It didn’t take long for Clark County to show its dominance against South Shelby Monday night.
The Indians bounced out to a 25-point lead in the first three quarters and defeated the Cardinals 25-13 Monday night in Shelbina in the state sectional playoff. South Shelby ends the season with an 11-2 record.
“We dug ourselves a big hole in the first half,” said Rob Wilt, South Shelby head coach. “I thought we did a good job of coming out in the second half and we never gave up, and I’m proud of them for that.”
On the other side, Clark Country (12-0) extended its state-best winning streak to 27 games. The defending state-champion Indians will face No. 1 Centralia, who defeated Blair Oaks last night 56-8, in the quarterfinal on Saturday. Centralia defeated South Shelby 46-13 in Week 2.
But before the quarterfinal, the Indians had to take care of business Monday night. After winning the opening toss and deferring, the Cardinals went to work right away. They stopped Clark County on 4th and 1 from the Cardinal’s 48-yard line on the opening possession.
After the stop, the Indians immediately took the ball down the field for the score, capped off by a fade pass in the left side of the end zone to senior wide receiver Zach Alderton.
“We needed to make way there at the ball when they had it in the first half,” said Matt Smith, Clark County head coach. “And I thought we were pretty efficient [on offense].”
The Cardinals were again stuffed on fourth down on their ensuing possession, but Clark County did not capitalize as a field goal fell well short of the uprights.
After a punt, the Indians went to work again. With just less than three minutes left in the half, junior quarterback Ryan Whiston pitched left on an option to junior running back Justin Alderton. Alderton nearly went untouched for the 65-yard score and a 12-0.
Alderton again had about a 60-yard gain in the second half on the exact play. Smith said Clark Country called audibles on those plays after seeing the defense of South Shelby.
“There were a couple things that we were doing where they were overloading and giving us a situation where really, if we get them blocked up, it was two on one,” Smith said.
The Cardinals made some noise in the second half with two late scores. Their first touchdown drive was capped by a one-yard run by sophomore running back Will Mefford. The team then converted a surprise onside kick that lined off the nearest Cardinal player.
“We planned it, and [our kicker] kicked it right at the kid, and it worked out pretty good,” Wilt said.
The Cardinals scored again a few plays later, but never came close to making it a one-possession game. Clark Country regained possession for good after a failed a fourth-down attempt fell short.
The second and first halves proved quite different for both teams. The Indians dominated the first half, and South Shelby never came close to scoring until its last possession. The Cardinals drove all the way to the 12, but were backed up by a sack and an unsportsmanlike penalty. The last play of the first half was an interception in the end zone.
Still, Wilt said South Shelby played better overall in the second half when Clark County did not have as many tackles for loss.
“We just blocked better up front,” Wilt said. “We did a better job of seeing what they were trying to do stunt-wise, and we did a good job picking it up and it opened some holes for us.”
|
|
|
It didn’t take long for Clark County to show its dominance against South Shelby Monday night.
The Indians bounced out to a 25-point lead in the first three quarters and defeated the Cardinals 25-13 Monday night in Shelbina in the state sectional playoff. South Shelby ends the season with an 11-2 record.
“We dug ourselves a big hole in the first half,” said Rob Wilt, South Shelby head coach. “I thought we did a good job of coming out in the second half and we never gave up, and I’m proud of them for that.”
On the other side, Clark Country (12-0) extended its state-best winning streak to 27 games. The defending state-champion Indians will face No. 1 Centralia, who defeated Blair Oaks last night 56-8, in the quarterfinal on Saturday. Centralia defeated South Shelby 46-13 in Week 2.
But before the quarterfinal, the Indians had to take care of business Monday night. After winning the opening toss and deferring, the Cardinals went to work right away. They stopped Clark County on 4th and 1 from the Cardinal’s 48-yard line on the opening possession.
After the stop, the Indians immediately took the ball down the field for the score, capped off by a fade pass in the left side of the end zone to senior wide receiver Zach Alderton.
“We needed to make way there at the ball when they had it in the first half,” said Matt Smith, Clark County head coach. “And I thought we were pretty efficient [on offense].”
The Cardinals were again stuffed on fourth down on their ensuing possession, but Clark County did not capitalize as a field goal fell well short of the uprights.
After a punt, the Indians went to work again. With just less than three minutes left in the half, junior quarterback Ryan Whiston pitched left on an option to junior running back Justin Alderton. Alderton nearly went untouched for the 65-yard score and a 12-0.
Alderton again had about a 60-yard gain in the second half on the exact play. Smith said Clark Country called audibles on those plays after seeing the defense of South Shelby.
“There were a couple things that we were doing where they were overloading and giving us a situation where really, if we get them blocked up, it was two on one,” Smith said.
The Cardinals made some noise in the second half with two late scores. Their first touchdown drive was capped by a one-yard run by sophomore running back Will Mefford. The team then converted a surprise onside kick that lined off the nearest Cardinal player.
“We planned it, and [our kicker] kicked it right at the kid, and it worked out pretty good,” Wilt said.
The Cardinals scored again a few plays later, but never came close to making it a one-possession game. Clark Country regained possession for good after a failed a fourth-down attempt fell short.
The second and first halves proved quite different for both teams. The Indians dominated the first half, and South Shelby never came close to scoring until its last possession. The Cardinals drove all the way to the 12, but were backed up by a sack and an unsportsmanlike penalty. The last play of the first half was an interception in the end zone.
Still, Wilt said South Shelby played better overall in the second half when Clark County did not have as many tackles for loss.
“We just blocked better up front,” Wilt said. “We did a better job of seeing what they were trying to do stunt-wise, and we did a good job picking it up and it opened some holes for us.”
