The South Gibson Star-Times serves the towns of Haubstadt, Owensville and Fort Branch.
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JV Titans blowout New Albany 38-0 By Andy Heuring Star-Times Sports sports@sgstartimes.com The Gibson Southern Titan JV team traveled to New Al- bany Saturday and picked up the victor y in a 38-0 shutout to take their record to 2-0. The Titan defense was again the stor y of the game for the second straight week, al- lowing a mere 62 yards of total offense. New Albany was lim- ited to only three first downs, one by pass, one by rush, and one by penalty. Gibson Southern's stout de- fense was led by linebackers Gunner Alexander and Col- in Scherer combining for 18 tackles, including an Alexan- der tackle for loss and forced fumble. Not to be outdone, the defensive secondar y nearly pitched and aerial shutout with two pass break ups and an interception. The lone Bull- dog completion came from an other wise perfectly played ball that was tipped into the air and fell into the surprised arms of the New Albany re- ceiver. Gibson Southern stayed hot offensively with 303 yards, in- cluding 233 yards in the air by signal caller Liam Br yant, with Br yant accounting for all five Titan scores. The sophomore quar ter- back spread the ball around to six dif ferent receivers and connected for four touch- downs to three dif ferent route r unners. Maxx Wil- son and Maddox Potts had the hottest hands of the day, pulling in a combined eight receptions for 132 yards and three touchdowns. Things looked bleak for New Albany early when the opening kickof f retur n was stripped by Gunner Alex- ander with Grant Stinson pouncing on the ball to set the T itans up in Bulldog ter ritor y. On the ensuing drive Liam Br yant put the T itans on the board with a three-yard touchdown r un behind r ushes of 12 and 10-yards from Chase Thax- ton. The conversion pass to Wilson was good, putting the Gibson Souther n up early 8-0. After Gibson Southern forced a quick three-and- out, and were helped out by a Bulldog punt shanked for negative yardage, the Titans were sitting pretty inside the red zone when taking over for the second of fensive se- ries of the day. Br yant wasted no time and connected with Potts on second down for an 18-yard score. The conversion pass to Baker Calver t was good, extending the Titan lead to 16-0 midway through the first. Star ting their next drive from their own 39, New Alba- ny found their first bit of of- fensive luck on the day. After defensive end Deven Burg- er dropped the first down r un for a loss of three, the Bulldogs took to the air on second and 13. Cornerback Grant Stinson dropped into coverage and broke on the hitch route, deflecting the ball into the air and into the arms of the Bulldog receiver, who was able to get across midfield before being taken down from behind. Undeterred, Gibson South- ern buckled down and forced New Albany into turning it over on downs four plays lat- er. The Titans weren't able to capitalize on their next two possessions and found them- selves squared up against the New Albany of fense at the Bulldog 26 midway through the second frame. Connor Wirey was able to pick of f the second down pass and return it nine yards to the 20, setting the Titans up with ex- cellent field position. Thaxton picked up five on a fourth down conversion to get Gibson Southern inside the 10, but a holding penalty on the next series pushed the of- fense behind the chains. Fac- ing third and goal from the 15, Br yant found Potts for his sec- onded touchdown reception of the game as the half was winding down to a close. The conversion pass to Wilson was good for a 24-0 lead, where it stayed until the break. Coming out of the half the Gibson Southern offense kept the Titan train rolling through the Bulldog defense. Br yant connected with Wilson three times for 71 yards on the drive, including a 55-yard catch and run to the 10, as well as the touchdown strike to ex- tend the lead to 30-0. Starting on their own 23, New Albany looked to turn things around and spark their offense in the second half. The Bulldogs picked up nine on their first down run, but that is all the Titans would give up. Defensive tackle Anthony Hall stuffed the running back for a two-yard loss on second and short before Alexander brought down the scrambling Bulldog quarterback for a loss of one on third down. After Stinson returned the New Albany punt eight yards to get back across midfield, the Gibson Southern offense wasn't able to finish their next drive and turned it over on downs after taking it down to the 26. The Bulldogs picked up their longest rush of the day on their next series, getting 13 yards and a new set of downs for only the second time of the day early in the final quarter. A Titan penalty helped New Albany cross midfield and move the chains for their final time of the game. Middle line- backer Alexander proved to be unstoppable for the next three plays, getting a solo tackle and an assist before pressuring the quarterback on third and six to coerce an intentional grounding penalty and subse- quent punt from New Albany. Starting their final drive on the Titan 24, Gibson Southern drove 76 yards on just five plays to hammer the final the nail in the Bulldogs' coffin just past the midway mark in the fourth. Facing third and five