Cats hold off Hornets, 28-26
October 19, 2021 at 10:34 p.m.
Cats hold off Hornets, 28-26
By Chris Louden -
The threat of rainstorms forecasted never came and only a light shower in the third quarter dampened the field. The battle was only the second-ever meeting between the two teams; BG won last year's contest, 28-21.
FC took the opening drive of the game down the field to score the first points on quarterback Brady Morehead’s run and never looked back, never trailing and winning 28-26.
Bridger Bolos carried 15 times for 190 yards. Sam Westerfeld led the defense with 10 tackles and two sacks; Peyton McCreary and Bryce Hodapp also recorded a sack each in the Wildcats’ victory. Morehead scored three touchdowns to help FC finish the regular season 6-3. The team will travel to Lawrenceburg this Friday, 7 p.m., for a sectional rematch with the Tigers, who shut out the Cats four weeks ago, 41-0. FC is 3-1 since that loss.
FC converted two third downs on the 10-play, 58-yard opening drive. The Wildcats chose to keep the ball on the ground for most of the series. A 32-yard run by Bolos got the Wildcats near the end zone to set up a Morehead touchdown, giving FC a 6-0 lead.
Beech Grove came out choosing to run also, using workhorse Damon Thompkins who carried the ball 42 times for the Hornets in the contest. BG got close to the end zone for an and-goal situation. After a Westerfeld sack, the Hornets were able to find the end zone on a short 5-yard pass from Adonis Adams to Aeden Crawley to tie the game at 6-6. Mike Fonseca barely missed the extra point attempt. The Cats came out on their second series and the first play was a Jacob Schatzle run that went the distance but was called back for holding. Bolos made up the yardage on the next play, taking a carry 67 yards down to the Hornets’ 9-yard line. Three plays later, Morehead ran in his second touchdown of the night. Morehead ran in the two-point conversion to give FC a 14-6 lead.
The FC defense protected the lead on Beech Grove’s next offensive series; the Hornets were forced to punt after just three plays. The Cats’ next series got them near midfield before Morehead threw short of his intended target, the ball intercepted by a BG defender. The pick was FC’s only turnover of the game.
The Hornets went 71 yards on their next drive, getting down to the Cats’ one-yard line. The Wildcats’ goal line defense stood firm, keeping BG out of the end zone; a tackle by several Cats pushed BG back five yards, and the fourth-down pass attempt by BG was well defended by Schatzle and fell incomplete. FC took over at its own 6-yard line to begin the final drive of the first half. After a short run and incomplete pass, FC faced 3rd-and-12.
Morehead found Andrew Merritt for a first down. On the next two plays, Morehead found Tyreke Carr for a six-yard gain, then hit Schatzle with a quick pass to get the Cats out of the danger zone. The Hornets’ defense stepped up and kept FC from moving any further. On fourth down, Bolos lined up for a punt but the speedy senior kept the snap on a fake and took it for a Wildcats’ first down. Schatzle caught another pass from his lefty quarterback and got FC across midfield with less than a minute to go in the half. Morehead ran two more times, taking the second down the sideline and out of bounds at the 14-yard line to stop the clock. Morehead then faked a handoff to Bolos and ran up the middle, breaking tackles until he found the end zone with 17 seconds to go in the half. The two-point conversion attempt failed, and FC took a 20-6 lead into the locker room.
Beech Grove’s Lawrence Lewis returned the second half kickoff to midfield, where the Hornets started a 50-yard drive. Thompkins carried the load for his team on the drive, taking the handoff on seven of the Hornets’ ten plays. The senior scored from the 2-yard line on his seventh rush and the extra point put BG back within a score, 20-13.
The Hornets tried to get tricky on the next kickoff and attempted an onside kick, but an alert FC special teams unit quickly recovered the ball. The Cats’ offense went 51 yards in just three plays, with Schatzle scoring on a 29-yard touchdown run. Morehead ran in the conversion to put FC up 28-13.
Beech Grove responded with a 51-yard drive on the next possession for a score. Fifteen of those yards came on an unsportsmanlike conduct call against the Cats. Thompkins scored on a 20-yard run; a missed extra point gave the Cats an eight-point cushion with 16 minutes to go in the game. The Wildcats were unable to gain any ground on their next drive and punted back to BG.
