The Press-Dispatch
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The Press-Dispatch Sports Wednesday, September 6, 2017 B- 3 real well." The Chargers' defense only gave up two second-half first downs while holding North Knox to 89 yards in total of- fense. Pike Central's offense, meanwhile, picked up two first-half first downs while compiling 133 yards in total offense, including 72 in the air as quarterback Kendrick Sor- gius completed five of eight pass attempts and was inter- cepted once. "Offensively, we strug- gled running the ball against North Knox's big defensive front," Jeremy Howald said. "So we went to the air to score." During their first two pos- sessions of the game, the Chargers turned the ball over on downs – at their own 33- and 25 -yard lines, respective- ly – but North Knox was un- able to take advantage of the excellent field position. However, after the Warriors turned the ball over on downs at Pike Central's 16 -yard line with 1:08 left in the second period, the Chargers – who ran the ball on seven of their first eight plays, netting a to- tal of zero yards – called five straight passing plays. On 1st-and-10, a pass by Sorgius intended for Cole Parks fell incomplete. But the Warriors were flagged for a defensive pass interference penalty, giving Pike Central a fresh set of downs at its own 31-yard line. On the next play, Sorgius completed a 48 -yard pass to Braden Howald as the Char- gers – crossing midfield for the first time in the game – advanced to the North Knox 21-yard line. Then, after throwing an in- complete pass on first down, Sorgius connected with Jagar Dent on a two-yard pass, set- ting up – one play later – a 19 -yard touchdown pass to Peyton Howald. On the ensuing two-point conversion attempt, Sorgius hooked up with Peyton How- ald again, giving the Chargers an 8 -0 lead with 7.6 seconds remaining in the first half. Late in the third quarter, North Knox scored on an 18 -yard touchdown run by wide receiver Devon Kent. However, the play was nulli- fied by a holding penalty. A fter running back Brayden Haislip was stopped for a two-yard loss, another holding penalty backed the Warriors up to Pike Central's 40 -yard line. A fumble on the next play, recovered by offen- sive lineman Colton Stephens, resulted in a 10 -yard loss to midfield. On 3rd-and-42, Haislip ran for six yards to the Chargers' 44-yard line. Then, on fourth down, running back Logan Foster scrambled 16 yards to Pike Central's 28 -yard line, where the Chargers took over on downs with 5:36 left in the fourth period. Peyton Howald then took the handoff from Sorgius and scampered 72 yards to the end zone. On the two-point conver- sion attempt, Sorgius com- pleted a pass to Cold Parks, extending Pike Central's lead to 16 -0 with 5:16 remaining in the contest. Peyton Howald paced the Chargers offensively, gain- ing 75 yards on two rushing attempts while catching two passes for another 22 yards. EIGHTH GR ADE: Rhett Sheren rushed for two touch- downs and returned a kickoff for another as North Knox de- feated Pike Central 28 -6. The Chargers (1-1) com- piled 223 yards in total of- fense – including 216 on 30 rushing attempts – but were penalized eight times for a to- tal of 65 yards. One of the penalties – a block-in-the-back call on the second play of the game – erased an 86 -yard touchdown run by Wyatt Frasure. "Our kids were not focused and made tons of mistakes," Jeremy Howald said. "Fra- sure's touchdown being called back set the tone for the en- tire night." "Nothing will drive a coach more crazy than pointless penalties, like blocking in the back when our ball carrier is 15 yards in front of the guy, or holding on the backside of a play when we are sweeping the other direction," Jeremy Howald added. "I do not feel like they were better than us. We just didn't show up with the focus on football. We are better than that." Trailing 8 -0, the Chargers were forced to punt on 4th- and-22 from their own 22-yard line with 2:08 left in the first half. However, the snap from center sailed away from punt- er Samuel Coleman, who raced back to the ball, picked it up, and attempted to kick it. Coleman, however, lost the