Tank you, drive through
Lavarion ‘Tank’ Logan breaks Merrillville’s career scoring mark with 3 more touchdowns in regional rout of Penn
Merrillville senior Lavarion Logan probably won’t be flipping many tires this week.
Running backs coach Denzel Pierce might not be so lucky, thanks to a joke from head coach Brad Seiss earlier this season that Logan recalled.
Logan entered the season within striking distance of Pierce, a 2011 Merrillville graduate who had the all-time school records in rushing yards and points scored.
“Coach Seiss brought it up one time — that if I broke the record, (Pierce) has to do the tire flips that I do if I make a bad play or if I fumble,” Logan said. “But when Seiss made that joke, I didn’t realize how close I was.”
Logan cemented his spots in the program’s record books during the Pirates’ 39-7 thrashing of Penn at home in a Class 6A regional on Friday night.
Logan, who reopened his college recruiting this week after an earlier commitment to South Dakota State, started the game as the all-time leading rusher for Merrillville (12-0). He eclipsed Pierce’s 3,572 yards with 223 against Lafayette Jefferson last week, increasing his career total to 3,608.
Logan broke the other record held by Pierce by scoring three touchdowns against Penn (6-6) for a career total of 384 points, surpassing Pierce’s 380.
For Pierce, seeing his records broken by the player he calls “Tank” put a wide smile on his face.
“It’s a full-circle moment,” Pierce said. “To be a kid who really wanted to break records and then grow up 10 years later and now you’re the one coaching a player to do it — it’s what’s you’d want as a coach.”
Logan had 101 yards and those three TDs on 15 carries for Merrillville, which built a 33-0 halftime lead and didn’t look back. Logan now has 2,384 all-purpose yards and 36 TDs this season, numbers that drew effusive praise from Seiss.
“When you’re a senior, you’re expected to play your best football, and he’s doing it,” Seiss said.
But Logan is not the only weapon in Merrillville’s offensive arsenal. Junior running back/ wide receiver Justin Marshall had 161 yards and two TDs on nine catches, as well as 40 rushing yards and another TD on four carries. Marshall, a transfer from Calumet, has 1,729 all-purpose yards and 24 TDs this season.
The biggest challenge for Seiss
has been finding ways to keep both Marshall and Logan involved in the offense, with Marshall starting the season at running back before finding more playing time — and touches — at wide receiver.
“When you put the puzzle pieces together of who needs to get the ball, if both Lavarion and Justin are at running back, it’s hard,” Seiss said. “But we saw how well Justin could catch the ball, and he’s done a great job there. We’d be foolish not to give him the ball as much as we can too.”
Merrillville’s defense also chipped in with another dominant performance, preventing Penn from crossing midfield until the 5:13 mark of the third quarter, with the Pirates ahead 39-0 by that point.
“With the weather and with what Penn likes to do, it all starts with those guys up front,” Seiss said. “They did a great job of creating penetration and freeing up our linebackers to make plays.”