By Anthony Mock
MaxPreps.com
Class 5A No. 9 Ben Davis walked into Lawrence North looking for some momentum going into the postseason. Instead, the Wildcats fought off a last-second scoring drive to give the Giants their second loss in a row, 14-10.
Kickoff returns of 52 and 45 yards, respectively, in the first half by Kory Stamps set up both Wildcat touchdowns. Quarterback Demory Lawshe went 7-for-16 passing for 108 yards and threw both scores while also contributing a game-high 89 yards rushing.
Ben Davis held close with a 1-yard TD plunge from running back Miles Wright in the second quarter and a field goal in the third.
The game came down to two great defensive plays from Wildcat cornerback Will Nolden.
In the fourth quarter, Nolden intercepted a pass deep in Wildcat territory at the 2:37 mark. The Giants still had one more chance after that, but a pass inside the Wildcats’ 5-yard line was broken up as Nolden made a big hit on Ben Davis running back Donte Asher. With four seconds left in the game, Ben Davis’ last play was a pass under heavy pressure that resulted in a flip to an offensive lineman for a two-yard loss.
The Giants’ loss was due in large part to key mistakes. Though they out-gained the Wildcats 320-244 in total yards, the Giants (5-3) turned the ball over three times and could not manage to force Lawrence North into one. The Wildcats’ second touchdown was the result of a roughing the passer call on 3rd-and-12.
“Our goal on offense is always to end every drive with a kick, one way or another,” Lawrence North head coach Tom Dilley said. “There are still a lot of things we have to fine tune on defense, but our coaching staff has done a great job of getting our guys ready to play each week.”
Lawrence North is now 4-4, a solid record considering the Wildcats play arguably the toughest schedule in the state. This is the program’s biggest win since 2005 and should prepare it to take on a very tough sectional that includes Lawrence Central, 5A No. 3 Warren Central and No. 5 Hamilton Southeastern.
“It’s always a plus for us to play in such a good conference and against good opponents because it prepares us for the sectional,” Dilley said. “And I’d put our (sectional) up against anyone’s.”
The Wildcats’ final game of the season is at Terre Haute South on Friday. Lawrence North then opens up sectional play at home against Fishers (5-3).
Triton Central Clinches Share of Conference
Triton Central’s first play from scrimmage was a 91-yard bomb from senior quarterback Jordan Martin to wide receiver Justin Sprinkle en route to a 27-14 halftime lead over Indiana Creek. It took a goal line stand at the end of the fourth quarter, however, to ensure the Tigers’ victory, 39-28.
Martin came out on fire in the first half, throwing for 227 yards and three touchdowns while running for another. In the third quarter, the Tigers continued to add to their lead as Martin hit Sprinkle for a 35-yard score, his second of the game, and running back Ben Mohr added a rushing touchdown.
Indian Creek then scored twice on passing touchdowns from quarterback Trey Reese, but was stuffed as Reese attempted a sneak on 4th-and-goal from the 1-yard line with 24 seconds left to play.
It was a big win for a resurgent program with a brand new head coach. The Tigers now sit at 7-1, their only loss coming to Class 2A No. 1 Heritage Christian in the second week of the season. It is important for Triton Central to get used to winning and earning victories in close games because of the probability of facing Heritage Christian in the second round of the sectionals.
The win clinched the Tigers a share of the Mid-Indiana conference title, though Triton Central plans to lock up the championship outright with a win over Milan on Friday.
Center Grove Puts Up 70…in First Half
Class 5A No. 2 Center Grove went in to Friday night’s match-up with North Central as the heavy favorite. No one expected such a monstrous first half from the Trojans, though, as nine different players had a hand in their nine first half touchdowns on the way to a 70-13 victory.
The Trojans dominated the game in every way, racking up 480 yards of total offense while holding North Central to 159 yards. Quarterback Jordan Luallen, a Georgia Tech commit, had a relatively easy day, going 2-for-2 passing for 79 yards and two touchdowns. The running game is what really overpowered North Central. With the exception of a 1-yard score by running back Nolan Weidman, the Trojan rushing touchdowns ranged from 26 yards to 65 yards in length.
Center Grove had a chance to rest its players, a good thing considering they will be hosting 5A No. 3 Warren Central, also coming off of a game where they put up 70 points, on Friday.
Cardinal Ritter Makes Statement
Class 1A No. 1 Sheridan has won more than 40 straight games and three consecutive state championships. 1A No. 2 Cardinal Ritter might have something to say about that if the two teams meet in the state finals.
Ritter continued its impressive unbeaten run last Friday, manhandling 1A No. 10 Scecina 41-3.
In the first quarter, the Raiders looked sluggish on offense. Junior quarterback Ross Hendrickson was under constant pressure from a good Crusader pass rush, pressure that resulted in Hendrickson throwing his fourth interception of the season.
Thanks to a superb effort from wide receiver Tyrone Walker, who caught nine balls for 147 yards, the Raiders score twice on touchdown passes of 52 yards and 19 yards, respectively, to take a 14-3 in the second quarter.
From there, it was up to the rushing offense and defense. Ritter got in the end zone four more times on the ground and held Scecina to 78 yards of total offense in the second half.
Running back Isaiah Norwook led the way for the Raiders with 75 yards rushing on 10 carries, including a 27-yard touchdown run.
Ritter captured the Indiana Crossroads Conference title with the win over the rival Crusaders, who were the defending conference champions. Ritter’s final test of the season will be against Class 2A No. 1 Heritage Christian on Friday.
Boys Tennis: Center Grove Advances to State
It came down to the wire, but No. 3 Center Grove pulled out an impressive 3-2 win over defending champion No. 2 North Central to advance to the state finals.
The Trojans lost their No. 1 singles match 6-3, 6-4 to defending No. 1 singles champion sophomore Nick Chappelle, who is 23-0 on the season. They managed to pull out their No. 2 and No. 3 singles matches 6-1, 6-1 and 6-0, 6-4, respectively. After losing their No. 1 doubles match, the Trojans’ season came down to the No. 2 doubles pairing of Chris Webb and Alex Moffett.
Webb and Moffett took the first set 6-3 but looked outclassed in the second set, losing 6-1. The third set went into a tie-breaker, and the Trojans captured the semi-state crown off a far-corner backhand from Webb that looked like it was going to be North Central’s point. Center Grove took the final set 7-6 (7-5).
The Trojans will face No. 8 Munster in the state semi-finals on Saturday. The winner will play the winner of No. 5 Zionsville and No. 12 Columbus North in the finals.
Boys Soccer: Westfield Squeaks By Carmel
No. 3 Westfield was in an unusual spot on Saturday night. The Shamrocks had only fallen behind in a game once all year by one goal once all year, but had to come back from a goal down twice to get past No. 8 Carmel in overtime in the sectional final.
It is the second time in a row that Westfield has knocked off the Greyhounds in the sectional final, though this game was decidedly more difficult. After trailing 1-0 early in the first half, senior Bret Davidson scored a goal with 3:19 left in the half. Again, in the second half, Carmel took the lead. This time it was Craig DeVaney who tied the game at 2 apiece with just over five minutes left.
It took only 3:32 in sudden-death overtime for Westfield to get the victory as Jeremy Vollmer scored a goal off of a throw-in by his brother Jamie. The Shamrocks will play Brebeuf in the first round of regional play on Wednesday night.