The Press-Dispatch
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B-4 Sports Wednesday, October 10, 2018 The Press-Dispatch ference. Also scoring for South- ridge – on a 24-yard run – was sophomore running back Parker Kippenbrock, who gained 38 yards on six second-half carries. Pike Central, which slipped to 1-7 overall and 1- 5 in the PAC with its fourth straight loss, was led by se- nior running back Eli Cole- man, who gained 92 yards on 25 carries – including 71 yards on 12 rushing at- tempts in the second half. Junior quarterback Ma- rio Fields added 62 yards on nine first-half carries before leaving the game because of injury. He was replaced by sophomore Lars Utterback, who completed four of five pass attempts – with one interception – for 34 yards while losing four yards on his only carry. Junior wide receiver Con- nor O'Neal gained 39 yards on eight carries while catch- ing five passes for a total of 36 yards. "Mario was out, so we got one-dimensional in our run game," Stephens said. "We had Connor off the edge, but then Eli just had to car- ry more of the load because Lars isn't as effective a run- ner as Mario. So our scheme had to change a little bit to fit the personnel that we had in at the time." "I'm so happy for Eli," Ste- phens added. "He did a great job of running hard and he showed some shiftiness." Stephens said that he was also proud of his offen- sive line. "The guys really are start- ing to get the idea of what it's like to play in the interior of the offensive line," Stephens said. "We start a freshman there at left tackle. We also start two sophomores. So, for kind of being out-physi- called, our guys really did a good job of hand placement and angle and physical ag- gressiveness. We weren't getting big 20 -yard, 30 -yard runs a lot ... but those guys were consistently able to get us four yards, five yards, over and over again." Senior wide receive Ju- dah Leathco had one catch for seven yards while rush- ing once for one yard, while junior tight end Levi McCa- rter caught one pass for one yard. Pike Central will close out the regular season at North Posey on Friday, Oct. 12, with kickoff set for 7:30 p.m., Eastern time. The Vi- kings are 4-4 overall and 3- 3 in the PAC following wins over Forest Park, Tell City and Tecumseh the last three weeks. Erik Mattingly, who was 2-8 in his only season as the Chargers' head coach in 2017, resigned this past May to take a position at North Posey, where he also serves as the football team's co-de- fensive coordinator. "I think that the kids do have a lot that they'd like to prove," Stephens said. "The way that Mattingly left didn't sit well with the kids in our locker room. I also care, be- cause any time there's ex- tra motivation – not neces- sarily that I want to get back at one guy or whatever – I would like to be able to prove or come out and show, 'Hey, we're not what you think we are, that we are a good com- munity. "I think the best way to do it is to come out and be as competitive as we can be ... and just kind of do the best you can there." "So I think there's some extra motivation there, with the kids for sure," Stephens added. "I know there's moti- vation on our end. I feel like there's motivation for people in the community that know. Half the community proba- bly doesn't know that he's at North Posey, but there's some that do." The Chargers – who de- feated North Posey 50 -49 in overtime at Poseyville in 2016 – will open postseason play on Friday, Oct. 19, when they will travel to Vincennes Lincoln. "I think the thing that I really was hoping to avoid was drawing a conference opponent, and really get an opportunity to go get some- body else out of our con- ference," Stephens said. "I think the world of our con- ference and it's competitive level. I think Vincennes is a very good team. I'm excit- ed to see how we're able to stack up with a team from the Big Eight. I think it's go- ing to be a good game." Stephens said that he was pleased with the amount of progress and growth that the Chargers have made this season. "I think we're a much-im- proved team," Stephens said. "It's hard to tell be- cause we've played Gibson Southern and Southridge right at the end of the sea- son, but in 2016, we kind of took it on the chin back-to- back weeks and then came out and shocked a lot of people at North Posey. So it can be easy to get down on us, maybe, after these two weeks. But I kind of feel like if anybody watched the Gib- son Southern game, then came back and watched the Southridge game, although the final score was still 48 - 0, I think there were some huge improvements in con- sistency of play from that week to the following week." CHARGERS Continued from page 1 HIGH SCHOOL FOOTBALL Pocket Athletic Conference Standings PAC Overall Team W-L W-L PF PA Heritage Hills 6 -0 8 -0 337 52 Gibson Southern 5 -1 6 -2 361 79 Southridge 5 -1 6 -2 310 115 North Posey 3-3 4-4 169 339 South Spencer 2-4 2-6 178 316 Forest Park 1-5 1-7 85 290 Pike Central 1-5 1-7 73 348 Tell City 1-5 2-6 94 181 RESULTS OF OCTOBER 5 PAC Games Southridge 48, Pike Central 0 Heritage Hills 46, Forest Park 0 Gibson Southern 57, Tell City 12 North Posey 23, Tecumseh 14 Boonville 48, South Spencer 14 