LIMA – There's an old adage, "Offense sells tickets, but defense wins championships."

In Week 1, Lima Senior's defense held Piqua in check as it defeated the Indians 12-7.

In Friday's home opener against Findlay, Lima Senior's defense rose to the occasion once again.

However, the Spartans' offensive unit struggled against the Trojans as Lima Senior fell to Findlay in a hard-fought nonleague defensive battle, 17-7 at Spartan Stadium.

Lima Senior (1-1) scored its only touchdown of the game on an interception by senior defensive back Darius Routson, who picked off Findlay quarterback Tate Richards (9 of 12 passing, 57 yards, 1 interception) in the third quarter and ran it back 55 yards for the score.

Turnovers plagued the Spartans as they gave the ball away five times on the night.

Lima Senior quarterback Ja'Niaus Hall completed 15 of 32 passes for 160 yards, but threw two interceptions.

"Our defense played their butts off all night long," Lima Senior coach Bill Lawrence said. "They (Lima Senior's defensive unit) got stop after stop. They scored. They did their job. At the end of the day – on offense – we didn't get it done. Our defense played great, and our offense has to get better.

"I think the (defensive) pressure got to us a little bit. We don't want to say that it's on this unit or this unit, but at the end of the day, offensively as a unit, we didn't get it done. And that starts with me as a coach. So, as a head coach, I did not do a good job of preparing us offensively. We have to do better."

As a team, the Spartans rushed for 50 yards. Amontrae Davis led Lima Senior with 37 yards on 10 carries.

Findlay (1-1) ended the game with 198 rushing yards and had 70 more in the air. Lance Miller led the Trojans' ground attack with 115 yards on 11 carries and had a 59-yard TD run in the third quarter.

Griffen Lane (6 carries, 44 yards) scored Findlay's other TD – a 1-yard plunge to the end zone that put the Trojans up 10-7 in the third quarter.

Late in the first quarter, Findlay took a 3-0 lead on a 41-yard field goal by Greyson Geiser.

Findlay had three turnovers on Friday.

"(It's) one of those games you do whatever it takes to win," Findlay coach Stefan Adams said. "We didn't allow an offensive touchdown, so we're really impressed with their effort. We had moments where we could have gone left a little bit, but we didn't. That shows the kind of resolve of our team. I'm super proud of them right now."

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