The Hornets made their way down the field on the next drive and capped it off with a 3-yard TD run by Thompkins, his third of the game. BG was denied the two-point conversion. The Hornets’ next kickoff went out of bounds, giving FC the ball on the 35. On FC’s first play, Bolos gained 25 yards across midfield. The Wildcats stalled from there and a holding call moved them back and brought out Bolos for a punt. The punt landed inside the 10 with 7:30 to go in the game.
The Hornets used Thompkins’ legs again to move the ball. He carried five times for 31 yards on the drive. The BG offense got across midfield, and on 4th-and-6 from the 46-yard line, Hodapp and Bolos stuffed the Hornets’ quarterback as he attempted to pick up a first down.
The Wildcats took over with a two-point lead and just under 3:00 to go in the contest. After a few short runs, Beech Grove used all its timeouts and FC faced fourth down. The Cats lined up to punt, but a 15-yard personal foul was whistled against BG, giving the Wildcats a fresh set of downs to run out the clock.
Scoring Summary
1Q
7:01 FC - Morehead 5-yard run (conversion failed)
2:42 BG - Adams 4-yard pass to Crawley (kick failed)
0:36 FC - Morehead 6-yard run (Morehead run)
2Q
0:17 FC - Morehead 14-yard run (conversion failed)
3Q
8:14 BG - Thompkins 2-yard run (Fonseca kick)
6:25 FC - Schatzle 29-yard run (Morehead run)
4:45 BG - Thompkins 20-yard run (kick failed)
4Q
10:14 BG - Thompkins 20-yard run (conversion failed)
Player stats (unofficial)
FC - Passing- Morehead 10/13 78, Rushing- Bolos 15/190, Morehead 15/60, Schatzle 5/28, Receiving- Schatzle 4/34, Bolos 2/16, Kristian Prows 2/10, Merritt 1/12 Carr 1/6
BG- Passing - Adams 9/14 86, Rushing - Thompkins 42/245, Adams 9/-3, Edmonds 1/4 Receiving - Thacker 6/55, Crawley 3/31
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The threat of rainstorms forecasted never came and only a light shower in the third quarter dampened the field. The battle was only the second-ever meeting between the two teams; BG won last year's contest, 28-21.
FC took the opening drive of the game down the field to score the first points on quarterback Brady Morehead’s run and never looked back, never trailing and winning 28-26.
Bridger Bolos carried 15 times for 190 yards. Sam Westerfeld led the defense with 10 tackles and two sacks; Peyton McCreary and Bryce Hodapp also recorded a sack each in the Wildcats’ victory. Morehead scored three touchdowns to help FC finish the regular season 6-3. The team will travel to Lawrenceburg this Friday, 7 p.m., for a sectional rematch with the Tigers, who shut out the Cats four weeks ago, 41-0. FC is 3-1 since that loss.
FC converted two third downs on the 10-play, 58-yard opening drive. The Wildcats chose to keep the ball on the ground for most of the series. A 32-yard run by Bolos got the Wildcats near the end zone to set up a Morehead touchdown, giving FC a 6-0 lead.
Beech Grove came out choosing to run also, using workhorse Damon Thompkins who carried the ball 42 times for the Hornets in the contest. BG got close to the end zone for an and-goal situation. After a Westerfeld sack, the Hornets were able to find the end zone on a short 5-yard pass from Adonis Adams to Aeden Crawley to tie the game at 6-6. Mike Fonseca barely missed the extra point attempt. The Cats came out on their second series and the first play was a Jacob Schatzle run that went the distance but was called back for holding. Bolos made up the yardage on the next play, taking a carry 67 yards down to the Hornets’ 9-yard line. Three plays later, Morehead ran in his second touchdown of the night. Morehead ran in the two-point conversion to give FC a 14-6 lead.
The FC defense protected the lead on Beech Grove’s next offensive series; the Hornets were forced to punt after just three plays. The Cats’ next series got them near midfield before Morehead threw short of his intended target, the ball intercepted by a BG defender. The pick was FC’s only turnover of the game.
