The Press-Dispatch
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B-2 Sports Wednesday, August 23, 2017 The Press-Dispatch By Ed Cahill Press-Dispatch Sports Editor sports@pressdispatch.net The Pike Central High School foot- ball team made four trips to within 20 yards of the end zone when it opened its season at Evansville Bosse on Fri- day, Aug. 18. The Chargers, however, never reached their destination while suf- fering a 19 -0 loss. "We had the ball four times in the red zone and came away with zero points," first-year Pike Central head coach Erik Mattingly said afterward. "When you're running the type of of- fense we're running, that can't hap- pen." "I was happy we did things to get down there but, obviously, disappoint- ed we couldn't finish that off," Matting- ly added. Evansville Bosse scored on its first possession on a one-yard touchdown run by senior running back Deon Mor- row with 9:51 left in the first quarter. Morrow's scoring run capped a six- play, 50 -yard drive highlighted by a 25 -yard pass from junior quarterback Brennen Tompkins to senior running back Kyrique Presley – which gave the Bulldogs a first down at the Char- gers' 22-yard line – and a 21-yard run by freshman quarterback Deveeon Outlaw. Tompkins was unable to connect with junior wide receiver Javen Layne on the two-point conversion attempt, leading Evansville Bosse holding a 6 - 0 lead. Pike Central, starting its first pos- session at its own 49 -yard line, ran the ball seven straight times while advanc- ing the line of scrimmage to Evansville Bosse's 24-yard line before turning the ball over on downs with 4:21 remain- ing in the opening period. Forcing the Bulldogs to punt from their own 27-yard line, the Chargers offense returned to the field with ex- cellent field position – at the Evans- ville Bosse 35 -yard line – following a 20 -yard punt return by sophomore Connor O'Neal. Eight plays later, however, Pike Cen- tral would turn the ball over on downs when senior quarterback Christian Alvey – on 4th-and-5 at the Bulldogs' 9 -yard line – threw an incomplete pass intended for O'Neal. Three plays later, however, Char- gers senior defensive back Clint Bo- ger recovered a fumble by Layne at the Evansville Bosse 22-yard line with 7:37 remaining in the second period. Pike Central would subsequently ad- vance the ball to the 12-yard line be- fore, again, turning the ball over on downs on an incomplete pass by Al- vey intended for Boger with 3:50 left in the first half. A fter a 21-yard run by Layne gave the Bulldogs some breathing room at their own 33-yard line, the Chargers' defense stiffened, forcing Evansville Bosse to line up to punt on 4th-and-8 from its own 35 -yard line with 1:47 re- maining in the second quarter. Following a timeout, however, the Bulldogs opted to go for the first down, but a pass by senior running back Bryson Williams intended for Layne was knocked away by Pike Central se- nior defensive back Adam Wilkison. Unfortunately for the Chargers, the play was nullified by offsetting person- al foul penalties, forcing the down to be replayed. Evansville Bosse, given a second chance, would make the most of it, as Layne made a leaping catch of a pass from sophomore quarterback Keimal Davis and galloped into the end zone, extending the Bulldogs' lead to 12-0 with 1:20 left in the first half. "We had them stopped," Mattingly lamented afterward. "But they got it (back) and they just chucked it deep, which we knew they would do." The Chargers would make another trip into the red zone just before half- time, thanks in large part to a 28 -yard kickoff return by sophomore running back Mario Fields to the Evansville Bosse 43-yard line. Six plays later, on 1st-and-10 from the Bulldogs' 19 -yard line, a fumble by Alvey was recovered by Evansville Bosse with 15.7 seconds remaining. Pike Central would start off