BEACON PORTS SCENE
Page 14 THE BEACON December 2017
S
BEACON PORTS SCENE
By Chris Nobbe
sports @ goBEACONnews . com
Tigers Take Rematch with Strong 2nd Half
When the Lawrenceburg Tigers and Brownstown Central Braves last met on November 18 of last year , they played a very exciting high school football game for the right to go to the 2016 IHSAA State Finals . The IHSAA Semi-state game last season ended with the Tigers coming away with a 41-40 victory that was decided in the last two minutes of the game . The environment was electric with fans for both teams completely encircling Neary Field at Dick Meador Stadium , even going several people deep along the fences . The game was a phenomenal display of scholastic sports on many levels in a back and forth battle between two old sectional rivals .
Historically , the Tigers and Braves had often found themselves at odds against one another in sectional play when both were 2A programs . Last year marked their first encounter as 3A opponents in the tournament , yet they were in different sectionals , allowing them to meet at a higher level of the tournament .
Unfortunately , the realignment of the sectional teams that occurs every two years by the IHSAA placed Lawrenceburg and Brownstown Central in the very same sectional again . Further adding to this was the fact that they drew each other as first-round opponents while both sporting identical 8-1 records on the season .
Both programs can also boast of impressive tournament resumes . Lawrenceburg owns 17 sectional titles , five regionals , two semi-states , and two state titles in its
The Lawrenceburg Tigers ' offense readies for a play deep in Brownstown Central territory in first-round IHSAA sectional action .
school ’ s history . Brownstown Central claims 14 sectional titles , and three regionals all earned under the tutelage of Reed May during the last quarter century .
The two teams have matched up in tournament games six times since 1995 before Friday ’ s sectional match up . Each of those match ups holds its own storylines , but you might recall the 2005 sectional final that saw Lawrenceburg erase a 21-point deficit midway through the fourth quarter and win the sectional title in overtime .
Another game that stands out occurred in the 1999 sectional final when the 5-6 Tigers took down the undefeated Braves for yet another sectional crown . The Tigers held a 4-2 record in those earlier contests , but this game was a chance for the Braves to avenge the close loss of a year ago .
This game did not have the hype or the crowd of last year ’ s contest , but it was not due to the lack of talent on either team . A first-round sectional match up does not always carry the appeal of a semi-state game despite the level of competition .
Both teams were ranked in the top ten in 3A football coming into the game with Lawrenceburg at # 5 and Brownstown Central at # 9 . The crowd was not nearly as large for this clash , but the excitement and action on the field were reminiscent of earlier contests between these two programs .
Neither team saw the end zone in the first quarter although it saw Brownstown Central take a risk and convert a fourth and inches on its own 27-yard line . The quarter
also featured a 51-yard scamper by Lawrenceburg quarterback Austin Weimer late in the quarter .
After the Weimer carry and early in the second quarter , the Tigers faced a fourth down conversion deep in Braves ’ territory and converted a long pass play to senior Keith Rosenberger for first and goal . The Tigers were able to find the orange of the end zone of Neary Field on a 5-yard run by Dawson Craig at the 9:37 mark of the quarter . Payton Seig added the kick to give Lawrenceburg the early lead 7-0 .
The Braves quickly responded with an 83-yard drive dominated by Caleb Bollinger which was capped off with a 1-yard touchdown run by Gus Hogan and the extra point from Ethan Sevakis to even the score at 7-7 with 4:49 remaining in the half .
After a three and out by Tigers , the Braves once again made some big plays on a drive including a long wheel route from Hogan to Bollinger that put the ball on the 2-yard line with : 48 seconds remaining . Hogan would find pay dirt again for the Braves , and the kick made it a 14-7 game at the half .
It seemed the Braves were rolling on offense going into the half , but those points would prove to be the last points of the game for Brownstown Central .
The second half began with a stalled drive and punt by the Braves . The Tigers began on their own 33 and completed a 67-yard drive with a 10-yard touchdown run from freshman Adam Burd . The kick from Seig tied the score at 14 with 7:42 remaining in the third quarter .
After Lawrenceburg forced another punt , Weimer hooked up with Gavin Yoon twice on a 53-yard pass play and another 15-yard pass play to set up the next score . The score that put the Tigers on top to stay was a 1-yard run by Hunter Privett at the 1:55 mark in the third .
The extra point made for some excitement after the touchdown . The kick attempt ended up a broken play that saw Lawrenceburg seemingly convert it into two points . However , a penalty negated the points and forced another kick . The second attempt from a greater distance was subsequently blocked by the Braves to leave the score at 20-14 .
