The South Gibson Star-Times serves the towns of Haubstadt, Owensville and Fort Branch.
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B-1 Tuesday, November 2, 2021 South Gibson Star-Times See TITANS on page 12 TITANS CRUSH LIONS AT SECTIONAL SEMI-FINAL By Matthew Haycraft SG Star-Times Sports sports@sgstartimes.com Gibson Southern faced off against the Sa- lem Lions in the Sectional semi-final on Fri- day, Oct. 29, crushing them for the win and a place in the Sectional championship on Fri- day, Nov. 5. The Titans took the field and the crowd went wild as they charged on like an army ready for battle. Gibson Southern would kick off to the Lions to start the game. Titan freshman Cam Novotny kicked the ball to the 13-yard line, where the Lions' Trevon Smedley caught it and returned it to the 17 for a 4-yard return. Salem picked up a 4-yard gain on their first play, but the Titan defense then stuffed them for a loss on two consecutive plays, put- ting them back at the 13-yard line and leaving them facing fourth and 13. A mishandled punt caused Salem's punter to try and scramble out of the backfield, but he was tackled at the line of scrimmage. It gave the Titans the ball just 13 yards from the endzone. Titan senior quarterback Brady Allen had an incomplete pass, but they quickly recov- ered on the next down with a six-yard pass to sophomore Sean DeLong at the Lions' 7-yard line. This was followed up by a 7-yard run in for the touchdown by senior Adrean Lukeman for the first touchdown of the game. The PAT by senior Chris Spear was good, making the score 7-0 with 9:12 on the scoreboard in the first quarter. A fter the next kickoff, Salem returned it to the Lions' 28 for 18 yards, followed by a 3-yard run and a 6 -yard pass, placing the Lions at their 37-yard line. The Titans did what they do best and held the Lions in place for the next two downs. A fter a 3-yard gain on a run by DeLong, Allen sent a 28 -yard pass down the field to De- Long, which put the Titans at the Salem six- yard line with a first down. They took advan- tage of this, with senior Rory Heltsley catch- ing a pass from Allen in the endzone for the touchdown and following it up with a good kick for the extra point, putting the score at 14-0. Salem put together a nine-play drive that covered 60 yards for a score. It was highlighted by a 16 -yard pass from Lion quarterback Kaleb Tucker to Grant Mahuron and a 20 -yard pass by Trevon Smedley for 20 yards to the four- yard line, where Titan Noah Bryant knocked him out-of-bounds to save a touchdown. Tucker eventually pushed it into the endzone to make it 14-7 with 2:31 on the scoreboard in the first quarter. The Titans continued to battle forward through their next possession, leading to a touchdown off of an 11-yard pass from Allen to Heltsley, and finished it up with a good kick for the extra point by Spear, putting the score at 21-7, with the Titans at a more comfortable lead. However, the comfort was short-lived, as Sa- lem scored their next touchdown in just 14 sec- onds as Tucker hit Smedley for a 78 -yard score. The Titans rejected Salem's two-point conver- sion by blocking out the run attempt by Lions' Grant Mahuron. Gibson Southern responded with a big play of their own. DeLong broke away for a 72-yard run, just 27 seconds after Salem had scored. The PAT by Spear made it 28 -13 with 10 sec- onds left in the first quarter. The second quarter began where the first one ended, at the Lions' 38 -yard line. The Ti- tans effectively held the Lions, only letting one first down get past them, taking control of the ball on the Gibson Southern 37-yard line after a punt by the Lions' Hayden Baughman. A fter two first downs, Titan junior Isaac O'Neal made an astounding catch off of a stag- gering 48 -yard pass by Allen. The crowd boomed with excitement. Gibson Southern went from their territory at the 48 -yard line to the Lions' 3-yard line. The Titans pushed the crowd further, when Allen ran the ball in for a touchdown. Spear followed this up with a PAT, placing the score at 35 -13, with 8:04 on the scoreboard in the second quarter. The Titans held the Lions through their pos- session of the ball, only letting them collect one first down. On the punt by Salem, Titan senior Brayden Malone bobbled the punt and he scrambled to cover it. While on the ground covering the ball, a Lions player speared him helmet to helmet, leading to a personal foul, two 15 -yard penal- ties and Salem's player being thrown out of the game. Gibson Southern seemed to harden and be- came a force to reckon with through the rest of this quarter. They put up a wall and held Sa- lem, while scoring two more touchdowns, a one-yard run in by Allen and an 18 -yard pass from Allen to Heltsley, along with two good PATs by Spear. The game went to halftime with the score 49 -13 and the Titans dominating. The third quarter started with the Titans receiving the kickoff on the 24-yard line and Adrean Lukeman returning it 11 yards to the Titans' 35 -yard line. Gibson Southern kept pos- session of the ball for most of the quarter, un- der a running clock. Both teams were locked in place, neither scoring, leaving the score at Titan junior Isaac O'Neal jumps up for a miraculous catch, thrown for several yards by senior Brady Allen, right in front of the endzone during the Titans' Sectional semi-final game against Salem on Friday, Oct. 29 at Gibson Southern. Titan junior Luke Foster, along with seniors Logan Maurer, Peyton Rogers and Levi Dickerson, take the Lions' ball carrier down for the tackle during the Titans' Sectional semi-final game against Salem on Friday, October 29 at Gibson Southern. Sean DeLong, Titan sophomore, hits the ground, falling backwards after a leg grab tackle by Lions' senior Danny Bowling, during the Titans' Sectional semi-fi- nal game against Salem on Friday, October 29 at Gibson Southern.