The South Gibson Star-Times serves the towns of Haubstadt, Owensville and Fort Branch.
Issue link: https://www.ifoldsflip.com/i/1433249
Congratulations, Titans! Big Dreams + Big Efforts = Legendary season Marcy King ChFC ® CLU ® CPCU ® FLMI Agent Phone: 812.615.1011 7990 S. Professional Drive Suite C, Fort Branch marcy@marcyking.com | www.marcyking.com Like a good neighbor, State Farm is there. ® From The Jewell to Lucas Oil... 205 N. Embree, Princeton 812-386-7149 Hours: Monday-Saturday 9 a.m.- 5p.m. Facebook: @TheGoldsmithJewelry Goldsmith The South Gibson Star-Times Titans: 2021 3A State Champions Tuesday, November 30, 2021 D-7 Titans defeat Patriots in Sectional Final By Andy Heuring SG Star-Times Sports sports@sgstartimes.com Gibson Southern battered Heri- tage Hills 42-7 for their first football sectional championship since 2015. "If feels good to get a sectional championship back here. (It's been) far too long for what we want our pro- gram to be. (I am) very proud of our kids. It feels great. We are going to enjoy this one tonight. We are going to get ready for next week. We are not ready to be done. So get ready and have another great win next week," said Titan Head Coach Nick Hart. Despite a slow start by the Titans that included a three and out on the opening series, the Titans rebound- ed to explode for 28 first-quarter points, while on defense didn't allow Heritage Hills a first down in the first quarter. Titan quarterback Brady Allen burned the Patriot defense for 282 yards passing and four touchdowns, while completing 14 of 18 passes. Brayden Malone had a monster night with three catches for 142 yards and three touchdowns, while Rory Helt- sley had eight catches and 107 yards receiving. A fter going three and out, the Ti- tans' defense gave up zero net yards to Heritage Hills on their first series. Gibson Southern took over at their 45 following a punt. On the third play of the series, Al- len hit Brayden Malone with a bubble screen on the left side. Malone made a defender miss, then raced 50 yards down the sideline for the Titans' first score. Chris Spear hit the first of five consecutive PATs and the Titans led 7-0 with 7:51 left in the first quarter. The scores would come fast and furious over the next seven minutes. Gibson Southern's defense held the Patriots to one net yard on their sec- ond series as Tye Whitledge dropped the Patriots for a three-yard loss on second down, before Adrean Luke- man broke up their third down pass. The Titans took over the ball at their own 25 -yard line and put to- gether a nine-play, 75 -yard scoring drive. Heritage Hills appeared to have stalled the drive when Adrean Lukeman was stopped for no gain on third and two. So the Titans were fac- ing fourth and two at the 27-yard line. Allen dropped back and launched a pass over the top of the Patriot de- fense to Heltsley, who was several steps behind the defenders. Allen's pass dropped into his arms in stride and Gibson Southern had a 14-0 lead. Heritage Hills got a big return on the kickoff to the 49 -yard line. It didn't matter. Heritage Hills was three and out, with a net two yards on the series. Gibson Southern's explosiveness was on full display the next series. A 15 -yard personal foul against the Ti- tans negated a big gain and backed them up to their 13-yard line. An in- complete pass left them looking at third and 21. Allen again dropped back near the five and let loose of a bomb that Malone collected at the 50 and then motored away from the de- fense for an 87-yard touchdown and a 21-0 led. It was yet again another disappointment to the Patriots, who thought they had themselves in a good position. "It was a look we were looking for to run the play we ran. We got it in- to that situation. Our eyes kind of lit up and knew it could go for a touch- down. "We saw what they were doing and had a feeling what they were going to do, and got lucky, having that cover- age and being able to run that play. It was a big point in the game for us," said Titan quarterback Allen. "They went two high, two men. All I had to do was beat the middle line- backer. Brady threw a beautiful ball, and I just took it to the house," said Malone of his second touchdown of the night." "It was a huge play for us, made by two pretty good playmakers," said Coach Hart. It only got worse for Heritage Hills. On their first play of the next series, the Patriot ball carrier was hit in the backfield and fumbled the ball. Peyton Rogers scooped it up and ran it into the endzone for a 28 -0 lead. "I was just coming down the line in case something came my way. I saw the ball, picked it up and ran for my life. I was thinking, don't drop it," said Rogers. "Those plays really gave us some separation," said Hart. The second quarter was more of the same. Heritage Hills got their first, first down of the game on a 22-yard pass from Luke Rickleman to Jesse Weatherholt. It got the Patriots into Titans' territory at the 42. That was as far as they would get. Rick- leman was sacked for a loss on first down, stopped for no gain on second down and then sacked for an eight- yard loss by Levi Dickerson on third down. Heritage Hills went for it on fourth down. Rickleman was flushed out of the pocket and tackled at the Heri- tage Hills' 48. Gibson Southern took over and Allen hit Heltsley for a 26 -yard gain. Delong ran for three more before Lukeman ran for 13 yards and had a 15 -yard face mask penalty added. Lukeman then took it in from the five for a 35 -0 lead. Heritage Hills got their second first down of the game on a 17-yard run by Shane Staples. Three plays later, Ben Luttrell tackled Rickle- man for an 11-yard loss and an end to the Patriots' drive. Rickleman was helped off the field and didn't return. Gibson Southern pounded out their last score mostly on the ground, with Allen running the ball six times as the Patriot defense was commit- ting their efforts to covering the pass. It also featured back-to-back passes to Heltsley of 16 and 14 yards, and overcame a holding penalty, before Allen found Malone in the endzone for a five-yard score. It put the Titans up 42-0 with 4:09 left in the half. Heritage Hills managed to get the ball into Titan territory on a 23-yard pass from Camden Schipp to Clay Radigan at the Titan 35 -yard line. They went no farther. Gibson Southern took over with 43 seconds left. Allen took the snap and took a knee, with the clock at 37 sec- onds, and the Titans walked off the field. Their starters on offense and defense would not return in the sec- ond half. Heritage Hills' starting offense managed a 13-play, 87-yard drive over the last few minutes of the third quar- ter and the first four minutes of the fourth quarter with a running clock. Evan Bowling's eight-yard run gave the Patriots their only score with 8:17 left in the game. "I thought we did a great job at the point of impact," said Coach Hart of his defense that held Heritage Hills to 20 yards of offense in the first half. "We were playing on the other side of the ball a lot, whether it was on the run or the pass. . . I thought we did a great job," said Hart. Gibson Southern had nine tackles for loss, totaling 41 yards of loss in the first half. 42 7 - GIBSON SOUTHERN SECTIONAL FINAL HERITAGE HILLS NOV. 5, 2021 GAME 12 Ben Luttrell makes a diving tackle of a Heritage Hills ball carrier during their 42-7 rout of the Patriots in the sectional. Titan receiver Kaden Hurless tries to swat away a Heritage Hills defender and hang on to a pass. Titan defensive lineman Tye Whitledge tackles Heritage Hills quarterback Luke Rickelman for a loss. The Titans held Heritage Hills to 166 yards of offense.