By GREG BURTON
Special to Southern Indiana Preps
NEW ALBANY — Like a boxer landing
blow after blow and wearing his opponent down, Floyd Central pounded away at
New Albany on Friday night at Buerk Field.
The Highlanders scored on nearly
every possession and emerged as 49-28 winners in the Hoosier Hills Conference
game and regular-season finale for both teams.
“Time of possession and keeping
their potent offense off the field was the key to the game,” said Floyd Central
coach Brian Glesing.
Class 5A No. 7 Floyd Central (7-2,
6-1 HHC) scored on each of its first four possessions, landing offensive blow
after offensive blow on the host Bulldogs (5-4, 4-3).
“We were playing at times with
about six or seven guys on defense,” said New Albany coach Steve Cooley. “They
just powered us over, and we had trouble tackling their backs. We’ll go back to
the drawing board on Monday and fix some things, and we’ll put 11 kids on there
that know what their job is and do it.”
New Albany put together an 11-play
drive to open the game. But it stalled at the Floyd Central 32-yard line, and
the Bulldogs gave the ball up on downs.
Floyd Central capitalized
immediately, and six plays later it scored on a 15-yard run by Devon Stikes.
The drive got going with a Matt Weimer to Braxton Cerqueira pass for 21 yards.
Stikes also had a 12-yard run and Zach Rodgers broke free for a 19-yard run,
setting up Stikes’ TD run.
New Albany answered the bell with a
score of its own when Darquan Richardson romped 45 yards for a touchdown to tie
the score at seven.
That was about the end for the
Bulldogs, though. On
the ensuing kickoff, the Highlanders’ Brandon Stiegel returned the ball 80
yards for the score.
“The kickoff return they ran back
for a touchdown, that was big,” said Cooley.
What happened next, though, may
have been the beginning of the end. New Albany coughed up the ball on a fumble,
and then Floyd Central put together a 10-play drive, ending with a Jason
Cundiff 1-yard run for a score to put the Highlanders up 21-7 in the second
quarter.
Floyd’s next possession lasted just
three plays, the final one being a Weimer-to-Jon Gunn 68-yard completion for
the score. At this point it appeared a rout was imminent, as the Highlanders
led 28-7.
New Albany put points on the board
with a little more than 3 minutes remaining in the half when Richardson found
the end zone again. This time it was from 6 yards out, and the Bulldogs were
within 14 points with 3:07 left before halftime.
Floyd Central was forced to punt — its
only punt of the night — on its next possession. But New Albany failed to catch
the punt. The ball rolled over 20 yards after hitting the ground, and the punt
went for 54 yards total.
“There were little things,” said
Cooley. “We shot ourselves in the foot tonight. We didn’t field that punt, and
that made a huge difference in yardage. That was 26 yards we lost.”
The resulting yardage might have
made a difference for the Bulldogs. They moved the ball down to the Floyd
Central 25-yard line with enough time left for one play prior to intermission.
However, an incomplete pass ended the half.
The third quarter fairly well told
the tale of the game. Floyd Central had possession for every play except for
four during the period. New Albany’s only possession resulted in a three-and-out,
while the Highlanders ran 14 plays from scrimmage.
The only score of the third quarter
was a Weimer-to-Cerqueira 43-yard touchdown, and the Highlanders led 35-14
going into the final period.
“Getting that stop at the end of
the first half was huge,” said Glesing, “and then starting the second half we
marched down the field and score and set the tone.”
“I knew going in we needed two
stops in the first half for this to be a game,” said Cooley. “We needed to get
off the field twice, and we didn’t.”
Floyd Central started the final
quarter by continuing a drive it had begun in the third period. Three plays
later, the Highlanders scored on a 3-yard run by Cundiff, making the score
42-14. New Albany scored twice in the final quarter. Richardson found the end
zone for the third time on a 3-yard run. He scored for the fourth time later
when he hooked up with Dylan Clark for a 22-yard score.
Floyd Central scored its final
touchdown on a 34-yard run by Tyler Edwards.
The Bulldogs recovered an onside kick after
their final score, but gave the ball up on downs, essentially ending the game.
“We made some plays and tried to
come back, but you can’t dig yourself a 49-point hole,” said Cooley.
Each team will have a first-round bye
in the first week of Class 5A Sectional 15 action. Then they will face each
other in the sectional semifinals Friday, Oct. 27 at Buerk Field.
FLOYD CENTRAL 49, NEW ALBANY 28
Floyd Central 14 14 7 14—49
New Albany 7 7
0 14—28
First quarter
FC — Devon Stikes 15 run (Cole
Hussung kick), 5:30.
NA — Darquan Richardson 45 run
(Noah Litzelswope kick), 3:29.
FC — Brandon Striegel 80 kickoff
return (Hussung kick), 3:15.
Second quarter
FC — Jason Cundiff 1 run (Hussung
kick), 8:02.
FC — Jon Gunn 68 pass from Matt
Weimer (Hussung kick), 5:02.
NA — Richardson 6 run (Litzelswope
kick), 3:07.
Third quarter
FC — Braxton Cerqueira 43 pass from
Weimer (Hussung kick), 7:58
Fourth quarter
FC — Cundiff 4 run (Hussung kick), 10:31.
NA — Richardson 3 run (Litzelswope
kick), 9:06.
FC — Tyler Edwards 34 run (Hussung
kick), 5:43.
NA — Richardson 22 pass from Clark
(Litzelswope kick), 4:32.
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