the sec- ond half with the ball at the Bulldogs' 49 -yard line. The offensive drive got off to a good start with a 10 -yard run by Al- vey and a six-yard run by Fields, push- ing the line of scrimmage up the field to the Evansville Bosse 33-yard line. A fter a three-yard run by O'Neal and a two-yard run by Alvey gave the Chargers a first down at the Bulldogs' 28 -yard line, Pike Central was flagged for a delay of game penalty that backed it up five yards to the 33-yard line. However, a seven-yard run by Bo- ger, a six-yard run by O'Neal and a five-yard run by Alvey gave the Char- gers another first down, at Evansville Bosse's 15 -yard line. Four plays later, the drive would sputter to an end at the 11-yard line on an incomplete pass by Alvey intend- ed for Fields with 4:24 left in the third period. "I was really hoping we'd punch it in during that first drive of the second half, because we had a nice drive go- ing, and weren't able to do it," Matting- ly said. "That would have been nice. But that's the way it goes." The Bulldogs would subsequently put together a 13-play scoring drive, which was capped by a 45 -yard touch- down pass from Tompkins to Layne with 8:49 left in the third quarter. The point-after kick by senior Da- vid Bland was good, giving Evansville Bosse a 19 -0 lead. Pike Central was unable to muster much of an offensive threat on its final two possessions. "They made three or four big plays, which they do," Mattingly said after- ward. "They're okay. They're an alright team. It was a good game. But, like I said, the thing that sticks out to me were those four trips to the red zone. BOX SCORE FOOTBALL AT EVANSVILLE BOSSE Pike Central 0 0 0 0 – 0 Evansville Bosse 6 6 0 7 – 19 First Quarter EB – Deon Morrow, 1, run (pass failed), 9:51. Second Quarter EB – Javen Layne, 65, pass from Keimal Davis (run failed), 1:20. Fourth Quarter EB – Layne, 45, pass from Brennen Tompkins (Da- vid Bland kick), 8:49. Team Statistics PC EB First Downs ........................................ 10 ..................... 7 Rushing Yds ....................................... 96 ................... 114 Rush-Att. ............................................. 38 ....................29 Passing Yds ........................................ 20 ................... 146 Pass-Att................................................ 9 ...................... 9 Pass-Comp. ......................................... 2 ...................... 5 Pass-Int. ............................................... 0 ...................... 0 Total Offense ..................................... 116 ..................260 Fumbles-Lost ..................................... 2-1 .................. 7-1 Punts-Avg. ....................................... 1-12.0 ..............1-28.0 Penalties ............................................3-22 ................ 8 -35 Individual Statistics Rushing: Pike Central – Clint Boger 13-39, Con- nor O'Neal 5 -23, Christian Alvey 11-12, Mario Fields 4-12, Adam Wilkison 2-8, Brandon Long 1-2. Evans- ville Bosse – Javen Layne 2-35, Daveeon Outlaw 1- 21, Zy'Keith Davis 4-14, Brennen Tompkins 5 -13, Car- lis Falls-Wells 4-14, Jayden Pease 1-9, Kyrique Presley 2-8, Keimal Davis 1-(-2), Deon Morrow 4-(-6). Passing: Pike Central – Christian Alvey 2-8 -0 20, Mario Fields 0 -1-0 0. Evansville Bosse – Brennen Tompkins 3-6 -0 72, Keimal Davis 2-3-0 74. Receiving: Pike Central – Mario Fields 1-14, Clint Boger 1-6. Evansville Bosse – Javen Layne 4-124, Kyrique Presley 1-22. HIGH SCHOOL FOOTBALL Pocket Athletic Conference Standings PAC Overall Team W-L W-L PF PA Gibson Southern 1-0 1-0 62 0 North Posey 1-0 1-0 41 6 Heritage Hills 0 -0 1-0 42 26 Pike Central 0 -0 0 -1 0 19 Southridge 0 -0 1-0 17 16 Tell City 0 -0 1-0 20 6 Forest Park 0 -1 0 -1 0 62 South Spencer 0 -1 0 -1 6 41 Results of August 18 PAC Games Evansville Bosse 19, Pike Central 