It was still a close game , but the Lawrenceburg defense of coordinator Derrick Barnes continued to do a stellar job of containing the offensive weapons of the Braves that
Members of both the boys ' and girls ' cross country teams from Batesville Middle School share their joy and show off their hardware in this photo taken at the conclusion of the Indiana Middle School Cross Country Championships . ( Submitted photo )
seemed to slash them in the first half .
When the Tigers got the ball back , offensive coordinator Mike Manford called on Mason Parris after lulling the Braves to sleep with him only blocking to this point in the game . Parris proceeded to take the first play of the drive around the left end for a 67- yard touchdown run . The twopoint attempt failed , but the Tigers were now up 26-14 .
Head coach Ryan Knigga had to be happy with his defensive unit ’ s second half performance as they shut down the Braves yet again with a Yoon pass breakup on third and 10 and a Tiger sack on the fourth down attempt .
The Tiger offense quickly used that momentum with Adam Burd scoring his second touchdown of the game on a 54-yard run at 6:50 . The Seig kick made the score 33- 14 , and the Braves could not muster anything else in the half against the stout defense of the Tigers .
Although the score may seem lopsided , the game was a great contest just as it was a year ago . These two programs played a tremendous game , but the Tigers were able to control the second half to come away with the big win and advance in the tournament .
The Tigers will face Greensburg in the next round with a possible match up with either undefeated North Harrison or EIAC nemesis Batesville in the sectional final .
BMS Harriers Run Down State Titles
The Batesville Middle School cross country teams ended remarkable seasons when they participated in the Indiana Middle School Cross Country Championships on Sept . 30 in Carmel , Indiana . The girls ’ team capped off an undefeated season by claiming the championship of the small school division by outscoring runner-up ( and EIAC rival ) Greensburg 129- 182 . Forty-one middle school girls ’ teams competed in the race in that division . Demonstrating the depth of this team , the Lady Bulldogs were able to place all seven runners in the top 68 out of 267 runners competing on teams . Overall , 365 girls participated in the varsity race .
Leading the way for the Lady Bulldogs were Lily Pinckley ( 9th ), Emma Weiler ( 12th ), Ava Hanson ( 33rd ),
Sophie Myers ( 34th ), and Sarah Ripperger rounding out the scoring by finishing 41st . Jada Day ( 66th ) and Katie Olsen ( 68th ) finished out the varsity team for this race with fantastic performances as well . These places reflect their finishes among runners from complete teams in the race . Three other Batesville runners who competed in the varsity race were Maria Lopez at 106 , Madelyn Pohlman at 154 , and Megan Allgeier at 197 reflecting their finishes out of the total of 365 .
The girls ’ team was champions of the EIAC , Ripley County Meet , Greensburg Invitational , and South Dearborn Invitational . They finished the season unblemished at 81-0 .
The BMS boys ’ team also wrapped up its season with an impressive fifth-place team finish out of 44 teams in the small school division . This race included 285 competitors on teams and saw Batesville finish all of its scorers well into the top half of the race . The varsity race included 382 boys overall .
The boys ’ team was topped off with an individual state championship run by eighthgrader Ean Loichinger who completed the 3K course in 9:55.8 . Ean remained unbeaten in all races throughout the year and won this race by nearly four seconds over the second place runner .
The four other scoring members of the team finished in the top 76 of the race . Benjamin Moster finished an impressive 13th followed by Will Nuhring ( 33rd ), Vonley Hund ( 72nd ), and Lyle Oesterling ( 76th ). The remaining varsity runners were Aiden Geers breaking the top 100 at 99th and Daren Smith finishing in 158th . These places also reflect their finishes among runners from complete teams who were competing .
Two additional boys who competed in the varsity race were Will Sherwood at 188 and Cole Pride at 259 reflecting their finishes out of the total of 382 .
The season for the boys was also impressive with titles in the EIAC , Ripley County Meet , and South Dearborn Invitational as well as a runnerup finish at the Greensburg Invitational .
Head coach of the Bulldogs is Derek Suits . He is assisted by Kayla Suits and Malena Smith . Congratulations to the BMS cross country teams on the well-earned achievements .
IF YOU LIKE THE BEACON … PLEASE SUPPORT OUR ADVERTISERS , AND TELL THEM YOU SAW THEIR ADS IN THE BEACON . THANK YOU !