Lions grab signature win over FC
September 12, 2024 at 12:00 p.m.
RUSHVILLE - Building a 30-14 halftime lead Friday at Hinshaw Field proved just enough for the host Rushville Lions to secure their first win over the Franklin County Wildcats in the last six years. The visitors trailed by three in the final minute but a last-ditch pass attempt to the end zone fell incomplete to preserve a 30-27 win.
The victory is set to go a long way in determining the Eastern Indiana Athletic Conference small-school division champ, with each team taking on South Dearborn and Greensburg later this fall.
“As we prepared (last) week, we knew Rushville was a physical team and much improved from previous years,” said FC head coach Wes Gillman. “Physicality was the theme at practice all week because Rushville was going to bring that.”
After a scoreless third quarter, FC continued an extended drive that had begun with a hook and lateral - Quinn Gillman to Braylon Kruthaupt to Kayden Kerr. A 23-yard catch and carry by Mason Wewe had given the Cats a first down at the Lion 24-yard line to start the fourth.
Rushville then committed pass interference to halve the distance to the goal line. An FC hold sent the ball back to the 20 - one of six flags thrown during the drive. Gillman found Kruthaupt for 17 yards and, a couple plays later, the same connection went for four yards and a score. The Wildcats were within 10 at the game’s 9:26 mark.
The Lion offense had a quick series, a trend that saw Rushville gain zero first downs in the final frame. The punt rolled to FC’s 42 and the Cats were back in the end zone two plays later. Gillman rumbled for 43 yards and Wewe completely reversed his route from right to left to score from 15 yards out. A Hunter Weartz extra point made it 30-27.
FC’s first push toward a game-winning TD started on its own 25 with a little over four minutes left. A pass to Kruthaupt and a few tough Wewe runs netted three first downs. Gillman ran to the 25 for another first. The Lions were called for unsportsmanlike conduct, giving FC a new set of downs at the 15. On a 4th-and-7 play from the 12, safety Nick Jarman successfully defended a pass to the end zone. The celebration led to another unsportsmanlike call, putting RCHS at its own six.
FC had all timeouts left and burned one after each short Lion run. Following the punt return, the Cats had the ball at Rushville’s 38 with 21.3 seconds to go. A pass to Kerr covered half that ground and Lions’ coach Isaac Sliger called time with 13 seconds left. Gillman threw the next ball out of bounds to stop the clock at 5.7 and set up the deciding play.
The guests had the better start offensively, moving the ball downfield on the game’s opening drive until a fumble led to a turnover on downs. A holding call on the Lions’ first play from scrimmage helped stall any progress and a punt ensued.
Starting at their own 23, the Cats went 77 yards in 13 plays to strike first. Wewe broke off a 34-yard run to get in plus territory. Three incompletions had FC facing 4th-and-10; Gillman dialed Carter Dozier’s number for a 15-yard conversion. A sack by Braydon Martz put the visitors in a 4th-and-15 bind but Gillman again found Dozier for 17 yards down to the 2. A play later, Wewe went in from the 1. Braydon Wilson blocked the PAT, keeping things at 6-0.
Rushville’s answer was aided by Ralph Eakins’ 33-yard return, the senior seeing his first game action of the year. Staying mainly on the ground, the Lions tied it with Sam Pavey’s 9-yard burst up the middle; Eakins made it an 8-6 game.
FC stayed fluid on offense, getting a 33-yard high-point grab by Dozier and subsequent facemask call on the Lions to quickly move downfield. Wewe followed with a house call that was brought back on an illegal block. Dozier took a little flip pass all the way to the 1 but paid the price by taking a shot to his wrist near the pylon. He would not return.
Wewe punched it in from the 1 and Kruthaupt caught a pass to add two points, but the rest of the half couldn’t have gone any better for Rushville and any worse for Franklin Co.
On a 1st-and-10 play from their own 48, Jarman dropped back and lofted a bomb to Wilson who caught it near the 10 and went in for a 52-yard TD to tie the game at 14. A pair of penalties helped bog down FC’s next possession and the Cats turned it over on downs at the Lion 45. On the next snap, speedy Quinn Barada squirted through an opening off right tackle and sprinted 55 yards for a score. Wilson caught the 2-point pass.
FC then picked up a first down, but Gillman was hit as he threw his next pass, the ball landing in the hands of Eli Pavey for an interception. The Lions called the same play for Barada and the junior obliged with a 38-yard scamper. S. Pavey scored from the 3 and added a 2-point run.
“We had possibly the worst quarter we could’ve had and the first quarter wasn’t good, either,” Gillman said. “Even on our TD drive in the first, we had to work for everything. Rushville was controlling the line of scrimmage. That was the disappointing part.”
So, what was the halftime wake-up call?
“We didn’t change defenses schematically. We didn’t even change personnel. We had guys set up that were supposed to be in the right spots, and they either didn’t go to that spot, or they did and got physically dominated,” added the coach. “We didn’t have the proper fight, focus or physicality in the first half, and because of that it cost us a game.”
The Lions are 2-1 for the second time in Sliger’s tenure and welcome unbeaten Batesville Friday, 7 p.m.
Lions 30, Wildcats 27
FC - 6 8 0 13 - 27
R - 8 22 0 0 - 30
Scoring
First Quarter
FC - Wewe 1-yard run, 3:04. Kick blocked.
R - Pavey 9-yard run, :21.3. Eakins run.
Second Quarter
FC - Wewe 1-yard run, 10:28. Kruthaupt pass from Gillman.
R - Wilson 52-yard pass from Jarman, 7:19. Pass failed.
R - Barada 55-yard run, 4:00. Wilson pass from Jarman.
