The Press-Dispatch
Issue link: https://www.ifoldsflip.com/i/1017524
The Press-Dispatch Sports Wednesday, August 22, 2018 B- 3 'Hey, this is what live foot- ball's like.'" "We tried our best to miti- gate that issue going against ourselves, but there's limita- tions on what the IHSA A will let you do, contact-wise, and there's also limitations just from a standpoint where you don't want to get your own guys hurt," Stephens added. "So I feel like, after the barrage and stuff in the first quarter, we were good to play football after that point." Taking the ball over at the Pythons' 27-yard line at the start of the third quar- ter after a botched punt at- tempt, Pike Central's of- fense proved unstoppable, running five straight rush- ing plays, with Fields carry- ing the ball into the end zone from one-yard out. On the two-point conver- sion, Fields completed a shovel pass to O'Neal, who carried the ball into the end zone to cut the Pythons' lead to 20 -8 with 10 :34 remaining in the first half. A fter a fumble on the en- suing kickoff was recovered by Coleman at Indianapolis Lighthouse East's 27-yard line, the Chargers advanced the ball to the 2-yard line be- fore being flagged for a hold- ing penalty on a third-down run that backed them up to the 14-yard line. Two plays later, a 31-yard field goal attempt by senior placekicker Braxton Rice sailed wide left with 7:37 left in the second period. In the third quarter, Pike Central – taking the ball at its own 48 -yard line after forcing the Pythons to punt – advanced the ball to the 1-yard line. A fter a false start penalty backed the Chargers up to the 6 -yard line, the scoring opportunity was snuffed out with an interception by the Pythons. Indianapolis Lighthouse East, however, was unable to cash in, and was forced to punt the ball away from its own 27-yard line. Following the 16 -yard kick, Pike Central ran five straight rushing plays – two by Fields and one each by Coleman, O'Neal and fresh- man Wyatt Frasure – to ad- vance the line of scrimmage to the Pythons' 24-yard line where, on 3rd-and-2, Fields connected with Leathco on a 7-yard shovel pass to gain a first down at the 17. A fter back-to-back run- ning plays by Frasure gave the Chargers a 3rd-and-inch- es play at the 7-yard line, Coleman broke through for a 6 -yard gain, then finished off the drive with a 1-yard scoring run. Rice's point-after kick was good, cutting Indianap- olis Lighthouse East's lead to 20 -5 with 9:55 left in the fourth period. The Pythons answered, however, driving 62 yards from their own 38 -yard line to extend their lead to 26 -15 with 6:25 remaining. Then, on 1st-and-10 from their own 28 -yard line, the Chargers turned the ball over on an interception, which was returned to the Pike Central 5 -yard line. Indianapolis Lighthouse East scored on the next play and ran for the two-point conversion, extending its lead to 34-15 with six min- utes remaining. The Chargers would wrap up the scoring with a 2-yard touchdown run by O'Ne- al that – following Rice's point-after kick – pulled them to within 34-22 with 2:09 left. Pike Central set itself up for another score when – after senior Randy Powell made an interception in the end zone for a touchback – Fields completed a short, 5 -yard pass to Leathco on the game's final play. Leath- co then lateraled the ball to Coleman, who streaked along the left sideline to- ward the end zone as time expired. However, before Coleman could reach the end zone, a Python defender knocked the ball out of his grasp. The ball would bounce out of bounds. "That's how it went," Ste- phens said. "You execute a play, you get what you want, and then something like that happens. "But we just have to do a better job of taking care of the ball," Stephens add- ed. "Our kids know that. It's something that we've preached already about – ball security." Stephens lamented the fact that the Chargers pushed the ball into the red zone a total of seven times – including on the game's final play – but were only able to covert three. "At the end of the day, I felt like we moved the ball fair- ly well," said Stephens. "We were in the red zone quite a bit. We just didn't punch it in. We scored 22 points, but I felt like we could have scored another three touch- downs. So it's just a matter of getting that consistency." Fields led Pike Central offensively, running for 128 yards and one touchdown on 18 carries while completing 11 of 18 pass attempts for 58 yards with four intercep- tions. Coleman, meanwhile, rushed for 126 yards and one touchdown on 18 carries. O'Neal picked up 22 yards and one touchdown on five carries and caught five pass- es for 21 yards. Leathco had four receptions for 26 yards. As a team, Pike Central compiled 342 yards in total offense – 284 on the ground, 58 in the air – while picking up 18 first downs. The Char- gers were also penalized six times for a total of 67 yards. Indianapolis Lighthouse East, meanwhile, compiled 248 yards in total offense – 213 on the ground, 35 in the air – while picking up seven first downs. The Pythons were penalized 25 times for a total of 143 yards. "We've talked about being a no-huddle tempo team," Stephens said. "It's hard to get in a tempo when there's penalty after penalty. We want to use our condition- ing, and the thing that we talked about pre-game was that