Knights armor up for 24-14 win
October 5, 2021 at 9:41 p.m.
Knights armor up for 24-14 win
By Will Fehlinger-
Building a 21-14 advantage by halftime, the Aurora club punted twice in the third quarter, with the second kick booted into the line of blockers to set FC up at the Knight 29-yard-line. A tackle for loss by Sam Westerfeld and a nice batted ball by Kaden Erfman had led to the 4th-and-11.
Freshman quarterback Quinn Gillman recovered well from a 3rd-down sack to find senior Kristian Prows on a 15-yard sideline pattern. A series of mishaps – TFL, false start, incompletion, sack/fumble – sent the Cats from the 14 back to the 25-yard stripe early in the final period. Out of a timeout, the guests tried a halfback pass with Bridger Bolos and the senior’s throw fell incomplete for a turnover on downs.
The next drive netted the only points of the half. With heavy usage of senior back CJ Rogers – who had gone over the 1,000-yard mark earlier in the game – the Knights matriculated down to the FC 33 but faced 4th-and-6. Sophomore Adam Kunkel dropped back and hit junior Austin Ballart for a 25-yard gain to the 8. On 3rd-and-goal from the 6, SD put the ball on the new turf field, but Rogers was quick to cover it. Freshman kicker Taytum Barker then connected on a 23-yard field goal to make it a two-score game.
Seventeen seconds later, South Dearborn had the ball back. On 2nd-and-10, junior QB Brady Morehead’s attempt to the outside was deflected into the arms of Corbin Cassidy. Two Rogers runs later, Kunkel again hooked up with Ballart on a 28-yarder into the red zone. FC used its final two timeouts ahead of a 4th-and-2 play with 2:01 remaining. Ashton Kittle gained the needed yards and SD lined up in victory formation inside the 5.
“We missed some opportunities (in the red zone) and in a game this evenly matched, that comes back to haunt you,” said FC head coach Wes Gillman. “Penalties hurt us again. We’re a block away from a big play in certain situations.”
Giving a nod to the Knight defense, he added, “they did a good job of slanting their defensive linemen and confusing our guys up front. They’re always aggressive and that was the case tonight.”
Rogers took the first ball from scrimmage 28 yards into FC territory. He’d carry four more times down to the 1, where Kunkel punched it in for a quick 6-0 lead.
“That first drive was disappointing,” said Gillman. “We came out flat and let SD march right down the field. It kind of set the tone for the rest of the night.”
An FC holding call led to a three-and-out and the Knights set up shop at the 50. Kunkel was on point during the second drive, hitting on 4 passes for 44 yards and avoiding a sack on one of those; the QB then scored again and Barker’s kick made it 14-0.
“He did a good job making plays,” Gillman said of Kunkel. “I didn’t see them with a huge advantage (there) coming in. We were in a position to make plays on the ball in the air on several occasions and didn’t do it. Combine that with (safety Hunter) Geis’ injury and we were a little depleted in the secondary.”
FC’s next two drives resulted in a pair of turnovers on downs. The Cats finally got something going with about 9 minutes left in the half. An option to Jacob Schatzle went for 34 yards and on a 4th-and-7, Gillman found Schatzle for 22 yards. Bolos went in from 12 yards on the next snap. The conversion came up short, making it 14-6.
SD answered quickly by going 60 yards on five plays. Kunkel and Reese Willoughby got together for a 27-yarder to the 6; after a false start, Rogers raced up the middle for a TD.
With some help in the form of an unsportsmanlike call on SD, the Wildcats moved into Knight land and Bolos produced a 23-yard gain. On a 3rd-and-15, Gillman once more threw to Schatzle, the latter getting 18 yards to the 9. Gillman would score from 7 yards out; the conversion run came up short, but the Knights were called for a facemask and Gillman added the deuce.
FC was lucky to keep it a one-score deficit. Gillman was intercepted by Drew Probst but tackled the Knight after a short return. On 4th-and-7, Kunkel’s pass to the end zone was incomplete.
FC started the second half at midfield and ran for a pair of first downs. On 4th-and-4 from the 21, Morehead’s pass to Schatzle fell to the turf for a turnover on downs. Rogers broke off his best run of the night on the next play, rumbling 30 yards. Several penalties – SD’s 3 for 30 yards and FC’s 2 for 20 – ultimately resulted in the Knights releasing a punt from near midfield. FC’s next series went backwards after a Morehead first down, ending in a punt on 4th-and-18.