ball when he was hit, and North Knox defensive back Will Sloan recovered the ball in the end zone to extend the Warriors' lead to 14-0. On its first possession of the second half, Pike Cen- tral's offense began clicking on all cylinders, as Zane Col- lins ripped off a 50 -yard run and Frasure followed with a 20 -yard run, setting up a five- yard touchdown run by Hai- gen Stone. Stone was subsequently kept out of the end zone on the two-point conversion run, but the Chargers had pulled to within 14-6 with 3:35 left in the third period. However, the Warriors an- swered immediately as Jacob Misinic fielded the ensuing kickoff at his own 28 -yard line and returned it 72 yards for a touchdown, extending North Knox's lead to 20 -6 with just 12 seconds later. Following a 25 -yard touch- down run by Sheren with 3:43 remaining in the fourth quar- ter, quarterback Mason Ly- ons connected with running back Beau Noland for the two- point conversion to give North Knox a 28 -6 lead. Frasure led the Chargers with 131 yards on 15 carries, while Collins gained 78 yards on eight rushing attempts. Pike Central will return to action on Thursday, Sept. 7, when the Chargers will play at Gibson Southern. Kickoff is set for 6:30 p.m., Eastern time. their second offensive posses- sion at their own 26 -yard line, would advance the ball to mid- field. However, after a holding penalty backed Pike Central up to its own 40 -yard line, the drive ran out of steam, and the Chargers were forced to punt. A fter Boger's punt went out of bounds at the Heritage Hills' 24-yard line, the Patri- ots drove down the field and – five plays later – scored on a seven-yard run by Yeager to give Heritage Hills a 20 -0 lead with 10.4 seconds remaining in the first period. Pike Central would pick up a first down at its own 33-yard line before being forced to punt, giving the Patriots the ball at their own 41-yard line with 9:41 left in the second quarter. A fter ripping off a 40 -yard run, senior Adam Redmond capped the two-play, 59 -yard drive with a 19 -yard touch- down run that – following Leibering's point-after kick – stretched Heritage Hills' lead to 27-0 with 9:06 remaining in the first half. Beginning its next offen- sive series at its own 20 -yard line, Pike Central – aided by an unsportsmanlike penal- ty against the Patriots – ad- vanced the ball past mid- field, with sophomore Connor O'Neal ripping off a 14-yard run to the Heritage Hills' 44-yard line. However, after senior Jake Sisk ran for 10 yards to give the Chargers another first down at the Patriots' 33, the drive stalled as O'Neal – on 4th-and-2 at the 25 – recov- ered his own fumble for a one- yard loss with 4:31 left in the first half. Starting its next possession at its own 43-yard line with 2:56 remaining – after forcing Heritage Hills to punt from its own 24 – a 19 -yard run by Sisk on 2nd-and-10 gave Pike Cen- tral a fresh set of downs at the Patriots' 38 -yard line. Three plays later, Boger completed a four-yard pass to sophomore Mario Fields to give the Chargers a first down at the Heritage Hills' 28 -yard line with 15.1 seconds left in the first half. A run for no gain by Boger and a seven-yard run by Alvey advanced the ball to the Pa- triots' 21-yard line before the first half expired. Pike Central would start the second half with a bang – and a record-setting one to boot – when Boger field- ed Leibering's kickoff at his own 4-yard line and returned it 96 yards for a touchdown. Boger's kickoff return for a touchdown eclipsed the previ- ous record of 95 yards, which was set by Colton O'Neal during the 2015 season. "I was very proud of Boger, playing hard the whole game," Mattingly said of Boger, who also rushed for 18 yards on 10 carries. "Returning that kick was big, you know, a lone bright spot. That's awesome for him personally." That would prove to be the high water mark for the Char- gers, as Heritage Hills an- swered with a 10 -play, 74-yard drive culminating in a 12-yard touchdown pass from junior Cade Jones to Wetzel with 4:39 left in the third period. Sophomore Cayden Kratzer connected on a pass to Yeager for the two-point conversion, extending the Patriots lead to 35 -6. Heritage Hills would add two more touchdowns during the fourth quarter – a five- yard run by Wetzel with 10 :00 remaining and a one-yard run by junior Zane Schaad with 1:40 left – to stretch its lead out to 49 -6. Fields led the Chargers of- fensively with 40 yards on five carries, while Sisk added 32 yards on six carries. Sisk said afterward that he and his teammates were phys- ically prepared for the Patri- ots but that it was the men- tal part of the game that was lacking. "We've just got to stay more focused, especially when it comes Friday," said Sisk. "We've got to mentally focus. I think, physically, we could have broken them and we could have stopped them a lot, but the mental part ... we've got some great young kids and I think as soon as we get the mentality right, it's go- ing to be great." Sisk, who began the sea- son as an offensive guard, has since switched roles – as well as jersey numbers, from 51 to 44 – to play fullback for the Chargers. "Against Princeton, I wasn't really a factor in running the ball, but (Mattingly) told me if I blocked well and did my job at fullback, I'd get a couple of touches," Sisk said. "That's what I've been wanting my whole high school career." "If Coach wants to give me touches, he can give me touches," Sisk added. "But whatever he wants me to do, I'm going to bust my butt." "What a great, hard play- er," Mattingly said of Sisk. "That's a nice little weapon to have right there, just him pin-balling off people for five or six yards a carry. That's re- ally good to see." Pike Central will host Tell City (1-2 overall, 0 -2 in the PAC) on Friday, Sept. 8. The Marksmen opened their sea- son with a 20 -6 win over Per- ry Central but have since dropped back-to-back games to Heritage Hills 41-0 and South Spencer 18 -6. Mattingly described Tell City – who dropped a 43- 21 loss to the Chargers last season – as "a solid football team." "They've got about, I think, as many kids as they've had out," Mattingly said. "They've got some young skill guys. I like some of the things they do offensively. I think they play hard on defense. So it will be a great football game." Mattingly noted that Pike Central's next three games – against Tell City, Forest Park and South Spencer – were all potentially winnable games for the Chargers. "There's no game that's not going to be great for the next three weeks for us," Matting- ly said. "We're looking at it as this is the core part of our sea- son. We've got to come away with some wins here over the next few weeks, and it starts with Tell City. For me, right now, for our kids, at 7 o'clock Monday, when they show up for practice, that's when Tell City starts." Sisk agreed. "I don't expect these next three to go anything else ex- cept go three up and three down," Sisk said. "I'm ready to put three wins up on the board. Tell City, they've got explosive people, but we've got more of them." Kickoff is set for 7:30 p.m. at Weathers Field. CHARGERS Continued from page 1 WIN Continued from page 1 BOX SCORE At Heritage Hills Pike Central 0 0 6 0 – 6 Heritage Hills 20 7 8 14 – 49 First Quarter Heritage Hills – Malachi Yeager, 47, run (Carson Leibering kick), 11:49. Heritage Hills – Yeager, 14, run (Leibering kick), 8:15. Heritage Hills – Yeager, 7, run (pass failed), 0 :10. Second Quarter Heritage Hills – Adam Redmond, 19, run (Leiber- ing kick), 9:06. Third Quarter Pike Central – Clint Boger, 96, kickoff return (kick failed), 11:42. Heritage Hills – Jacob Wetzel, 12, pass from Cade Jones ( Yeager pass from Cayden Kratzer), 4:39. Fourth Quarter Heritage Hills – Wetzel, 5, run (Leibering kick), 10 :00. Heritage Hills – Zane Schaad, 1, run (Leibering kick), 1:40. Team Statistics Pike Central Heritage Hills First Downs ........................9 ............................ 12 Rushing Yds .....................127 ......................... 346 Rush-Att. ............................40 ........................... 30 Passing Yds ........................4 ............................ 10 Pass-Att...............................2 ............................. 2 Pass-Comp. ........................1 ............................. 2 Pass-Int. ..............................1 ............................. 