The Press-Dispatch
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SPORTS Submit sports items: Call: 812-354-8500 Email: sports@pressdispatch.net or bring in a hard copy: 820 E. Poplar Street, Petersburg Chargers fall 53-0 as Southridge continues dominant season By Arri J. McDonald Press-Dispatch Sports sports@pressdispatch.net Pike Central returned home for a Friday night game with PAC powerhouse Southridge, coming of f of three consecutive competi- tive games to begin the sea- son. The first third of the sea- son had seen the young Chargers fall behind early in each contest only to fight back to make each game close in the second half be- fore falling shor t each time. Southridge figured to be the most difficult test of the sea- son and the Raiders did not disappoint. Southridge came in per fect at 3-0, having only given up a single touchdown all season. Charger second year head coach Kelly Brashear had stressed to his kids all week that they needed to just keep their heads up and stay competitive. Though the Chargers were able to put together a play here and there that showed hear t, the Raiders proved too much. The Chargers won the toss and returned the open- ing kickof f to the 31-yard line. Sophomore Quar ter- back Matthew Meadows was sacked dropping back on a play action fake the first play for a 6-yard loss. With PC behind the chains, and after a couple of shor t Braden Howald r uns, the Chargers lined up to punt. A high snap forced a shor t kick and the Raiders had the ball at the 38. Three plays later, South- ridge quar terback Hudson Allen scampered into the end zone for a 20-yard score. With the extra point, South- ridge took the early lead, 7-0 at the 9:47 mark of the first quar ter. Connor Loveless gave the Chargers good field position on the ensuing drive with a retur n to the Pike Central 41. Fullback Jiles Mason pounded out a couple of yards on hard-fought r uns, but, Meadows was again sacked on third down and the Chargers punted to the Raider 28. The Raiders quickly drove past midfield, but the Charger defense stepped up. Senior Linebacker Co- rey Goeppner sacked Allen for a 6-yard loss forcing a 2nd and 16. With the Raid- ers behind the chains facing long yardage, Pike Central blitzed Allen, forcing an incompletion, and nearly getting consecutive sacks. However, on 3rd and 16 Allen hit R yan Cur r y on a screen pass going 31 yards for the score. The kick was good as the Raiders led 14- 0. As the first quar ter was coming to a close, the Char- ger of fense fought back. A Southridge personal foul gave the Chargers a first down. A 7-yard r un by How- ald, and a 6-yard r un by Mason gave the Chargers another first down. South- ridge committed another facemask penalty on a shor t pass from Meadows to How- ald, yielding the third first down on the drive. As the first quar ter end- ed, the Chargers were at the Raider 31 with a 3rd and 8. It appeared PC had momen- tum as Howald grabbed a shor t pass from Meadows and ran to the Raider 10 yard line, but the Chargers were called for holding on the play. A Meadows sack forced a punt and disaster str uck; Raider retur n-man Noah Wright grabbed the ball as it appeared headed for the end zone, broke a se- ries of tackles and raced 96 yards for the score. The kick was good and with 10:37 left in the second quar ter South- ridge lead 21-0. The Chargers were play- ing from behind the rest of the night, and, the Raiders' depth wore the Chargers down. Southridge forced PC three and out the next drive and retur ned the punt to near mid-field. Al- len completed a 12-yard pass and a 34-yarder that resulted in the Raiders 4th touchdown. As the first half came to a close, the Raiders scored from 2 yards out at the 1:14 mark to make the score 35-0, and Southridge would go on to score three more times. The second half was played with the r unning clock, and, the Charger coaching staf f used the oppor tunity to play underclassmen: Alex Gray, Kylin Bottoms and Ronnie Slunder all logged productive car ries and valu - able playing time. After the game, Charger head coach Kelly Brashear spoke about his team's willingness to keep playing hard, even when things got tough. "Well, we played hard, there wasn't any hanging of our heads. Despite the score I thought we played well at times. They big-played us a few times… it was just a mat- ter of not making the plays when we were in the right place." "We also moved the ball sometimes. Even though we weren't able to sustain any long drives or put the ball in the end zone, we did get down to the 20 at one time. But sometimes you just r un into a better