FOOTBALL: Miscues, big plays doom Jeff against Floyd 34-14

By GREG BURTON

Special to Southern Indiana Preps

JEFFERSONVILLE – Big plays highlighted the Jeffersonville-Floyd Central gridiron matchup Friday night at Blair Field.

One huge play near the end of the third quarter seemed to turn the tide for the Highlanders. Floyd Central pulled away from Jeffersonville in the final quarter, emerging with a 34-14 Hoosier Hills Conference victory.

“We made the plays when we needed to,” said Floyd Central coach Brian Glesing.

Jeffersonville coach Alfonzo Browning echoed his counterpart.

“They made more plays tonight than we did,” the third-year Red Devil boss said. “We were pretty even teams. We just made more mistakes than they did.”

The first big play for Floyd Central (4-1, 3-0 HHC) occurred on the fourth play from scrimmage on its first possession. Junior Tyler Edwards found a hole and romped 46 yards for a touchdown.

Big play No. 2 arrived 3 minutes later when Highlander quarterback Matt Weimer hooked up with Jon Gunn on a 64-yard pass to put Floyd Central up 14-0. At this moment, a rout appeared possible at Blair Field.

However, Jeffersonville (2-3, 2-2) came up with a big play of its own, putting the Red Devils back in contention. Senior running back Kam Fuller broke open and raced 85 yards for the touchdown. Fuller had a big night on the ground, carrying the ball 20 times for 153 yards.

“We gave up that big play in the first quarter,” said Glesing. “We shouldn’t have given that up.”

The first quarter ended with the score 14-7.

The Highlanders opened the second period with a score on a 1-yard run by Weimer.

The Red Devils attempted to counter on their next possession, but the drive stalled at the Floyd Central 3-yard line and they gave the ball up on downs. Floyd Central led 21-7 at the half.

Jeffersonville opened the second half with a 5 1/2-minute drive that resulted in a 4-yard score by Fuller. The Red Devils trailed just 21-14, and they were in the hunt.

The momentum appeared to be going in Jeffersonville’s favor when Floyd Central’s Jason Cundiff fumbled on the next possession. The Red Devils’ Javlen Bells recovered the loose ball.

However, Jeffersonville could not take advantage and had to punt.

The final Floyd Central possession of the third quarter turned out to be the biggest of the big plays for the night. After a bad snap drove the Highlanders back to their own 1-yard line, they were then penalized, setting the ball just inches away from their own goal line.

Facing fourth-and-very long, they were forced to punt. However, the kick was dropped by Fuller and recovered by the Highlanders, giving them new life and breathing room.

“We got backed up field-wise and had to punt and got a big break on their fumbled punt,” said Glesing.

“If you’re going to beat a good team, you can’t make mistakes,” agreed Browning.

Floyd Central responded and effectively put the game away. The Highlanders turned the turnover into a score, with Weimer running it in from 2 yards on a play identical to his first score to put them up 28-14 with 10:41 left in regulation.

After the Red Devils were forced to punt on their next possession, Floyd Central tacked on another touchdown on a 2-yard run from Cundiff for the final score of the night.

“We didn’t really play our best game. Give credit to Floyd Central and their defense, putting us in bad situation,” said Browning.

Shaun Wimberly Jr., the Jeffersonville sophomore quarterback, turned in a good performance. He was 12-of-24 passing for 168 yards. In the final quarter, he was pursued relentlessly by the Floyd Central defense, forcing him to scramble a lot.

Glesing was very impressed with Wimberly.

“That guy’s pretty good right there,” Glesing pointed as Wimberly walked past after the game. “We can’t tackle him, and he’s only a sophomore.”

Wimberly’s favorite target was Red Devil wide receiver D’Andre Rutherford. The pair hooked up five times for 110 yards.

Jeffersonville will travel to Class 5A No. 5 Indianapolis Cathedral (1-4) at 7 p.m. next Friday. Floyd Central will play at 5A No. 4 Columbus East (4-1, 3-0 HHC) at 7 p.m. next Friday.

FLOYD CENTRAL 34, JEFFERSONVILLE 14
Floyd Central    14  7  0  13–34
Jeff                       7   0  7    0–14
First quarter
FC – Tyler Edwards 46 run (Cole Hussung kick), 10:05.
FC – Joe Gunn 64 pass from Matt Weimer (Hussung kick), 7:09.
J – Kam Fuller 85 run (Seth Scott kick), :02.
Second quarter
FC – Weimer 1 run (Hussung kick), 10:03.
Third quarter
J – Fuller 4 run  (Scott kick), 6:32.
Fourth quarter
FC – Weimer 2 run (Hussung kick), 10:41.
FC – Jason Cundiff 2 run (kick failed), 5:18.