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South Gibson Star-Times Titans: 2021 3A State Champions Tuesday, November 30, 2021 D-3 42 3 - GIBSON SOUTHERN HERITAGE HILLS SEPT. 24, 2021 GAME 6 54 6 - GIBSON SOUTHERN MT. VERNON OCT. 1, 2021 GAME 7 Titans bomb Patriots at Homecoming By Andy Heuring SG Star-Times Sports sports@sgstartimes.com It's as if Titan Head Coach Nick Hart has been reading shampoo bottle instructions: Lather, rinse, repeat. The Titan football team, against PAC opponents, have a simi- lar formula: score quickly, get a spe- cial teams touchdown and play sti- fling defense. Heritage Hills was the third vic- tim to that scenario, as Gibson South- ern won in a dominating fashion 42- 3. Gibson Southern scored easily on their opening two drives, held Her- itage Hills to consecutive three and outs and then blocked their punt, picked it up and ran it in for a 21-0 lead. With three minutes left in the first quarter, everything but the final score was determined. "That was a big play. We were kind of in control, but that was a big play as far as getting some separation," said Coach Hart. Brady Allen and his receiving corps once again were just more than the Patriot defense could han- dle. Allen was slightly off his first two games against PAC opponents. In- stead of completing 13 of 14 passes, he was only 12 of 14 against the Pa- triots for 203 yards and three touch- downs with no interceptions. Eight of his 12 completions were for 10 or more yards. His performance Friday put him at 9,129 yards career pass- ing, which places him at 10th on the Indiana all-time career passing list. He passed former Titan quarterback Nick Sellers two weeks ago. Sellers is now 16th with 8,743 yards. Allen's 203 yards on Friday moved him past Luke Johnston, of South- port, with 8,958 yards, and Mikey Kidwell, of West Lafayette, with 9,023. The game pitted two contrasting styles. Heritage Hills wanted to run the ball and grind their way down the field, burn the clock and keep Gibson Southern off the field. It is hard to do that when you can't pick up a first down. The Patriots did not pick up a first down until their third posses- sion of the game, just before the first quarter began. By then, they were al- ready down 21-0. They did not throw a pass during the game. Quarterback Camden Schipp attempted to pass, but he was sacked before he could throw it. "I thought our defense did a great job. It is so important against Heri- tage Hills to win against them on first down. They want to be second and six or seven. There were a lot of sec- ond and 10s or second and nines. Our guys did a great job of winning first down and putting them in a tough spot," said Hart. Again, the Titan offense was a model of efficiency as they only had the ball for 15:31. They took the opening kickoff and marched 80 yards in nine plays, which included four consecutive pass completions, all of more than nine yards, a 12-yard run by Sean De- Long and runs of nine and 13 yards by Allen. It ended with Rory Heltsley stretching his arm out with the ball just over the goal line for the score at the 9:26 mark. Heritage Hills went nowhere on their first series that ended with Brayden Malone cutting down Shane Staples for a three-yard loss on third down as he tried to turn the corner. Gibson Southern got the ball at the Patriot 38 -yard line. Allen hit Cole McKee for 16, then Levi Dickerson for nine, and eventually Kaden Hur- less for an eight-yard touchdown. Chris Spear was again a perfect sev- en of seven on the night in PATs and Gibson Southern led 14-0 with 5:06 to play in the first. For the second series in a row, Heritage Hills faced third and long. Titan linebacker Aidan Barrett filled a hole and knocked Staples off his feet for a one-yard loss. Heltsley stormed into the back- field, blocking the Patriot punt. It bounced in front of him and Helts- ley picked up the ball in stride, and loped into the endzone for a 21-0 lead with 2:54 still left in the first quarter. A long kickoff return by Luke Rick- elman gave the Patriots good field po- sition starting on their 48 -yard line. A couple of fullback traps yielded runs of five and seven yards and the Patriots first, first down. The Titan defense adjusted, but Heritage Hills felt they were in four down territory at the Titans' 32. An offsides penal- ty made it fourth and seven. Heritage Hills still decided to go for it. Titan linebacker Tye Whitledge had different ideas. Whitledge broke through the line and drilled Schipp for a six-yard loss, giving the