Winamac locks down Kings to play on
In a rematch of last season’s sectional semifinal where Lewis Cass topped Winamac in a come-from-behind 21-14 win in overtime at Roudebush Field, the Kings looked poised to take down the Warriors early. The Kings entered the round one sectional game with just one win, but were feeling confident after playing a tough schedule in the Hoosier Conference. Winamac had its share of confidence also having closed out the season on a five-game winning streak where the Warriors outscored their opponents 192-55.
A slow start by the hosts gave way to an 8-0 lead by the Kings early in the second quarter. The visitors would never see the end zone again as the Warriors would reel off 28 points to knock the Kings out of post-season play by the final score of 28-8.
Winamac head coach Tim Roth commented after the game, “We told the kids all week long if they thought Cass was going to come here and have any respect for us guess again. They play a great schedule and got a win last week which gave them some confidence. We got off to a slow start and in that first quarter they did a number on us. We got lucky in the first half, but I give the kids a lot of credit in the second half because they carried out the game plan to perfection with what we wanted to do.”
Lewis Cass would elect to receive the opening kickoff and was prepared to make a statement early. On the team’s opening possession they marched the ball down the field to the five-yard line before Winamac came up with a defensive stop by Jack DeGroot who knocked down a pass at the goal line, keeping the Kings from scoring.
Following the turnover on downs, Winamac drove the ball to midfield only to turn the ball over via an interception. The first quarter would end in a 0-0 deadlock.
It didn’t take the Kings long to capitalize on the Winamac turnover. Forty-seven seconds into the second period, the visitors scored on a pitch to Brady Johnson who scampered in from 10 yards out. The Kings caught a break after a bad snap on the point was converted into two points giving the visitors an 8-0 lead with 11:13 left in the half. An injury to Johnson who was the Kings’ workhorse early in the game would hamper the running game of Lewis Cass the rest of the evening.
That would be it for the Kings as they would watch Winamac buckle down defensively and the Warrior offense heat up. It didn’t take long for the Warriors to answer the call as Matt Shorter capped off a 14-play drive that covered 80 yards with the first score of the night for the hosts. Shorter broke several tackles, taking the ball in from 7 yards making it an 8-6 ballgame. Shorter rushed for 179 yards on 18 attempts and scored twice.
Winamac would take the lead for good with 2:29 left in the first half when DeGroot would hit a wide-open Brody Brumm in stride across the middle for a 44-yard score. The conversion attempt would come up short for the second time, although Winamac would gain a 12-8 advantage. Brumm caught four passes for 69 yards.
With time running out in the half, the Kings were desperate to make something happen after a pair of penalties set the team back 15 extra yards. Facing a second-and-19 on their own 25-yard line, Kings quarterback Alec Eurit looked to pass for only the second time in the game. Forced out of the pocket by a Warrior pass rush Eurit fired the ball into the waiting arms of Brumm who read the play perfectly coming up with his seventh interception of the season.
Brumm talked about his interception saying, “Preparation during the week is a big help. Watching game film and knowing where the quarterback likes to throw and the routes the receivers run is key. It’s all about being in the right position at the right time.”
The Warriors’ final drive of the half would stall out and a 47-yard field goal attempt from Gerard Irurre would fall short of its intended target, but Winamac would still lead 12-8 at the intermission.
“We went in at halftime with the lead and knew we were going to get the football to start the third quarter. I said to them it’s not imperative but we need to make some noise in the second half offensively. We were able to march the ball down the field and score right away,” Roth said.
The second half belonged to Winamac who was not going to be denied playing another week of football. The Warriors ran the ball down the throat of the Kings on their first possession of the third quarter on the strength of Shorter, Ethan Rogers and Harley Pugh. Kolton Scott finished off the 73-yard drive with a 7-yard run to the right corner of the end zone, padding Winamac’s lead to 10 points.
Roth went on to add, “We got a lot of people involved offensively: Harley Pugh, Rogers, Scott and Shorter. Those guys all carried the ball effectively. In playoff football when you can move the chains, the other teams starts to pucker a bit. In the second half we were able to do that and by moving the chains we took Cass out of their rhythm.”
On the next possession, Shorter had a perfectly executed run down the far sideline, picking up downfield blockers to cross the goal line 76 yards later. Meanwhile, Winamac’s defense held the Kings to just four first downs in the second half and 40 yards rushing.
Shorter talked about the key to his big night, “Our linemen are in pretty good condition and I think we started to wear Cass down. We came out in the second half faster and ready to go. We have improved a lot on downfield blocking since the beginning of the year and it’s helped turn small plays into big plays.”
The final points of the game came when kicker Irurre got another chance at a field goal in the fourth quarter. This time Irurre split the uprights from 32 yards out, giving Winamac one more weapon in its offensive attack.
Winamac travels to Oak Hill Friday to meet up with the Golden Eagles for the first time ever in the Class 2A sectional semifinal. Oak Hill advances to Round 2 by beating Rochester 48-0.
Both teams enter the contest with 6-4 records. Oak Hill averages 26.8 points per game while their defense gives up an average of 20.9 points per game. The 48 points against Rochester was the most the Golden Eagles have scored all season.
Winamac will come into the game with a six-game winning streak, averaging 26.4 points per game, while the defense is allowing just 16.1.