The Cats are a little nicked up as the regular season winds down.
“At this time of year, most teams are a little banged up,” said Gillman. “It's magnified with us because we're thin the way it is. Geis may be out for an extended period. All we can do is go with the guys we have.”
Austin Hill led the defense with 5 tackles; Westerfeld and Tyreke Carr each had 4.
FC (4-3, 1-2) finishes Eastern Indiana Athletic Conference play in third place as East Central posted a 3-0 mark for the title. Next is a trip to Batesville to face the 4-3 Bulldogs, Friday 7 p.m.
Knights 24, Wildcats 14
Franklin Co. – 0 14 0 0 - 14
S. Dearborn - 14 7 0 3 - 24
First Quarter
SD – Kunkel 1-yard run, 9:21. Barker kick.
SD – Kunkel 1-yard run, 5:19. Barker kick.
Second Quarter
FC – Bolos 12-yard run, 5:55. Run failed.
SD – Rogers 11-yard run, 3:57. Barker kick.
FC – Gillman 7-yard run, 1:08. Gillman run.
Fourth Quarter
SD – Barker 23-yard FG, 4:22
Total yards: FC 203, SD 348
Passing: FC 55, SD 174
Rushing: FC 148, SD 174
First downs: FC 11, SD 17
Fumbles/lost: FC 1/0, SD 1/0
Penalties: FC 8-60, SD 8-61
Franklin Co.- Rushing: Bolos 14-65, Morehead 5-33, Gillman 12-6, Schatzle 6-44. Passing: Morehead 0-6 (INT), Gillman 3-8-55 (INT), Bolos 0-1. Receiving: Prows 1-15, Schatzle 2-40.
South Dearborn - Rushing: Rogers 27-154, Kunkel 3-5, Kittle 4-14, CJ Evans 1-1. Passing: Kunkel 12-26-174. Receiving: Ballart 4-73, Willoughby 3-54, Rogers 1-17, McGraw 4-30.
(Stats should be considered unofficial)
Latest News
E-Editions
Events
Building a 21-14 advantage by halftime, the Aurora club punted twice in the third quarter, with the second kick booted into the line of blockers to set FC up at the Knight 29-yard-line. A tackle for loss by Sam Westerfeld and a nice batted ball by Kaden Erfman had led to the 4th-and-11.
Freshman quarterback Quinn Gillman recovered well from a 3rd-down sack to find senior Kristian Prows on a 15-yard sideline pattern. A series of mishaps – TFL, false start, incompletion, sack/fumble – sent the Cats from the 14 back to the 25-yard stripe early in the final period. Out of a timeout, the guests tried a halfback pass with Bridger Bolos and the senior’s throw fell incomplete for a turnover on downs.
The next drive netted the only points of the half. With heavy usage of senior back CJ Rogers – who had gone over the 1,000-yard mark earlier in the game – the Knights matriculated down to the FC 33 but faced 4th-and-6. Sophomore Adam Kunkel dropped back and hit junior Austin Ballart for a 25-yard gain to the 8. On 3rd-and-goal from the 6, SD put the ball on the new turf field, but Rogers was quick to cover it. Freshman kicker Taytum Barker then connected on a 23-yard field goal to make it a two-score game.
Seventeen seconds later, South Dearborn had the ball back. On 2nd-and-10, junior QB Brady Morehead’s attempt to the outside was deflected into the arms of Corbin Cassidy. Two Rogers runs later, Kunkel again hooked up with Ballart on a 28-yarder into the red zone. FC used its final two timeouts ahead of a 4th-and-2 play with 2:01 remaining. Ashton Kittle gained the needed yards and SD lined up in victory formation inside the 5.
“We missed some opportunities (in the red zone) and in a game this evenly matched, that comes back to haunt you,” said FC head coach Wes Gillman. “Penalties hurt us again. We’re a block away from a big play in certain situations.”
Giving a nod to the Knight defense, he added, “they did a good job of slanting their defensive linemen and confusing our guys up front. They’re always aggressive and that was the case tonight.”