Titans the ball back on downs. Gibson Southern's one faux pas in the game happened on a screen pass. Allen threw it low to DeLong and he couldn't handle it. A Patriot defend- er picked it up and ran with it to the Titan 14-yard line. The officials ruled it was a fumble and Heritage Hills had a first down in the Titan redzone. Four plays later, including an illegal motion penalty, and Heritage Hills was facing fourth and 11. Ethan Hill came on and kicked a 32-yard field goal to make it 21-3 with 82:22 left in the half. The Titans responded immediate- ly. They got the ball on the 36 after a 25 -yard kickoff return by Michael Herren. On the second play of the series, DeLong sprinted out of the back- field, past the Patriot backfield and Allen floated a pass into his hands. He pulled it in and ran into the end- zone untouched for a 63-yard touch- down and a 38 -3 lead. Heritage Hills managed their sec- ond first down of the game with just over six minutes left in the first half. Barrett and Adrean Lukeman stuffed Staples for a two-yard loss on defense and the Titans got the ball back with 4:26 left in the half. It was plenty of time. DeLong got 10 on first down. Al- len hit Heltsley for 14 and another first down, then on third down, he hit Heltsley for 30. DeLong went an- other nine to the 14, before Lukeman powered it into the endzone for a 35 - 3 lead with 1:45 left in the half. The second half started with an- other three and out by the Patriots, and another tackle by Barrett for a four-yard loss left Heritage Hills fac- ing fourth and 10. Gibson Southern took over at the 44. A 21-yard pass to Heltsley got them across midfield. DeLong finished the drive runs of 18, 11, 4 and, finally, two to make it 42-3, which initiated a running clock and brought on the Titan reserves. "It is always great to beat them. They are a great program. They have had so much success and they are always difficult to beat. So any time you beat them, it is a good," said Hart of the win, making the Titans 5 -1. Tailback Adrean Lukeman runs between two Heritage Hills de- fenders= and crosses the goal line for a 14-yard touchdown in the Titans' 42-3 win. Titan defensive backs Brayden Malone and Peyton Rogers cut down a Heritage Hills player. Titans pound Mt. Vernon Wildcats By Andy Heuring SG Star-Times Sports sports@sgstartimes.com It was billed on social media by Mt. Vernon fans as "the game of the year." Instead, it turned out to be the game of the year for Brady Allen and Adrean Lukeman, as they led Gibson Southern to a 52-6 win over the pre- viously undefeated Mt. Vernon Wild- cats. Allen passed for 366 yards and five touchdowns. Lukeman, who on- ly plays offense a few downs a game, scored four touchdowns, two by air and two by ground. "I thought we played very well in all three phases of the game. We scored every time we had the ball. But I think maybe our defense was better than our offense. When you score every time you have the ball and your defense plays better, that is a pretty good situation," said Titan Coach Nick Hart of his 6 -1 Titans. The overpowering win all but clinched the Titans' claim to a Pocket Athletic Conference championship. Gibson Southern only has Princeton and Boonville left on their schedule. Princeton is 2-5 and Boonville is 1- 5, with their only win being against Princeton. Friday night's game was pretty much decided when Mt. Vernon, who won the coin flip, deferred the ball to Gibson Southern. Fifty seconds later, Isaac O'Neal slid into the endzone with an 11-yard reception. It culminated a five-play drive that consisted of Allen connect- ing with Seth McKee on consecutive passes for a 19 -yard gain, and a four- yard gain by Sean DeLong prior to O'Neal's touchdown. Gibson Southern's defense was at least as impressive. They held Mt. Vernon to zero yards and a three and out, getting the Titans the ball back quickly. It was a scene they repeated often in the first half, as Mt. Vernon only put up 46 yards of offense and only had two first downs in the half. It took a little more effort on the Ti- tans' second drive, but the outcome was similar. They covered 66 yards in 10 plays. It ended with a 10 -yard pass to Rory Heltsley in the endzone for a 14-0 lead at the 6:18 mark of the first quarter. A fter another three and out, Gib- son Southern took over on the Mt. Vernon 44. Six plays later, Kaden Hurless leaped over a Mt. Vernon player and hauled in a 20 -yard pass on the left side of the endzone for a 21-0 lead with 2:10 left in the first quarter. Gibson Southern