Banner Graphic, Volume 18, Number 306, Greencastle, Putnam County, 3 September 1988 — Page 4
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THE BANNERGRAPHIC September 3,1988
Eagles use big plays to blank North Putnam 33-0
By DON SMOTHERS Banner-Graphic Sports Writer North Putnam and South Putnam met Friday night in their annual cross-county clash, as both teams where trying to even up their records and gain possible bragging rights for the year. “Big” was the operative word for the Eagles. The ninth-ranked Class A team took charge early with three big plays in the first half to put the Cougars out of the game before they could get started in the 33-0 win for the Eagles. NORTH PUTNAM received the opening kickoff and quarterback Chad Werhman ran for 12 yards off his right side. Three plays later, on third-and-10, Werhman went to the air to get the first down, but defensive back Mike Trusty snatched the ball for the Eagles. South gave the ball to tailback Tad Christy on the next play and he scampered 33 yards around the left side for the first score of the night. The play seemed to set the tone for the game. After trading possessions on three consecutive three-plays-and-a-punt series, South faced second and eleven when defensive end Steve Lindley sacked quarterback Tege Lewis for a six-yard loss, putting the Eagles in a hole they couldn’t climb out of on that series. DESPITE THE defensive prowess, the Cougar offense still had problems moving the ball. Faced with third and seven on his own 15-yard line, Wehrman tossed an interception to Eagle
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linebacker Brad Toney. The big play happened quickly when the Eagles scored on the first play of the possession. Kevin Sullivan ran 22 yards for the second score and a 12-0 South Putnam lead. The next series the Cougars sputtered again setting up the final Eagle scoring drive of the half. Eagle Quarterback Tege Lewis threw a 20-yard pass to tight end Trusty, followed by a 10 yard run by Christy. LEWIS CAPPED off the scoring drive on a 45-yard jaunt to the end zone after seeing a weakness in the Cougar defensive line. Chris Brotherton ran for the two-point conversion, making the score 20-0 at half-time. The Cougars come back the third quarter ready to play. Robert Hensley provided a spark when he picked off a Lewis pass on the NP 40-yard line. The Cougars returned the favor when Wehrman tossed a miscue to Brotherton, who went 65 yards for a touchdown, putting the game out-
of-reach, 26-0. THE FINAL scoring drive ended at the 1:04 mark when Matt Macy made a 44-yard run to the three, gaining the touchdown on the next plav. The Eagles (now 1-1) take to the road for the first time in 1988, going to Cascade Friday, while the Cougars (0-2) play host to Southmont. Cougars-Eaglcs, Stats North Putnam 0 0 0 0— 0 South Putnam ( 14 6 733 First Quarter SP-T. Christy 33 run (kick failed) 9:49 Second Quarter SP-K. Sullivan 22 run (kick failed) 6:14 SP-T. Lewis 45 run (Brotherton run) 2:17 Third Quarter SP-C. Brotherton 65 . pass intrcptn (kick failed) Fourth Quarter SP-M. Macy 3 (Wallace kick) N.Ptnm S.Ptnm First dwns 5 5 Rushes-yrds 24-69 38-206 Passng-yrds 56 20 Cmp-Att-Int 6-30-4 5-1-1 Sacked-yrds 6-40 1-6 Pnts 5-85 4-63 Fumbles-Lst 4-2 3-1 Penalties-Yrds 4-35 6-65 INDIVIDUAL STATISTICS RUSHING—N.Ptnm.-Clodfelter 4-40, Werfimsm 4-19, Hensley 3-4, Hites 2-2 Green 1-4, S.Ptnm-Christy 13-100, Scott 9-37, Sullivanl-22, Macy 2-47 PASSING—N.Ptnm-Werhmam 4-16-4-19, Clodfelter 4-7-0-37, S.Ptnm-Lcwis 5-1-1-20 RECEIVING—N.Ptmn-Clodfelter 2-17, Hartman 2-23, S.Ptmn-Trusty 1-20.