0 Gibson Southern 62, Foreset Park 0 Heritage Hills 42, Mount Vernon (Posey) 26 North Posey 41, South Spencer 6 Southridge 17, Linton-Stockton 16 Tell City 20, Perry Central 6 Area Games Castle 41, Terre Haute South 34 Eastern Greene 68, Springs Valley 44 Evansville Central 56, Paoli 15 Evansville Memorial 18, Jasper 7 Evansville North 26, Princeton 19 Evansville Reitz 41, Henderson County (Ky.) 0 Mitchell 36, Edgewood 7 Seymour 40, Evansville Harrison 20 Sullivan 45, North Knox 14 Tecumseh 36, North Daviess 23 Vincennes Lincoln 41, Owen Valley 14 Results of August 19 Area Games Lutheran North (Mo.) 39, Evansville Mater Dei 18 Noblesville Home School 36, Dugger Union 0 Games of August 25 PAC Games Princeton at Pike Central, 7:30 p.m. Heritage Hills at Tell City North Posey at Mount Vernon (Posey) Perry Central at Forest Park South Spencer at Gibson Southern Southridge at Jasper Area Games Boonville at Vincennes Lincoln Evansville Central at Owensboro (Ky.) Apollo Evansville Reitz at Owensboro (Ky.) Catholic Harrisburg (Ill.) at Mount Carmel (Ill.) Henderson County (Ky.) at Evansville North New Albany at Castle North Daviess at North Central (Farmersburg) North Knox at Eastern Greene Rock Creek Academy at Tecumseh Springs Valley at Mitchell Sullivan at Linton-Stockton Terre Haute North at Evansville Harrison Traders Point Christian at Dugger Union Washington at Evansville Bosse Games of August 26 Area Games Evansville Mater Dei at Owensboro (Ky.) Evansville Memorial at Daviess County (Ky.) MAC'S HEATING & AIR CONDITIONING 812-789-3065 104 E Center St, Winslow • macshtgac@hotmail.com T H I S F E A T U R E I S S P O N S O R E D B Y : NATALIE BURKHART has played Golf at Pike Central for four years, and also participates in Basket- ball. She is a three-time All-PAC team member in golf, a golf regional qualifier, received the Basketball Defensive Award twice, and is a two-time Academic Award winner in both Golf and Basketball. Natalie's favorite classes are Math and Medical classes. She is a member of Student Government and the National Honor Society. Natalie is the daughter of Joe and Dalene Burkhart, of Petersburg. AUDRA STONE has played Basketball for four years at Pike Central, and also participates in Softball. She received the Academic Award in both sports, and was a Hoosier Girls State delegate. Audra's favorite classes are Math and PLTW (Project Lead the Way). She also participates in Fellowship of Christian Athletes, National Honor Society, Graduation Committee, is a Student Section Leader and works at Amber Manor. Audra is the daughter of Trent and Tra- cy Stone, of Petersburg. PIKE CENTRAL OF THE WEEK Mac's Heating and Air Conditioning recognizes the Pike Central seniors who are involved in athletics. Pike Central High School sophomore defensive back Mario Fields (5) and senior defensive back Clint Boger (15) try to tackle Evansville Bosse senior running back Carlis Falls-Wells (center) during varsity football action on Friday, Aug. 18. Ed Cahill photo Pike Central High School senior defensive back Clint Boger tries to tackle Evansville Bosse junior wide receiver Javen Layne (12) as Chargers' sophomore linebacker Ian Allen (25) closes in during var- sity football action on Friday, Aug. 18. Layne caught two touchdown passes as the host Bulldogs won, 19-0. Ed Cahill photo Above: Pike Central High School senior quarterback Chris- tian Alvey (16) looks for an open receiver while being chased by Evansville Bosse senior defensive lineman Malik Nance (51) during varsity football action on Friday, Aug. 18. Ed Cahill photo Left: Pike Central High School junior linebacker Lane Doades (42) tries to bring down Evans- ville Bosse junior quarterback Brennen Tompkins during varsi- ty football action on Friday, Aug. 18. Ed Cahill photo Chargers open season with 19-0 loss at Evansville Bosse See LOSS on 4