team and that's what happened tonight. Southridge is so well coached, their kids are so well disciplined, athletic, and strong…" "I looked at the rankings this week and they are ninth in the state. If they are ninth in the state I would like to see eight teams out there that are better than them because Southridge is a phenomenal group." The Chargers travel to Washington next week for a 7 p.m. PAC contest. Pike Central expects to bring a good crowd as the two teams have split the last two contests, with each team winning at home. Unofficial stats (Special thanks to Dylan Charles) SRPC Total yards:43279 First downs: 165 Penalties5-553-20 Rushing: (includes sack yds) 25-341 yds 31-54 yds Passing: 6-7-0 int 91yds (2 TD)2-2 25 yds QB sacked: 1 for -6 3 for -12 Turnovers:02 Individual: PC Rushing: Braden Howald 11-12 Jagar Dent 5-4 Skylar Shelton1-10 Nathanael Kell1-2 Matthew Meadows4-15 Alex Gray2-3 Jiles Mason4-8 Ronnie Slunder 1-0 Kylin Bottoms2-0 Passing: Meadows 2-2- 25yds Receptions: B. Howald (2-25) Sack(s): Corey Goeppner (1) Pike Central's Braden Howald tries to run through a Southridge defender during the Chargers' game Friday night. The Press-Dispatch Wednesday, September 14, 2022 B-1 Charger volleyball wins three matches, places third in Ev. Central tourney By Andy Heuring Press-Dispatch Sports sports@pressdispatch.net Pike Central's volleyball team won three of four games over the weekend in the Evansville Central tourney and placed third out of eight teams "We had an amazing week- end. We played as a team and communicated well. The ladies didn't miss ver y many ser ves and came in third overall. It was an excit- ing day for ever yone and we hope this will be the turning point in our season; where our team continues with confidence and will be able to pull out more wins," said Charger Coach Stephanie Shedd. They opened the day with a match against a strong Gib- son Southern team, losing 2-0 in close games, 25-17 and 25- 21. "This was a super close match. The ladies played hard and even though it wasn't a win, it set us up for the rest of the day. They played well together and communicated on the court. It was a positive start to the tourney. Our hit- ting and ser ving was consis- tent. Our back row helped a lot as well," said Shedd. An hour later the Chargers beat Evansville Bosse handily 25-16 and 25-9 in two games. "Bosse had some really great front row players, but our team was more round- ed with great players in the front and back rows. This was our first win for the day and raised our confidence. I think we took the momentum from this game and just added to the enthusiasm as the day pro- gressed," said Shedd. Pike Central played Evans- ville Central and pulled out a 2-0 win with narrow margins of 25-23 and 25-22. "This was a close game. Central had a really great hitter and we did our best to shut her down. We had great hitting from all of our front row players, great defense, and great ser ving. We put it all together for the win," said Shedd. In the afternoon game the Chargers had to go to three games to beat Vincennes Lin- coln. They opened with a 25- 21 win in the first game, but then lost the second game 25-23, before winning the third game 15-11 to take the match. "This was a hard-fought match. We let the second set get away from us, but the ladies didn't give up and came back and won the third set. We lost to this team in our season opener, going five sets and losing 12-15 in the last set, so this was an awesome win for us," said Shedd. "I can't really pick out one star player from the day be- cause honestly, they all came to play and per formed well. We have had compliments all year from other coaches and referees on our outstanding defense, but today ever ything came together for us. When we put it all together, our team is hard to beat. There isn't a team that works hard- er than our ladies. We are so proud of their ef for ts and are happy for them that their hard work is finally paying of f," said Shedd. Pike Central's Ashlyn Shoultz blocks a ball at the net during a recent match. The Lady Chargers placed third this weekend in the Evansville Central tourney. This was a hard-fought match. We let the second set get away from us, but the ladies didn't give up and came back and won the third set. " -Stephanie Shedd Charger tailback Braden Howald turns the corner and heads upfield during Friday night's game with South- ridge. Pike Central's Corey Goeppner tackles a Southridge ball carrier Friday night. Life Milestones made free CALL: 812-354-8500 Put a free photo with write up on Births or upcoming Card Showers.