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North Putnam’s Chris Hites (22) tries to elude South Putnam High School defensive tackle Troy Branson (10) as he swoops in for the tackle Friday night at the Eagles’ home field. Branson
Interception return for TD thwarts Cubs’ comeback
By ERIC BERNSEE Banner-Graphic Editor With 2Vi minutes left in the first half Friday night, the motion of the Greencastle offense went right. Tight end Matt Bowen cleared out the linebackers. Quarterback Chris Hutchings made a better fake than Hulk Hogan. And wide receiver Joe Tucker found himself all alone in the flat at the Monrovia 20. Only humid air between the junior and paydirt. A hurried throw, however, missed the mark and the Tiger Cubs eventually missed out completely on a scoring opportunity. NOT ONLY WOULD that prove to be a pivotal play in a firsthalf drive, but one that would come back to haunt the Tiger Cubs in a 22-7 loss to Monrovia at the new Greencastle High School field. Coach John Fallis remembered that play. Unfortunately, so did Monrovia. With five minutes left in the game, Monrovia had left the door open for Greencastle with its second straight missed extra point. The Bulldogs led 15-7. The Tiger Cubs were driving, and a touchdown and two-point conversion could send the first GHS home game in three years into overtime. “WHEN THEY missed that second extra point,” Fallis said, “that gave us every hope we could ask for.” And a pass interference call did even more, putting the ball at midfield for the Cubs. There, junior Kevin Barnett gained 11 on the option pitch. And fullback Ray Hoover bulled his way into the open for a 19-yard jaunt and a first down at the Monrovia 17 with 4:58 to go. Time for Tucker? Why not, speedy GHS receiver Joe Buis had limped to the sidelines. The running game was working. It would certainly catch the visitors by surprise. Hutchings faked. Bowen loped across the middle from the left, and ironically was wide open as he beckoned for the ball with his left arm. TUCKER WENT left. But so did comerback Jason Morgan, who stepped in front of the Tiger Cub receiver, snatched the football in full stride and went 89 yards down the visitors’ sideline for the gamebreaker. “That was more my fault than anything for calling that play,” Fallis said as he chatted after the game on the GHS track. “We had Joe Tucker wide open in the first half and missed him. It’s my fault, I shouldn’t have called it again.” Ironically, it was a similar defensive play by the Tiger Cubs that nearly turned the game in their favor early in the third quarter after the visitors had taken a 9-0 lead by scoring at the 0:08 mark of the first half on a 30-yard TD reception by Morgan and adding a third-period field goal. Barnett’s 34-yard punt and a hustling downfield tackle by Bowen that added another negative nine yards to the play for Monrovia, pushed the Bulldogs back to their own 12. ON FIRST DOWN, quarterback Tim Pridemore who threw for 195 yards on 14-of-22 accuracy on the night tried to connect to his
held Hites to no gain on this play, while South’s defense held the Cougar offense in check all night long in the 33-0 South Putnam win. (Ban-ner-Graphic photo by Gary Goodman).
Open recreation to start Tuesday at Greencastle
Open recreation at the McAnally Center gym will begin Tuesday, Sept. 6, Greencastle High School has announced. Open recreation will be available 7:30-9 p.m. each Monday and Tuesday night that there is not a home volleyball match at Greencastle. Admission is $1 for adults
left, but linebacker Jason Luken intercepted and dashed 13 yards for the first Greencastle score in the new football stadium. Randy Pettit’s extra point made it 9-7 and shook down the thunder from the sky. The noise, however, came not from the dark clouds rumbling past to the northeast, but from the purple-clad fans who probably put a few gray hairs on the head of GCSC facilities supervisor Dennis Liffick by discovering the racket they could create by stomping their feet on the metal bleachers. “That was the first time I really heard this place come alive,” smiled Fallis, knowing there will be many more foot-stomping cheers to come as this and other seasons unfold. AND THE NOISE had barely died down when the GHS defense was at it again. On Monrovia’s second play from scrimmage, Luken stepped in front of the receiver on the opposite side of the field and tipped the ball in the air, where Barnett intercepted near midfield with 1:50 to play in the third quarter. Greencastle hadn’t made any second-half adjustment to the Monrovia strategy, Fallis said. “We finally just started to play defense a little better and like we’re supposed to. We’d been having a hard time getting our linebackers to help out our defensive backs in pass coverage and they (the Bulldogs) were throwing about 15-yard passes in front of our deep coverage” SCORING HOPES, however, were soon deflated after Barnett’s interception when the Cubs gambled long. Hutchings threw for Buis deep along the south sideline, but Noel intercepted for Monrovia. After an exchange of punts opened the fourth quarter, Pridemore his Morgan for 21 yards and a facemasking penalty on Greencastle gave Monrovia its deepest penetration of the half at the GHS 14. There, fullback Jim Parsons slashed off right tackle and high-stepped into the end zone standing up for a 15-7 Bulldog lead. Only a couple of shoestring tackles kept Tiger Cubs from a trio of game-breaking plays themselves. Hoover’s 19-yard sweep was cut short only by a brave defensive back who undercut the 215-pound fullback in the open field. Barnett had a 46-yard burst on the secondhalf kickoff, setting up a scoring drive that went awry on a fumble at the Monrovia 29. And Buis, who returned a punt for a touchdown in the season opener at Cloverdale last
and 50 cents for students. Participants need to bring their own basketball. Scheduled dates of open recreation for September and October are: Tuesday, Sept. 6; Monday, Sept. 12; Tuesday, Sept. 20; Tuesday, Sept. 27; Monday, Oct. 3; Monday, Oct. 10; and Tuesday, Oct 11.
