The Press-Dispatch
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The Press-Dispatch Sports Wednesday, August 29, 2018 B- 5 "I thought in the second half we tried to pass the ball with a purpose and made smart runs off of the ball," said Western, whose team improved to 2-1. "We just were not able to finish the chances we created. We were able to try some guys in different spots and play a bunch of guys tonight. Over- all, it was a great end to a tough three games in four days." Pike Central 2, Mount Vernon (Posey) 1 Scott scored two sec- ond-half goals – including one off an assist by Kabrick – to lead Pike Central to a 2-1 victory at Mount Vernon (Posey) on Monday, Aug. 20. "Down 1-0 at halftime, we had to make some line- up adjustments, and they paid off," Western said. "We had about eight shots in the first 10 minutes of the sec- ond half. We were able to score on pretty early in the half to tie it." Scott's tie-breaking goal, Western noted, came with approximately one minute remaining in the contest. "The defense of ( junior) Carson Johnson, (senior) Austin Dixon and (senior) Christian Benson was great the whole second half, lim- iting Mount Vernon's chanc- es," Western said. "( Junior) Noah Whann played a great game in goal, coming up with big save after big save. He ended with 15 saves." Pike Central JV 3, Evansville Day School 1 Goals by Samuel Henson, Brayden Furman and Pax- ton Thorne lifted the Pike Central junior varsity team to a 3-1 victory over visiting Evansville Day School on Thursday, Aug. 23. "The defense was led by Reece Ashley and Shane Morson," Western said. "Sammy Ballard was great in goal and had 12 saves. As a team, we keep getting better every day and it's re- ally exciting. Everyone had good effort and communica- tion tonight and it showed in the result." Pike Central, which played at South Spencer on Tuesday, Aug. 28, will re- turn home to host Boon- ville on Thursday, Aug. 30, and Princeton on Saturday, Sept. 1. The Chargers will play at South Knox on Tues- day, Sept. 4. Pike Central High School senior Emily Hill (4) kicks the ball up the field as freshman teammate Albany Ashley (13) looks on during girls' varsity soccer action against visiting Washington Catholic on Tuesday, Aug. 21. The Lady Chargers fell one goal short in a 2-1 loss. Ed Cahill photo Above: Pike Central High School freshman Al- li Holder (8) battles Washington Catholic sopho- more Maria Vicente (right) for possession of the ball during girls' varsity soccer action on Tuesday, Aug. 21. The Lady Chargers fell one goal short in a 2-1 loss. Ed Cahill photo Left: Pike Central High School junior Morgan Houchins (18) goes after the ball as Washington Catholic senior Catherine Bassler (right) dribbles it up the field during girls' varsity soccer action on Tuesday, Aug. 21. Also pictured is Washing- ton Catholic junior Hallie Leischner (10). Ed Ca- hill photo Pike Central High School junior Ethan Scott (6) pushes the ball past Washington Catholic junior Kade Taylor (right) during boys' varsity soccer ac- tion on Tuesday, Aug. 21. Scott scored two goals and dished out two assists in the host Chargers' 6-0 victory. Ed Cahill photo Pike Central High School junior Sam Henson (35) battles for control of the ball during boys' varsity soccer action against visiting Washington Catholic on Tuesday, Aug. 21. Ed Cahill photo Above: Pike Central High School sophomore Garrett Boyd (10) gets between Wash- ington Catholic senior Jace Drew (21) and the ball during boys' varsity soccer action on Tuesday, Aug. 21. Ed Cahill photo Left: Pike Central High School senior Jacob Vest (16) tries to kick the ball up the field while Washington Cath- olic junior Aou Engkawaraset (center) closes in during boys' varsity soccer action on Tues- day, Aug. 21. Also pictured is Washington Catholic junior Juri Braun (7). Ed Cahill photo Pike Central Middle School eighth grad- er Jagar Dent returns a kickoff during middle school football action at Washington on Thurs- day, Aug. 23. The Chargers lost to the Hatchets 25-16. Ed Cahill photo PATOKA VALLEY OUTDOORS By Sam Whiteleather Spined Micrathena "Go in front of me," Re- na says, stopping and turn- ing around. I look down the well-worn trail wind- ing its way through tow- ering trees that darken the path. "Why? " I ask. "Just go," she says, her blue eyes steady and de- termined. I walk around her and start down the path again. A few minutes later, I feel something sticky hit my face. I bring my hand to wipe it away and in the process cover my arm in the sticky mess. The cre- ator of the mess somehow swings away and drops on- to the forest floor. I turn and look at Re- na. "Watch out for the spi- der webs," she says, smil- ing. "Thanks for the warn- ing. I appreciate it." Now my eyes are steady and determined. I rummage through the leaves on the forest floor and find a stick. Walking with the stick out in front of me as a shield, we press on. If you're heading for the squirrel woods in late summer, you'll likely en- counter spined micrathe- na spiders and their sticky webs. They are a common spider found in Indiana woodlands. If one takes the time to examine a spined micrathena, you'll be pleasantly surprised by its unique appearance. As indicated by its name, the spider's abdo- men (the main part of a spider's body) is covered in seven or eight sharp spikes that protrude out- ward. Coloration can vary, but most are dark black with decorative splotches of white. Micrathenas are small, easily fitting on the face of a penny. Males don't make webs, so you're most likely to encounter a female while walking in the woods. If you look closely at her web, you will see it's cir- cular, and you should find a single strand going away from the web. This is her escape strand. By the time you plaster