then displayed why they are so dangerous. Anoth- er series of stifling defense got the Titans the ball back with 1:05 left in the quarter at their own 48. They overcame three penalties on the drive. A fter a 10 -yard catch by Hurless, they were hit with a hold- ing penalty, then a false start, leav- ing them facing first and 22. Allen hit Malone for a 27-yard gain. A big gain on the next play was negated by a illegal receiver down field call that was hotly disputed by Titan Coach Nick Hart. With them facing first and 15 from the 2, Allen connected with Lukeman for a touchdown. The first of four for Lukeman, which made it 28 -0. "I thought it was a phenomenal play by our offense. We were up against it a couple of times," said Hart of his offense's ability to make plays when they needed them. "We were able to make plays against a defense that hasn't given up many points. Sometimes, it is easy to do against a defense that isn't very good, but they are a good defense," said Hart. Gibson Southern's defense was playing tough as well. Mt. Vernon still did not have a first down. Now two-thirds of their way through their PAC schedule, the Ti- tans have yet to punt to a PAC team. They are averaging 56.75 points per game in the PAC, after playing Wash- ington, Heritage Hills, Southridge and Mt. Vernon. Gibson Southern kept their foot on the accelerator in the second quar- ter. They continued to overcome pen- alties with big plays. In this drive, they overcame two penalties. Taking over the ball at their own five-yard line, they started with a false start penalty. On second down, Allen hit Hurless for 20 yards. A block in the back, backed up the Titans to first and 16. Consecutive passes of 11 yards to Hurless and Malone picked up a first down at the 43-yard line. Then facing third and 10, Allen threw it to a well-covered Heltsley. Heltsley jumped over two Wildcat de- fenders and pulled the pass in for a 32-yard gain to the 25 -yard line. Two incomplete passes left them looking at third and 10. A big catch by Hur- less inside the 10 was called back due to offsetting penalties. When they replayed the down, Al- len hit Lukeman on a slant for the touchdown and a 34-0 lead. Gibson Southern then pushed the lead to 41-0 just before half when they took over at their own 48 -yard line. Allen completed passes of 13 and seven to Heltsley and 19 to Hurless, before Lukeman capped the drive with a three-yard run with just 22.9 seconds left in the first half. The second half was much of the same, except the clock was running continuously. The Titans' starting defense held Mt. Vernon to a three and out, forcing them to punt from their one. They took over at the Mt. Vernon 32. DeLong ran for 10 yards, Allen hit Peyton Rogers for eight yards, then Lukeman ran it in from 14 yards out for his fourth touchdown. Chris Spear hit the PAT to go six of seven on the night. "He (Lukeman) does a great job back there. Early part of the season, we were trying to limit him back there. . . He is very versatile. We can line him up in the backfield or at the slot," said Hart. A 60 -yard drive by the Wildcats that spanned more than six minutes of the third quarter and 90 seconds in the fourth got Mt. Vernon on the board against the Titan reserves. Devan Roberts broke off a 26 -yard run to finish off a 65 -yard drive by the Titan reserves, giving the Titans a 54-6 lead. Allen's 366 -yard performance moved him two spots higher on the Indiana all-time career pass- ing standings. He moved from 12th to 10th, passing up Luke Johnston (2015), of Southport, with 8,958 and Mikey Kidwell (2016), of West Lafay- ette, with 9,023. Just in front of him with 9,321 yards in ninth is Austin Karazsia, of Linton-Stockton, and in eighth, Chris Mills (2003), of Lafayette Jef- ferson, with 9,501 yards. Hart also praised the play of Al- len, who completed passes to eight different receivers, with six of those having more than 50 yards of recep- tions in the game. "I think he is do- ing such a great job of that this year. He isn't forcing anything, just taking what people are giving him. That is the reason we are having such suc- cess. He is getting it to the open guy and letting them do their thing," said Hart. The win moved the Titans to 6 -1 overall on the season and 4-0 in the conference. Titan quarterback Brady Allen lowers his head and fights for extra yards during the Titans' 54-6 win against Mt. Vernon. Allen threw for 366 yards and five touchdowns. He moved to ninth on the Indiana all-time career passing list with 9,292 yards.