we were going to use tempo." "I know the tempo was effective when we got to it, because one of their guys is throwing up on the field right in front of us," Ste- phens added. "We felt if we could've done more of that tempo, we could have im- posed our will a little more." However, Stephens said that he was especially proud of the way that the Char- gers handled the adversity during Saturday's loss. "Even though things went bad in that game, what I re- ally liked, what I really ap- preciated about what I saw, was the fact that everybody stuck together," Stephens said. "I really saw the kids helping each other. Now, there were a couple of times players were down, and, be- fore, they'd be, like, 'Hey, you've got to get this dude out.' I didn't have that near as much as what you would expect for us being down to so much adversity." "That's a credit to those kids and I really am appre- ciative of how they handled themselves with all the ad- versity, not only with the moving of the game, the lo- cation, the heat, but also with how the score and the game went," Stephens add- ed. "They never gave up. They kept fighting the whole game." Pike Central will return to action on Friday, Aug. 24, when the Chargers will travel to Tecumseh. Kickoff is set for 7:30 p.m. "Offensively, they can run the ball," Stephens said. "The quarterback's athletic. They have a nice 6 -3 receiv- er that looks pretty good on film. They have a little bit of speed with their slot guys. And they'll be spread. So, a lot of the formations and stuff that we'll see will be good for us because we've been practicing against it all summer." SPORTS BRIEFS All-Sports Passes available at Pike Central High School Individuals planning on attending a large number of regular season sports contests at Pike Central High School during the 2018 -19 school year can save money on admission fees by purchasing an All- Sports Pass. An All-Sports Pass, which is good for all regu- lar season home events at Pike Central High School, costs $70 for adults and $50 for students and se- nior citizens. A family package is available, if all passes are purchased at the same time. Fans must pur- chase two adult passes at the regular price and the student passes for stu- dents in the same family are $10 each. Beginning with the 2018 -19 school year, adult passes and students pass- es are different. Students will not be allowed to use an adult pass to enter the gates. Passes must be shown at the gate of each event, every time. All-Sports Passes will be good for entry into varsity and junior varsi- ty football games, volley- ball matches and boys' and girls' soccer match- es in the fall; boys' and girls' basketball games, wrestling matches and swimming meets during the winter; and baseball games, softball games and boys' and girls' track and field meets in the spring. All-Sports Passes can be purchased at the Pike Central High School ath- letic office from 8 a.m. to 3:30 p.m., Monday through Friday. Interested in earning an All-Sports Pass? Sign up to work five gates for each pass. For more infor- mation, contact the Pike Central High School ath- letic department at 812- 354-8478, extension 331. Petersburg Kiwanis Golf Scramble set for Sept. 8 The Petersburg Kiwan- is Golf Scramble will be on Saturday, Sept. 8, starting at 9 a.m., at the Prides Creek Golf Course. Sign-ups are now being accepted at Prides Creek Golf Course. The cost is $40 per person or $160 for a four-person team. Cash prizes will be awarded to the top three teams. In addition, hole spon- sorships are available for $100, although donations of any amount will be accepted. Please make checks payable to Kiwan- is and mail them to Dustin Schnarr, P.O. Box 14, Pe- tersburg, IN 47567. For more information, contact Dustin Schnarr at (812) 295 -8183 or the Prides Creek Golf Course at (812) 354-3059. All proceeds benefit the Petersburg Kiwan- is' Kids Christmas pro- gram, which helps under- privileged youth in Pike County. 7th Annual Heartland Half Marathon registration open The 7th Annual Heart- land Half Marathon is scheduled for Labor Day weekend on Saturday, Sept. 1. The event will once again include a half marathon, a 5K, and a team challenge. Cash prizes will be given to the top three male and fe- male half marathon finish- ers. First place will receive $500, second place $250, and third place $100. The races will begin 7:30 a.m., Eastern time, in the shadow of the Jasper Train Depot along the Pa- toka River and will finish in the shade at Dave Buehler Plaza, just a stone's throw away from the starting line. The hilly, scenic course takes runners through commercial and residen- tial areas with challeng- ing peaks midway through the route. A fter the midway point, the course largely flattens out through to the finish. The 5K starts and ends in the same location as the half marathon, but splits to take a different course very close to the start of the race. The team challenge is a relay comprised of a four-person team and fol- lows the same course as the half marathon. The first team member will travel 3.8 miles, then pass along his/her timing chip to the second member. The second member will cover 4.05 miles, the third mem- ber 2.5 miles, and the final member 2.75 miles. The registration fee for the half marathon is $70. The registration fee for the 5K is $25. The registration fee for the team challenge is $25 per person/$100 per team. Pre-registrants will re- ceive a technical shirt, and the first 500 half marathon registrants will receive a special gift. The Heartland Half Mar- athon, 5K, and Team Chal- lenge are being coordi- nated by DC MultiSport, a non-profit organization dedicated to promoting health and wellness while giving back to local com- munities. Lodging information is being coordinated by the Dubois County Visitors Center and race-day event volunteers are being coor- dinated by Memorial Hos- pital and Health Care Cen- ter, the event's corporate sponsor. The majority of the pro- ceeds from this year's race will be given to the Phillip R. Dawkins Heart & Vascu- lar Center at Memorial Hos- pital to be utilized for new integrative medicine ser- vices provided to cardiac patients. Ten percent of the pro- ceeds will go toward the DC MultiSport Endowment to ensure future stability of the organization and to con- tinue in its efforts to give to- ward worthy causes. To register for the Heart- land Half Marathon, 5K, or Team Challenge, visit www. heartlandhalfmarathon. com or www.runsignup. com. For more information, call Memorial Hospital's Marketing Department at (812) 996 -2338. 13th Annual Youth Day set for October 13 Mark your calender for the Pike County Bird Hunters Club annual Youth Day on Saturday, October 13. The 13th an- nual Youth Day features seven outdoor events in- cluding clay bird shooting on the trap range, hunting Chukar over dogs, 22 rifle, muzzle loader, archery, BB gun and dart ranges. Sign-up for the event be- gins at the club house at 8 a.m. Breakfast and lunch for the youngsters is pro- vided free by the club with a donation expected for accompanying adults. As always, there will be more than a dozen major prizes, including rifles, shotguns and archery sets given away through a ran- dom drawing at the end of the day. Last year, 172 youth and over 100 adults attended the event. This event is supported by the Pike County Bird Hunters Club and through donations and grants from various companies, orga- nizations and individuals. Consider assisting in this worth while experience in the great outdoors by helping sponsor Youth Day through a donation. Checks can be made out to the Pike County Bird Hunters Club, 876 South SR 57 Petersburg, IN 47567, Attention Chris Kinman. For further in- formation, contact Chris Kinman, PCBHC presi- dent and Youth Day Di- rector at 812-789 -3125. HIGH SCHOOL FOOTBALL Pocket Athletic Conference Standings PAC Overall Team W-L W-L PF PA Gibson Southern 1-0 1-0 48 0 North Posey 1-0 1-0 39 28 Heritage Hills 0 -0 1-0 45 7 Pike Central 0 -0 0 -1 22 34 Southridge 0 -0 1-0 35 7 Tell City 0 -0 0 -1 0 6 Forest Park 0 -1 0 -1 0 48 South Spencer 0 -1 0 -1 28 39 RESULTS OF AUGUST 17 PAC Games Gibson Southern 48, Forest Park 0 Heritage Hills 45, Mount Vernon (Posey) 7 North Posey 39, South Spencer 28 Perry Central 6, Tell City 0 (OT) Southridge 35, Linton-Stockton 7 Other Area Games Boonville 52, Washington 7 Castle 42, Terre Haute North 14 Eastern Greene 29, Springs Valley 0 Edgewood 26, Mitchell 7 Evansville Central 42, Greenfield-Central 0 Evansville Harrison 34, Crawford County 14 Evansville Memorial 30, Jasper 7 Evansville Reitz 41, Henderson County (Ky.) 35 North Central (Farmersburg) 42, West Vigo 12 North Daviess 24, Tecumseh 8 Princeton 21, Evansville North 7 Sullivan 26, North Knox 8 Vincennes Lincoln 44, Owen Valley 11 RESULTS OF AUGUST 18 PAC Game Indianapolis Lighthouse East 34, Pike Central 22 Other Area Games Evansville Memorial 31, Indian Creek 22 Noblesville Home School 60, Dugger Union 0 North Vermillion 35, Evansville Bosse 27 GAMES OF AUGUST 24 PAC Games Pike Central at Tecumseh, 7:30 p.m. Forest Park at Perry Central Gibson Southern at South Spencer Jasper at Southridge Mount Vernon (Posey) at North Posey Tell City at Heritage Hills Other Area Games Castle at New Albany Eastern Greene at North Knox Evansville Bosse at Washington Evansville Harrison at Terre Haute South Evansville North at Henderson Co. (Ky.) Linton-Stockton at Sullivan Mitchell at Springs Valley North Central (Farmersburg) at North Daviess Owensboro (Ky.) at Evansville Reitz Owensboro Apollo (Ky.) at Evansville Mater Dei Terre Haute North at Princeton Vincennes Lincoln at Boonville GAMES OF AUGUST 25 Other Area Games Daviess County (Ky.) at Evansville Central Owensboro Catholic (Ky.) at Evansville Memorial CHARGERS Continued from page 1 Pike Central High School junior Mario Fields (5) and freshman Wyatt Frasure (right) watch as an Indianapolis Lighthouse East player misses mak- ing a catch during varsity football action on Sat- urday, Aug. 18, at Indianapolis Arsenal. The Py- thons defeated the Chargers 34-22. Ed Cahill photo Pike Central High School senior Braxton Rice (58) follows through on a point-after kick as se- nior Judah Leathco (14) watches the ball during varsity football action against Indianapolis Light- house East on Saturday, Aug. 18, at Indianapolis Arsenal. The Pythons defeated the Chargers 34- 22. Ed Cahill photo Pike Central High School junior Connor O'Neal tries to make a tackle during varsity football action against Indianapolis Light- house East on Satur- day, Aug. 18, at Indi- anapolis Arsenal. The Pythons defeated the Chargers 34-22. Ed Cahill photo