Dixon worked for the game’s first score when Dixon showed some nifty moves after the catch.
The senior wide receiver, who had three receptions for 125 yards, weaved his way through Woodlawn’s secondary, working himself from one end of the field to the other, finding plenty of running room to complete the 41-yard score.
The 6-play, 95-yard drive – which consumed less than two minutes – was set up by Emmanuel Moses’ interception along the sideline on fourth down.
“He did a great job,” Martin said of McGlynn. “He’s a competitor. He’s waited his turn, saw what was in front of him, and he’s doing a great job running our offense. It showed again tonight.”
Woodlawn, which lost a fumble and suffered an interception in U-High’s territory, put together a 6-play, 78-yard drive that was aided by a pass interference penalty. Price, who passed for 191 of his 254 total yards, found wide receiver Trinton Bennett (10-118) behind coverage on a 49-yard gain, and the quarterback scored on the next play with Cayden Randall adding the two-point conversion.
Melancon’s 37-yard field goal triggered a stretch of 34 straight points for the Cubs, who travel to face Archbishop Rummel in the first game of next Friday’s doubleheader at the Caeser’s Superdome at 6 p.m.
“It’s a big stage and we want to be back there at the end of the year,” Mixon said of the Division III select state championship game, which is the second weekend in December. “We just have to go and just play our game. It (moving to the Superdome) added a little bit of fuel. It’s a little bit of a preview of where we want to be at the end of the season.”
Score By Quarters
Woodlawn 0 8 0 0 – 8
University 7 19 17 6 – 49
Scoring Summary
UHS – Lawson Dixon 41 pass from Ethan McGlynn (Mason Melancon kick)
UHS – Corbin Odell 9 run (Odell run)
WHS – Ahmad Price 1 run (Cayden Randall run)
UHS – Melancon 37 FG
UHS – Odell 3 run (Talamesi Albert run)
UHS – Melancon 33 FG
UHS – Lane Mixon 32 fumble recovery (Melancon kick)
UHS – Sage Ingram 3 run (Melancon kick)
UHS – Cooper Odle 17 run (kick blocked)
WHS UHS
First Downs 10 19
Rushes-Yards 29-41 23-226
Passing Yards 191 175
A-C-I 13-24-1 8-16-0
Punts-Avg. 3-24 0-0
Fumbles-Lost 7-2 1-0
Penalties-Yards 10-49 4-35