0 Total Offense-Yds ............131 ......................... 356 Fumbles-Lost ................... 2-0 ...........................4-1 Punts-Avg. ..................... 4-28.0 ..................... 1-33.0 Penalties .......................... 1-10 ........................ 3-25 Individual Statistics Rushing: Pike Central – Mario Fields 5 -40, Jake Sisk 6 -32, Connor O'Neal 7-23, Clint Boger 10 -18, Christian Alvey 7-12, Brandon Long 3-2, Randy Pow- ell 2-0. Heritage Hills – Malachi Yeager 10 -168, Ad- am Redmond 9 -113, Zane Schaad 4-35, Jacob Wetzel 5 -30, Cade Jones 1-0, Cayden Kratzer 1-0. Passing: Pike Central – Christian Alvey 0 -1-1 0, Clint Boger 1-1-0 4. Heritage Hills – Cade Jones 2- 4-0 10. Receiving: Pike Central – Mario Fields 1-5. Her- itage Hills – Jacob Wetzel 1-12, Cole Sigler 1-(-2). HIGH SCHOOL FOOTBALL Pocket Athletic Conference Standings PAC Overall Team W-L W-L PF PA Gibson Southern 3-0 3-0 182 21 Heritage Hills 2-0 3-0 132 32 Southridge 1-0 2-1 85 51 North Posey 1-1 2-1 118 106 South Spencer 1-2 1-2 31 104 Pike Central 0 -1 1-2 35 96 Forest Park 0 -2 1-2 42 109 Tell City 0 -2 1-2 26 65 Results of September 1 PAC Games Heritage Hills 49, Pike Central 6 Gibson Southern 65, North Posey 14 South Spencer 18, Tell City 6 Southridge 47, Forest Park 7 Area Games Covenant Christian 62, Dugger Union 6 Eastern Greene 63, North Daviess 7 Evansville Central 48, Evansville Bosse 0 Evansville Mater Dei 35, Evansville Harrison 0 Evansville Memorial 41, Evansville North 13 Evansville Reitz 44, Castle 33 Jasper 28, Boonville 0 Lexington (Ky.) Christian 41, Vincennes Lincoln 21 Linton-Stockton 22, Monrovia 15 Mount Vernon (Posey) 28, Mount Carmel (Ill.) 22 North Knox 30, Tecumseh 21 Paoli 38, Springs Valley 6 Princeton 26, Washington 14 Rock Creek Academy 18, Wood Memorial 8 Sullivan 29, Northview 28 Mitchell 24, West Washington 16 Games of September 8 PAC Games Tell City at Pike Central, 7:30 p.m. Gibson Southern at Henderson County (Ky.) Jasper at Heritage Hills North Posey at Southridge South Spencer at Owensboro (Ky.) Catholic Tecumseh at Forest Park Area Games Boonville at Harrisburg (Ill.) Castle at Evansville Bosse Eastern Greene at Mitchell Evansville Harrison at Evansville North Evansville Memorial at Evansville Mater Dei Evansville Reitz at Evansville Central Linton-Stockton at North Vermillion Mount Carmel (Ill.) at Princeton North Decatur at North Central (Farmersburg) North Knox at Wood Memorial Springs Valley at West Washington Sullivan at North Putnam Vincennes Lincoln at Mount Vernon (Posey) Washington at North Daviess Game of Saturday, Sept. 9 Area Game Paris (Ill.) at Dugger Union 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 : GAVIN BOYD has played Soccer at Pike Central for four years, and also participates in Track and Wrestling. He also enjoys bow fishing. He is the son of Danny and Amanda Boyd, of Winslow. MORGAN WHANN has played Volleyball for four years at Pike Central. She is the recipient of the Volleyball Defense award, and two-time recipient of the Volleyball Academic award. Her favorite class is Physical Education. She also en- joys boating, shopping and rollerskating. Morgan is the daughter of Chris and Amber Whann, of Otwell. PIKE CENTRAL OF THE WEEK Mac's Heating and Air Conditioning recognizes the Pike Central seniors who are involved in athletics. Pike Central Middle School's Braden Howald (34) carries the ball after taking the handoff from Ken- drick Sorgius (33) during a seventh grade football game at North Knox on Thursday, Aug. 31. Howald rushed for seven yards on two carries and caught one pass for 48 yards in the Chargers' 16-0 victory. Ed Cahill photo Pike Central Middle School's Blaine Pitcher (12) looks for running room during an eighth grade football game at North Knox on Thursday, Aug. 31. Ed Ca- hill photo Pike Central Middle School's Zane Collins (21) carries the ball up the mid- dle during an eighth grade football game at North Knox on Thursday, Aug. 31. Ed Cahill photo Pike Central Middle School's Ashton Love- less (22) tries to tack- le North Knox's Devon Kent during game ac- tion on Thursday, Aug. 31. Ed Cahill photo