week, nearly broke free again in the second period. He went down only after trying to hurdle the last defender on a 27-yard return. MEANWHILE, except for a brief lapse with just seconds to go in the first half, the defense turned in a notable effort. The game seemed destined for a scoreless opening half when Pridemore drove his club 71 yards in the final 1:49, culminating in Morgan’s touchdown catch at 0:08. With just 20 seconds to go in the half, however, two Tiger Cub defenders had a chance at the same interception but couldn’t pull it down near the 10-yard line. On the next play Pridemore hit Morgan, who split the seam for the catch and left three Tiger Cubs strewn in his wake as he snaked through the defense into the end zone. “WE JUST DIDN’T play well enough to win,” Fallis simplified, noting that a key penalty, turnover or botched pitch off the option seemed to surface each time Greencastle had begun to create a little offensive momentum. “We had some good defensive play, but we failed to execute right before the half and they come up with the big play. “We need a lot of execution, over and over,” the Tiger Cub coach said, adding that he was happy with the GHS hustle and physical play but not necessarily the offensive inconsistency. “We just don’t have it timed and in gear yet. We’ll get there.” GREENCASTLE WILL get another chance to prove that next week when the Tiger Cubs (1-1) visit Danville, a 24-14 loser to Plainfield Friday night. Monrovia is now 2-0 after an opening win last week at North Putnam. Tiger Cub-Bulldog stats Monrovia 0 6 3 13 —22 Greencastle 0 0 7 0— 7 Second Quarter M Morgan 30 pass from Pridemore (run failed), 6-0, 0:08. Third Quarter M Fletcher 25 field goal, 9-0, 5:50. GHS Luken 13 interception return (Pettit kick), 9-7, 3:28. Fourth Quarter M Parson 14 run (kick failed), 15-7,7:19. M Morgan 89 interception return (Fletcher kick), 22-7, 4:58. MIIS GHS First dwns 13 10 Rushes-yrds 32-109 21-68 Passngyrds 195 81 Cmp-Att-Int 14-22-2 6-18-2 Sacked-yrds 4-17 3-12 Pnts 3-31.3 5-29.4 Fumbles-Lst 1-1 4-1 Penalties-Yrds 7-68 4-30 INDIVIDUAL STATISTICS RUSHlNG—Monrovia: Parsons, 12-69; Flaherty, 7-34; Fletcher, 9-23; Pridemore, 3-16; Noel, 1-1. Greencastle: Hoover, 8-43; Barnett, 639; Hutchings, 3-15, Pettit, 2-1; Team, (-18) on fumbled pitch. PASSlNG—Monrovia: Pridemore, 14-22-2,195 yards. Greencastle: Hutchings, 6-17-2, 81 yards; Barnett, 0-1-0. RECElVlNG—Monrovia:Belcher, 4-64; Morgan, 3-63; Noel, 4-43; Ruff, 2-10; Flaherty, 1-15. Greencastle: Barnett, 3-25; Luken, 2-27; Buis, 129.