WEST LAFAYETTE — Kojo Steffey texted coach Shane Fry on Monday that he was heading to the doctor’s office. At 2:30 p.m., he was cleared to play football.
Fry had no idea it could even be a possibility. Steffey, who had been out with a leg injury since Sept. 18’s game against Logansport, wasn’t expected to return for West Lafayette this season. But sure enough, Steffey showed up at 4 p.m. for practice that same day and began to ramp up for a return.
To help lead the Red Devils to a 49-14 victory over Northwestern in the quarterfinals of Class 3A, Sectional 28 on Friday, Oct. 23, Steffey scored three touchdowns and rushed for 148 yards on 12 carries. It was like he never skipped a beat, despite even surprising himself with his play.
“This whole week I’ve been training (and) I’ve been practicing, it felt amazing,” Steffey said. “I didn’t think I was about to come out and do this, but it feels great.”
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It wasn’t for certain that Steffey would start until Friday. One of the other two options at running back was sick, and with the senior assuring Fry that he was good to go, it was decided that he would get the nod. It didn’t take long for him to showcase why.
Steffey put West Lafayette (3-7) on the board initially at the 8:31 mark of the first quarter. After converting a fourth-and-4 opportunity, he followed it up by bringing in a touchdown from a few yards out. Then at the start of the second, he got the ball to the 1-yard line on a 9-yard rush to set up a touchdown for Chase Ostrom to grab a 14-0 lead.
But the defining moment of his comeback was yet to happen. With 8:03 to go in the second quarter, Steffey got loose for an emphatic 65-yard touchdown to go up 21-0. At that moment, it was clear this was West Lafayette’s game to win.
Q2, 8:03: West Lafayette 21, Northwestern 0
— Chase Gemes (@chasegemes) October 23, 2026
Steffey breaks through for a 65-yard touchdown…talk about a comeback.
Missed the play, but safe to say West Lafayette is feeling good in this one. pic.twitter.com/pKHUL9yyoY
“I trust my offensive line 100%,” Steffey said of the play. “Down the gap, I found a hole and took it. Honestly, I thought I was about to get caught, I turned around and I didn’t know he was that far behind. But it felt great.”
It was initially Week 1 that Steffey had started to deal with the injury. He toughed it out for a few more weeks, but it eventually forced him to the sideline. But it never kept him out of practice or away from the team; he’s been the first to cheer his team during games and help the running backs around him improve.
Much of the season hasn’t gone the way the Red Devils would’ve liked. But that didn’t stop Steffey from wanting to return for a postseason push in his final year.
“He could have easily folded up shop and just kind of been done, but he did the opposite,” Fry said. “He’s a captain, and he showed it. So proud of him and I’m so happy that he gets to come out and play at all, let alone have a good game. Even if he had five carries for 10 yards, I would have been thrilled.”
Across the board, West Lafayette showed that its team is still bought in despite the rough patches during the year.
Quarterback Blake Biddle finished the night completing 20 of 27 passes for 186 passing yards and two touchdowns, finding Braylon Crisp for a 4-yard touchdown and Andrew Pfeiffer down the field for 40 yards. Chase Ostrom, who is the backup signal-caller and a defensive back, connected with Tanner McPherson for a 12-yard touchdown.
Ostrom certainly made his presence known on the defensive end. He finished the game with two interceptions, one in the second quarter and one in the third. The Red Devils as a unit snagged four interceptions, including Onyx Shamo adding one in the third. They had even more that were called back due to penalties.
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Max Smosna tallied a fumble recovery as well, who has been a boost in the secondary splitting time at safety throughout the year. All in all, West Lafayette feels good about how the secondary has progressed.
“The defensive backs have had games where they’ve struggled at times,” Fry said. “But they do a great job at, like everybody else, learning from it and coming back and getting better each week.”
As much as the ups and downs have been an issue for the Red Devils on the field, the pieces are starting to click at the opportune time in the year. It was the most complete game they’ve played all season, and they’ll need that again next week against Maconaquah (9-0) at home in the semifinals.
It’s a rematch from two years ago in the sectional championship, in which West Lafayette fell 17-14 in a heartbreaking loss. It’ll be a considerably tougher out than Northwestern (4-6), but it’s ready for the fight.
“We’ve got to keep our head on straight and watch the film,” Fry said. “I think our guys are up to the challenge. We love that it’s going to be a home game. It’ll be fun.”
Steffey experienced that loss to Maconaquah. Grouped with that, battling injury and losing more games than winning this year, there’s a lot of motivation for him and the Red Devils to have next week.
“We all think we can definitely go to a sectional championship this year,” Steffey said. “We want it so bad after the tough season everyone’s had.”
At 7 p.m. Friday, Oct. 30, in West Lafayette, they’ll get the chance to exorcise those demons.
Chase Gemes covers high school sports and Purdue women's basketball for the Journal & Courier. He can be reached at cgemes@usatodayco.com.
This article originally appeared on Lafayette Journal & Courier: Returning Steffey leads West Lafayette football to sectional win