her web all over your face, she's like- ly scurrying up her escape strand for safety. Females build webs across narrow forest open- ings, such as those made by hiking trails, to catch insects that use the open- ings as flyways. Females spin a new web daily, so not only are they pretty to look at, but they're al- so hard workers, which brings me back to Rena. "Where are the kids? " Rena asks. "They're on up ahead. I wish they were tall enough to break some of these webs," I reply, still brandishing the stick. A f- ter hiking for a good hour, we finish the loop trail, pile into the car and head for home. Back along the trail the woods go quiet again. In the green darkness tucked away beneath a hickory leaf, a micrathena slowly crawls back to the edge of the trail. Web begins flow- ing from her abdomen as she makes her first string across the trail. She keeps weaving until she has a cir- cular web in place. Final- ly she makes her escape strand. Crickets provide the background music as she works. Then, quietly po- sitioning herself in the middle, she watches and waits. All along the trail, other micrathenas weave their webs and the traps for a wandering fly – or, perhaps, a hiker – are set. Pike Central to within 19 - 16 with 2:47 left in the third period. The Chargers' defense stepped up once again as Tyrus Schoppenhorst picked off a pass tipped up into the air by Morton at Pike Cen- tral's 46 -yard line with 1:16 remaining in the third quar- ter. Following an exchange of punts, the Chargers' offense returned to the field at their own 25 -yard line with 4:55 left in the fourth quarter. On 3rd-and-10, howev- er, a fumble was recovered by Washington at Pike Cen- tral's 32-yard line with 3:52 remaining. Six plays later, Kolusch scored on a five-yard run, ex- tending the Hatchets' lead to 25 -16 with 1:32 remaining. Starting its next pos- session at its own 42-yard line, Pike Central quickly pushed the ball across mid- field when Sorgius connect- ed with Culbertson on an 18 -yard pass. On the next play, however, an interception by Washing- ton defensive back Nathani- al Aldrich gave the Hatchets' the ball at their own 35 -yard line with 51.3 seconds left. Kolusch paced Washing- ton with 139 yards and two touchdowns on 16 carries, while McDannald added 93 yards and one touchdown on just four rushing attempts. At quarterback, Blevins – who gained 26 yards on eight carries – went 0 -for-4 and was intercepted three times. "Our defense played flat-footed most of the game, and Washington had speed," Jeremy Howald said. "We were caught watching rath- er than reading our keys and making plays. It seemed like we were late to the point of attack all night and didn't tackle very well. On a posi- tive note, our pass defense was very good, I thought, as we intercepted the ball three times." Pike Central was led by Sorgius, who completed six of 12 pass attempts – with two interceptions – for 80 yards and one touchdown while gaining nine yards on six carries. Dent rushed for a team-high 36 yards on 14 carries. Peyton Howald caught three passes for 48 yards while Culbertson had two receptions for 21 yards and one touchdown. "Offensively, we played decent," Howald said. "We established some nice drives, but came up short on the scoreboard at the end of the night." "The kids played hard, no doubt about that," he added. "We were pleased with the effort and the fact that no one ever gave up. This team will fight to the end every time. We have things to work on and will be doing just that as we look forward to next week's competition." Pike Central will host North Knox on Thursday, Aug. 30, with the seventh grade game scheduled to kick off at 6 p.m. DROPS Continued from page 2 na Harrell's reach and into the goal to tie the score with 23:34 left. "The girls played an amaz- ing game," Lady Chargers head coach Eric McCord said. "It was truly an unfor- tunate loss as we did have a lot of opportunities to score. ( Junior) Morgan Houchins had some excellent team plays and passes that gave us a lot of scoring opportu- nities. And Jenna played an exceptional game, continual- ly coming off the line at the perfect moment to snatch the ball from the Washing- ton Catholic offense." McCord said that he did not have much to say about Fox's game-tying goal. "It was a great shot, and I can't complain because it was placed perfectly in the corner just out of reach," McCord said. "An excellent shot." For the game, Harrell had 21 saves. Evansville Day School 6, Pike Central 2 On Thursday, Aug. 23, Pike Central dropped a 6 - 2 loss to visiting Evansville Day School. "Evansville Day was a tough loss, like all losses, but the shining light was that we scored two goals," Mc- Cord said. "From what I un- derstand, we have not man- aged to ever score against Evansville Day, so that's an achievement in itself." One of the Lady Chargers' goals, McCord noted, was scored by sophomore Shel- by Vaughn. "It was her first high school goal, which is always a good thing to see," Mc- Cord said. Vincennes Rivet 6, Pike Central 0 On Saturday, Aug. 25, Pike Central fell to 1-3-1 with a 6 -0 loss to visiting Vincennes Rivet, its third straight loss. "Unfortunately, we came into the game after two other games earlier in the week," McCord said. "We started the first half strong and held the score fairly low. I think the second half we started getting hot and tired with a few small inju- ries that reduced our subs to two. The girls still played a good game despite these factors and kept pushing till the end." The Lady Chargers, who played at South Spencer on Tuesday, Aug. 28, will re- turn home to face Boonville on Thursday, Aug. 30, be- fore hitting the road to play at Princeton on Thursday, Sept. 6. LOSSES Continued from page 1 POWER Continued from page 1