Rogers took the first ball from scrimmage 28 yards into FC territory. He’d carry four more times down to the 1, where Kunkel punched it in for a quick 6-0 lead.
“That first drive was disappointing,” said Gillman. “We came out flat and let SD march right down the field. It kind of set the tone for the rest of the night.”
An FC holding call led to a three-and-out and the Knights set up shop at the 50. Kunkel was on point during the second drive, hitting on 4 passes for 44 yards and avoiding a sack on one of those; the QB then scored again and Barker’s kick made it 14-0.
“He did a good job making plays,” Gillman said of Kunkel. “I didn’t see them with a huge advantage (there) coming in. We were in a position to make plays on the ball in the air on several occasions and didn’t do it. Combine that with (safety Hunter) Geis’ injury and we were a little depleted in the secondary.”
FC’s next two drives resulted in a pair of turnovers on downs. The Cats finally got something going with about 9 minutes left in the half. An option to Jacob Schatzle went for 34 yards and on a 4th-and-7, Gillman found Schatzle for 22 yards. Bolos went in from 12 yards on the next snap. The conversion came up short, making it 14-6.
SD answered quickly by going 60 yards on five plays. Kunkel and Reese Willoughby got together for a 27-yarder to the 6; after a false start, Rogers raced up the middle for a TD.
With some help in the form of an unsportsmanlike call on SD, the Wildcats moved into Knight land and Bolos produced a 23-yard gain. On a 3rd-and-15, Gillman once more threw to Schatzle, the latter getting 18 yards to the 9. Gillman would score from 7 yards out; the conversion run came up short, but the Knights were called for a facemask and Gillman added the deuce.
FC was lucky to keep it a one-score deficit. Gillman was intercepted by Drew Probst but tackled the Knight after a short return. On 4th-and-7, Kunkel’s pass to the end zone was incomplete.
FC started the second half at midfield and ran for a pair of first downs. On 4th-and-4 from the 21, Morehead’s pass to Schatzle fell to the turf for a turnover on downs. Rogers broke off his best run of the night on the next play, rumbling 30 yards. Several penalties – SD’s 3 for 30 yards and FC’s 2 for 20 – ultimately resulted in the Knights releasing a punt from near midfield. FC’s next series went backwards after a Morehead first down, ending in a punt on 4th-and-18.
The Cats are a little nicked up as the regular season winds down.
“At this time of year, most teams are a little banged up,” said Gillman. “It's magnified with us because we're thin the way it is. Geis may be out for an extended period. All we can do is go with the guys we have.”
Austin Hill led the defense with 5 tackles; Westerfeld and Tyreke Carr each had 4.
FC (4-3, 1-2) finishes Eastern Indiana Athletic Conference play in third place as East Central posted a 3-0 mark for the title. Next is a trip to Batesville to face the 4-3 Bulldogs, Friday 7 p.m.
Knights 24, Wildcats 14
Franklin Co. – 0 14 0 0 - 14
S. Dearborn - 14 7 0 3 - 24
First Quarter
SD – Kunkel 1-yard run, 9:21. Barker kick.
SD – Kunkel 1-yard run, 5:19. Barker kick.
Second Quarter
FC – Bolos 12-yard run, 5:55. Run failed.
SD – Rogers 11-yard run, 3:57. Barker kick.
FC – Gillman 7-yard run, 1:08. Gillman run.
Fourth Quarter
SD – Barker 23-yard FG, 4:22
Total yards: FC 203, SD 348
Passing: FC 55, SD 174
Rushing: FC 148, SD 174
First downs: FC 11, SD 17
Fumbles/lost: FC 1/0, SD 1/0
Penalties: FC 8-60, SD 8-61
Franklin Co.- Rushing: Bolos 14-65, Morehead 5-33, Gillman 12-6, Schatzle 6-44. Passing: Morehead 0-6 (INT), Gillman 3-8-55 (INT), Bolos 0-1. Receiving: Prows 1-15, Schatzle 2-40.
South Dearborn - Rushing: Rogers 27-154, Kunkel 3-5, Kittle 4-14, CJ Evans 1-1. Passing: Kunkel 12-26-174. Receiving: Ballart 4-73, Willoughby 3-54, Rogers 1-17, McGraw 4-30.
(Stats should be considered unofficial)
Have a news tip? Email [email protected] or Call/Text 360-922-3092