The Press-Dispatch
Issue link: https://www.ifoldsflip.com/i/1477088
The Press-Dispatch Wednesday, August 24, 2022 B-3 point conversion attempt as Isaac Marchino stuf fed the Panther ball car rier. It was River ton Park 14, Chargers 0 with 2:39 left in the opening quar ter. With the first period winding down, the Char- gers moved the ball 20 yards behind two Braden Howald r uns, but, River ton Park recovered a fumble and retur ned it 55 yards for their third score, adding a two-point conversion to give River ton a 22-0 lead. On the first play of the second quar ter, Braden Howald brought the Char- gers back, taking a handof f 65 yards through the mid- dle of the defense and down the left sideline for the Chargers first touchdown. The two-point conversion failed leaving the score 22-6 The Charger defense stepped up. The Panthers drove to the Charger 40. Senior line- backer Corey Goeppner jumped on a loose ball for the defense's first takeaway of the night. It gave Pike Central the ball at their own 45. Jagar Dent took a quick hitter up the middle and bolted down the left side- line for 43 yards to the Panther 12. T wo plays later Howald punched in his sec- ond score from five yards. The conversion failed, but PIke Central had cut River ton-Parke's lead to 22- 12 with 8:02 left in the half. A holding penalty backed River ton up deep in their own ter ritor y, and the Char- gers forced a three-and-out. A 63 yard rolling Panther punt flipped the field and the Chargers went three- and-out. River ton tallied the last score of the first half us- ing misdirection when Ja- cob Hopton took a hand-of f around left end for 78 yards. The two -point conversion was good making it River- ton 30 Chargers 12. The Chargers weren't done. Matthew Meadows intercepted the Panthers on a deep ball over the middle, taking back the ball at the Charger 42. Pike Central was able to rip of f a couple of sol- id r uns from Dent and Boyd before a fumble ended their drive. It was recovered by the Panthers at the 42. The Charger defense held again, forcing a three and out. The tur nover set up the of fense and senior Nate Kell raced 36 yards for the final PC touchdown of the night. Dent caught a pass from Meadows in the endzone to tack on two points, cutting the River ton Parke lead to just 10 points at 30-20 with 3:26 in the third quar ter. As the third quar ter wound down, Pike Cen- tral's defense was backed up at its 10-yard line when the momentum appeared to swing. Nose tackle Braden Schul- theis sacked the Panther quar terback for a big loss which appeared to force a third and long. However, a facemask penalty nullified the big play, allowing Haz- zard to punch it in from 2 yards out. The two-point attempt failed, but River ton Park extended their lead to 36-20 11:26 left. River ton Park would go on to add a 27-yard touch- down r un with 6:13 left, adding the two point con- version, accounting for the final score of 44-20. After the game, Chargers head coach Kelly Brashear said "There were times to- night I thought we played really well. In the second quar ter, third quar ter and beginning of the four th quar ter we really hit our stride with of f-tackle and isolation r unning plays. But we also had self-inflict- ed wounds. We had at least four fumbles tonight." Brashear said the team str uggled to execute defen- sively when the scheme put them in position to make plays. "There were several times when (Defensive Co- ordinator J.J. Howald) had per fect calls and blitzed guys right into where the ball was coming from, and we over ran it, and they make 30 or 35 yards." Brashear said the Char- gers are going back to work preparing for next week. "You find out ver y quickly your strengths and weak- nesses. We've got a ton of work getting ready for Te- cumseh next Friday." Pike Central travels to L ynville next week for a 7:30 p.m. EST matchup against Tecumseh on Fri- day night. LOSS Continued from page 1 Nathaniel Kell (3) hits a Riverton Parke ball carriesr as Isaac Marchino (74) closes in on him. Charger tailback Braden Howald runs through a Riverton Parke defender. Life Milestones made free CALL: 812-354-8500 Put a free photo with write up on your Family and Class Reunions. Puzzled about what to read? ..and you will have your solution. subscribe to 812-354-8500 BOX SCORE RP 44 – PC 20 (Partial) TEAM SCORES Pike Central Total yards: 395 Passing: 1-3-68 yds (1 Int.) Rushing: 36 – 327yds Penalties: 9 for 87 yds QB sacked: —— Turnovers: 2 Riverton Park Total yards: 237 Passing: 5-8-20 yds (0 int.) Rushing: 40 – 207 yds Penalties: 5 for 40 yds QB sacked: 4 for -30 Turnovers: 4 INDIVIDUAL Pike Central Rushing: Braden Howald 14 – 101 (2 TD) Jagar Dent 8-61 Nate Kell 6-56 (TD) Grant Boyd 5-13 Skylar Shelton 2-8 Matthew Meadows 1 for -2 Passing: Meadows 5-9-20 yds (0 int) Receptions: Howald (2-10), Dent (2-9), Loveless (1-1) Interceptions: Meadows Fumble recovery: Corey Goeppner