The Hornets went 71 yards on their next drive, getting down to the Cats’ one-yard line. The Wildcats’ goal line defense stood firm, keeping BG out of the end zone; a tackle by several Cats pushed BG back five yards, and the fourth-down pass attempt by BG was well defended by Schatzle and fell incomplete. FC took over at its own 6-yard line to begin the final drive of the first half. After a short run and incomplete pass, FC faced 3rd-and-12.
Morehead found Andrew Merritt for a first down. On the next two plays, Morehead found Tyreke Carr for a six-yard gain, then hit Schatzle with a quick pass to get the Cats out of the danger zone. The Hornets’ defense stepped up and kept FC from moving any further. On fourth down, Bolos lined up for a punt but the speedy senior kept the snap on a fake and took it for a Wildcats’ first down. Schatzle caught another pass from his lefty quarterback and got FC across midfield with less than a minute to go in the half. Morehead ran two more times, taking the second down the sideline and out of bounds at the 14-yard line to stop the clock. Morehead then faked a handoff to Bolos and ran up the middle, breaking tackles until he found the end zone with 17 seconds to go in the half. The two-point conversion attempt failed, and FC took a 20-6 lead into the locker room.
Beech Grove’s Lawrence Lewis returned the second half kickoff to midfield, where the Hornets started a 50-yard drive. Thompkins carried the load for his team on the drive, taking the handoff on seven of the Hornets’ ten plays. The senior scored from the 2-yard line on his seventh rush and the extra point put BG back within a score, 20-13.
The Hornets tried to get tricky on the next kickoff and attempted an onside kick, but an alert FC special teams unit quickly recovered the ball. The Cats’ offense went 51 yards in just three plays, with Schatzle scoring on a 29-yard touchdown run. Morehead ran in the conversion to put FC up 28-13.
Beech Grove responded with a 51-yard drive on the next possession for a score. Fifteen of those yards came on an unsportsmanlike conduct call against the Cats. Thompkins scored on a 20-yard run; a missed extra point gave the Cats an eight-point cushion with 16 minutes to go in the game. The Wildcats were unable to gain any ground on their next drive and punted back to BG.
The Hornets made their way down the field on the next drive and capped it off with a 3-yard TD run by Thompkins, his third of the game. BG was denied the two-point conversion. The Hornets’ next kickoff went out of bounds, giving FC the ball on the 35. On FC’s first play, Bolos gained 25 yards across midfield. The Wildcats stalled from there and a holding call moved them back and brought out Bolos for a punt. The punt landed inside the 10 with 7:30 to go in the game.
The Hornets used Thompkins’ legs again to move the ball. He carried five times for 31 yards on the drive. The BG offense got across midfield, and on 4th-and-6 from the 46-yard line, Hodapp and Bolos stuffed the Hornets’ quarterback as he attempted to pick up a first down.
The Wildcats took over with a two-point lead and just under 3:00 to go in the contest. After a few short runs, Beech Grove used all its timeouts and FC faced fourth down. The Cats lined up to punt, but a 15-yard personal foul was whistled against BG, giving the Wildcats a fresh set of downs to run out the clock.
Scoring Summary
1Q
7:01 FC - Morehead 5-yard run (conversion failed)
2:42 BG - Adams 4-yard pass to Crawley (kick failed)
0:36 FC - Morehead 6-yard run (Morehead run)
2Q
0:17 FC - Morehead 14-yard run (conversion failed)
3Q
8:14 BG - Thompkins 2-yard run (Fonseca kick)
6:25 FC - Schatzle 29-yard run (Morehead run)
4:45 BG - Thompkins 20-yard run (kick failed)
4Q
10:14 BG - Thompkins 20-yard run (conversion failed)
Player stats (unofficial)
FC - Passing- Morehead 10/13 78, Rushing- Bolos 15/190, Morehead 15/60, Schatzle 5/28, Receiving- Schatzle 4/34, Bolos 2/16, Kristian Prows 2/10, Merritt 1/12 Carr 1/6
BG- Passing - Adams 9/14 86, Rushing - Thompkins 42/245, Adams 9/-3, Edmonds 1/4 Receiving - Thacker 6/55, Crawley 3/31
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