Area Games Castle 66, Evansville North 21 Evansville Central 42, Evansville Mater Dei 7 Evansville Memorial 35, Evansville Harrison 8 Evansville Reitz 71, Evansville Bosse 35 Jasper 63, Washington 0 Linton-Stockton 41, Eastern Greene 13 Mount Vernon (Posey) 48, Princeton 28 North Knox 58, North Daviess 13 Paoli 29, Mitchell 20 Perry Central 30, Springs Valley 28 Sullivan 27, West Vigo 24 Vincennes Lincoln 54, Mount Carmel (Ill.) 6 RESULT OF OCTOBER 6 Area Game Martin County 38, Dugger Union 12 GAMES OF OCTOBER 12 PAC Games Pike Central at North Posey, 7:30 p.m. South Spencer at Heritage Hills Southridge at Gibson Southern Tell City at Forest Park Area Games Cascade at Sullivan Castle at Evansville Memorial Eastern Greene at North Central (Farmersburg) Evansville Bosse at Evansville Harrison Evansville North at Evansville Central Evansville Reitz at Evansville Mater Dei Jasper at Mount Vernon (Posey) Linton-Stockton at Providence Mount Carmel (Ill.) at Boonville North Daviess at Springs Valley North Knox at Washington Perry Central at Mitchell Princeton at Vincennes Lincoln Tecumseh at Dugger Union END REGULAR SEASON IHSA A TOURNAMENT FRIDAY, OCTOBER 19 CLASS 4A Sectional 24 Boonville at Evansville Bosse Evansville Harrison at Jasper Northview at Owen Valley Evansville Reitz at Evansville Central CLASS 3A Sectional 32 Pike Central at Vincennes Lincoln, 7 p.m. Princeton at Evansville Memorial Mount Vernon (Posey) at Heritage Hills Gibson Southern at Washington CLASS 2A Sectional 40 Linton-Stockton at Forest Park North Posey at Evansville Mater Dei South Spencer at Southridge Tell City at North Knox CLASS 1A Sectional 48 North Daviess at Tecumseh Eastern Greene at Rock Creek Academy West Washington at Springs Valley Pike Central High School sophomore quar- terback Lars Utterback throws a pass while se- nior running back Eli Coleman blocks Southridge sophomore defensive lineman Leyton Lauderdale (50) during varsity football action on Friday, Oct. 5. Freshman offensive lineman Harley May (79) looks on. Utterback completed four of five pass at- tempts for 34 yards with one interception in a 48- 0 loss to the visiting Raiders. Ed Cahill photo Pike Central High School senior running back Eli Coleman (2) is tackled after a short gain during varsity football action against visiting Southridge on Friday, Oct. 5. Coleman rushed 25 times for 92 yards in a 48-0 loss to the Raiders. Ed Cahill photo Pike Central High School sophomore wide re- ceiver Connor O'Neal (3) looks for some running room during varsity football action against visit- ing Southridge on Friday, Oct. 5. O'Neal rushed eight times for 39 yards and caught five passes for 36 yards in a 48-0 loss to the Raiders. Ed Ca- hill photo Pike Central High School sophomore wide receiver Connor O'Neal (3) looks for some running room during varsity football action against visiting South- ridge on Friday, Oct. 5. O'Neal rushed eight times for 39 yards and caught five passes for 36 yards in a 48-0 loss to the Raiders. Ed Cahill photo Pike Central High School senior Levi McCar- ter (30) tries to tackle Southridge sophomore quarterback Colson Montgomery (2) during var- sity football action on Friday, Oct. 5. Montgom- ery rushed for 86 yards and a pair of touchdowns while completing three of six pass attempts for 95 yards and two touchdowns in the visiting Raiders' 48-0 victory. Ed Cahill photo Pike Central High School senior defensive back Judah Leathco (left) breaks up a pass intended for Southridge junior split end Garrett Voegerl (11) during varsity football action on Friday, Oct. 5. Voegerl caught a 59-yard touchdown pass in a 48- 0 victory by the visiting Raiders. Ed Cahill photo PCMS gridders drop 28- 20 loss at South Spencer The Pike Central Middle School eighth grade foot- ball team dropped a 28 -20 loss to host South Spencer on Thursday, Oct. 4. The Chargers, who trailed 22-20 at halftime, were unable to score in the second half and turned the ball over on downs with less than one minute re- maining. "It was the best offense we have played this year," Pike Central head coach Jeremy Howald said. "The defense struggled with tackling. Their last touch- down was scored on a 40 -yard run where their running back broke at least six tackles. You can- not win the game tackling like that." The Chargers, who slipped to 1-5 with the loss, will host Tecumseh on Thursday, Oct. 11, with the seventh grade con- test scheduled to kick off at 6:30 p.m. Pike Central will close out its season on Tuesday, Oct. 16, when it hosts Tell City. PCMS boys' tennis team ends season with 4-1 loss at Forest Park The Pike Central Middle School boys' tennis team ended its season with a 4-1 loss at Forest Park on Tues- day, Oct. 2. In first-round singles matches, Parker Knust lost 8 -0, J.J. Belmore lost 8 -3, and Carter Blackwell lost 8 -0. In first-round doubles matches, Dietrich Dun- igan and Nolan Bailey lost 8 -4, and Noah Meece and Eli Arnold won 8 -0. In a second-round sin- gles match, Eli Arnold lost 6 -4. In second-round doubles matches, Noah Meece and Carter Blackwell won 6 -2, Dietrich Dunigan and No- lan Bailey lost 6 -0, and J.J. Belmore and Parker Knust lost 6 -0. SOMETHING NEWSWORTHY? Give us a call: 812-354-8500