from the 29 Br yant threaded the needle between double cov- erage to hit Noah Kuester on a post route. Kuester weaved, stif f-armed, and rumbled his way 64 yards to inside the New Albany 10-yard line. A second down holding penal- ty pushed the Titans back to the 17, where Br yant threw his four th touchdown of the game to wide receiver Ian Rexing. The conversion pass to Lloyd Sellers was good, taking the lead to 38-0 where it remained for the Titan vic- tor y and a 2-0 star t to the sea- son. GAME STATS Passing: Liam Br yant 16 for 28 for 233 yards, 4 TD, 0 INT. Rushing: Chase Thaxton 11 for 42 yards; Br yant 6 for 27 yards, 1 TD; Grant Stinson 1 for 8 yards; Colin Scherer 1 for -7 yards; Team 21 for 70 yards, 1 TD. Receiving: Maxx Wilson 4 for 85 yards, 1 TD; Noah Kuester 2 for 69 yards; Mad- dox Potts 4 for 47 yards, 2 TDs; Ian Rexing 2 for 26 yards, 1 TD; Baker Calvert 2 for 5 yards; Lloyd Sellers 1 for 1 yard. Defense: Gunner Alexan- der 6 solos, 5 assists, 1 TFL, 1 forced fumble, 1 sack; Colin Scherer 6 solos, 1 assist; An- thony Hall 1 solo, 1 assist, 1 TFL, 1 assisted TFL, 1 assisted sack; Aver y Adams 1 assist, 1 assisted TFL, 1 assisted sack. The Gibson Southern Titan JV team hosts Boonville on Monday, September 12, with kickoff at 5:30 p.m. South Gibson Star-Times Tuesday, September 6, 2022 B-3 Titan sports schedule Tuesday, Sept. 6 Boys tennis vs Princeton 4:30 p.m. Girls golf vs Ev. Central at Fendrich 4:30 p.m. Girls JV soccer at Ev. Central 6 p.m. Boys V. soccer hosts Ev. Central 5 p.m. Volleyball hosts V&JV Ev. Reitz 5 and 7 p.m. Girls V soccer at Mater Dei 7:30 p.m. Thursday, Sept. 8 Boys tennis at S. Spencer 4:30 p.m. Girls golf hosts Forest Park 4:30 p.m. Volleyball F, JV & V hosts Jasper 5 p.m. Football F hosts Richland County 6 p.m. Friday, Sept. 9 Football hosts S. Warren 7 p.m. Saturday, Sept 10 Volleyball V&JV Ev. Central Invite. 9 a.m. Co-ed Cross Countr y at HH Invite 9 a.m. Boys tennis hosts N. Daviess 9:30 a.m. Titan volleyball uses balance to beat Southridge improve to 6-3 By Andy Heuring Star-Times Sports sports@sgstartimes.com Gibson Southern's volley- ball team used a balanced attack to beat Southridge 3-1 on Tuesday. "The girls had fun vs Southridge. Our ball control was on point the first two sets which really opened up our offense. All six of our hitters had some great at- tacks," said Titan coach Em- ily Schmitt. Abby Deal led the Titans with 11 assists, but she got lots of help as Alexis Tuck- er had 10, while Loren Carl and Rylee Johnson both had nine and Laur yn Adamson had eight. Carl led with five aces and Johnson had four. Johnson also had three blocks. Gabby Smitha had 18 digs, Adamson 16 and Johnson 14. Briley Edwards had 22 assists and Smith 21 for the Titans. Gibson Souther n won the first game 25-7 and the second 25-15. Southridge came back in the third game with a nar row 25-23 win, but Gibson Souther n controlled the final game 25-17 to get the 3-1 win. It improves their record to 6-3 overall and 3-1 in the PAC. "Both home games next week will be a tough match- up but we can do it. Tues- day we play Reitz (6-2)and Thursday we play Jasper (7- 3)," said Schmitt. She added, "We are scrap- py on defense and a strong hitting/blocking team, so when we control the first touch we set the tempo of the game. We need to contin- ue focusing on ser ve receive and bettering the ball." Titan quarterback Liam Br yant releases a pass over a defender during the JV's 38-0 win over New Albany. Twigs win Debra King sets a ball for her Twig teammate to hit during Ft. Branch's win over Pike Central on Thurs- day. Lightning interrupts golf PAC, will restart By Andy Heuring Star-Times Sports sports@sgstartimes.com The girls golf Pocket Athlet- ic Conference Championship was interrupted by lightning and a strong storm Saturday afternoon and is on hold for now. A strong storm with light- ning entered the area of Coun- tr y Oaks golf course Saturday at about 1:30 p.m. causing played to be stopped. Once the storm hit, rain continued long enough they decided send the girls home. The 13 teams in the PAC had a shotgun start at 12:30 p.m. so they had just played four holes. Each team had played a different four holes. Titan golf coach Kristen Harpenau said the event is going to be shortened to a nine-hole event and play it af- ter school. She said which day has not been determined. The IHSAA sectional is scheduled for September 16- 19 so they have limited days to fit it into the schedule. "(Vanessa) Schmitt and (Madilyn) Sperling were both even. They were doing great for the first four holes," said Harpenau about the Lady Ti- tans before the horn sounded to bring them off the course. Gibson Southern will com- pete in the Jasper sectional at Buffalo Trace Golf Course. Teams in the that sectional include Boonville, Crawford County, Forest Park, Heri- tage Hills, Jasper, Southridge, South Spencer, Tecumseh and Tell City. Gibson Southern beat Jasper on the Buffalo Trace course earlier this season. Katelyn Walker has a high finish to her tee shot on hole seven at Countr y Oaks on Saturday. Need something interesting to read? subscribe to 812-753-3553 subscribe@sgstartimes.com CALL or email For a print or NetEdition subscription, Life Milestones made free CALL: 812-753-3553 Put a free photo with write up on your Family and Class Reunions.