R - Pavey 3-yard run, 1:58. Pavey run.
Fourth Quarter
FC - Kruthaupt 4-yard pass from Gillman, 9:26. Pass failed.
FC - Wewe 15-yard run, 6:36. Weartz kick.
Total yds - FC 463, R 294
Rush yds - FC 224, R 216
Pass yds - FC 239, R 78
1st dns - FC 23, R 9
Penalties - FC 9-78, R 9-98
Fumbles/lost - FC 2/0, R 0
Stats: FC - Rushing: Wewe 25-145, Gillman 13-79. Passing: Gillman 19-34-239. Receiving: Dozier 6-104, Wewe 1-23, Kerr 3-28, Wyatt Bowling 1-10, Kruthaupt 8-74. R - Rushing: Pavey 13-47, Barada 13-148, Eakins 8-21. Passing: Jarman 5-9-78. Receiving: Eakins 1-7, Wilson 3-64, Pavey 1-7. (Unofficial)
JV football
The Rushville Lions JV football fell to 0-2 after a 28-0 loss to the Shelbyville Golden Bears. Ryder Hatten and Lucas Blankenship led the Lions. The team fell to 0-3 after a 40-12 loss against the Franklin County Wildcats. Hatten scored the Lions’ first touchdown on a long run in the 3rd quarter. Late in the game, Caleb Short-Ogunmola hit Ryder Flannery on a long pass and then scored on a short run. The defense forced multiple turnovers and were led by Braiden Newman.
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RUSHVILLE - Building a 30-14 halftime lead Friday at Hinshaw Field proved just enough for the host Rushville Lions to secure their first win over the Franklin County Wildcats in the last six years. The visitors trailed by three in the final minute but a last-ditch pass attempt to the end zone fell incomplete to preserve a 30-27 win.
The victory is set to go a long way in determining the Eastern Indiana Athletic Conference small-school division champ, with each team taking on South Dearborn and Greensburg later this fall.
“As we prepared (last) week, we knew Rushville was a physical team and much improved from previous years,” said FC head coach Wes Gillman. “Physicality was the theme at practice all week because Rushville was going to bring that.”
After a scoreless third quarter, FC continued an extended drive that had begun with a hook and lateral - Quinn Gillman to Braylon Kruthaupt to Kayden Kerr. A 23-yard catch and carry by Mason Wewe had given the Cats a first down at the Lion 24-yard line to start the fourth.
Rushville then committed pass interference to halve the distance to the goal line. An FC hold sent the ball back to the 20 - one of six flags thrown during the drive. Gillman found Kruthaupt for 17 yards and, a couple plays later, the same connection went for four yards and a score. The Wildcats were within 10 at the game’s 9:26 mark.
The Lion offense had a quick series, a trend that saw Rushville gain zero first downs in the final frame. The punt rolled to FC’s 42 and the Cats were back in the end zone two plays later. Gillman rumbled for 43 yards and Wewe completely reversed his route from right to left to score from 15 yards out. A Hunter Weartz extra point made it 30-27.
FC’s first push toward a game-winning TD started on its own 25 with a little over four minutes left. A pass to Kruthaupt and a few tough Wewe runs netted three first downs. Gillman ran to the 25 for another first. The Lions were called for unsportsmanlike conduct, giving FC a new set of downs at the 15. On a 4th-and-7 play from the 12, safety Nick Jarman successfully defended a pass to the end zone. The celebration led to another unsportsmanlike call, putting RCHS at its own six.
FC had all timeouts left and burned one after each short Lion run. Following the punt return, the Cats had the ball at Rushville’s 38 with 21.3 seconds to go. A pass to Kerr covered half that ground and Lions’ coach Isaac Sliger called time with 13 seconds left. Gillman threw the next ball out of bounds to stop the clock at 5.7 and set up the deciding play.
The guests had the better start offensively, moving the ball downfield on the game’s opening drive until a fumble led to a turnover on downs. A holding call on the Lions’ first play from scrimmage helped stall any progress and a punt ensued.
Starting at their own 23, the Cats went 77 yards in 13 plays to strike first. Wewe broke off a 34-yard run to get in plus territory. Three incompletions had FC facing 4th-and-10; Gillman dialed Carter Dozier’s number for a 15-yard conversion. A sack by Braydon Martz put the visitors in a 4th-and-15 bind but Gillman again found Dozier for 17 yards down to the 2. A play later, Wewe went in from the 1. Braydon Wilson blocked the PAT, keeping things at 6-0.
Rushville’s answer was aided by Ralph Eakins’ 33-yard return, the senior seeing his first game action of the year. Staying mainly on the ground, the Lions tied it with Sam Pavey’s 9-yard burst up the middle; Eakins made it an 8-6 game.
FC stayed fluid on offense, getting a 33-yard high-point grab by Dozier and subsequent facemask call on the Lions to quickly move downfield. Wewe followed with a house call that was brought back on an illegal block. Dozier took a little flip pass all the way to the 1 but paid the price by taking a shot to his wrist near the pylon. He would not return.
Wewe punched it in from the 1 and Kruthaupt caught a pass to add two points, but the rest of the half couldn’t have gone any better for Rushville and any worse for Franklin Co.
On a 1st-and-10 play from their own 48, Jarman dropped back and lofted a bomb to Wilson who caught it near the 10 and went in for a 52-yard TD to tie the game at 14. A pair of penalties helped bog down FC’s next possession and the Cats turned it over on downs at the Lion 45. On the next snap, speedy Quinn Barada squirted through an opening off right tackle and sprinted 55 yards for a score. Wilson caught the 2-point pass.
FC then picked up a first down, but Gillman was hit as he threw his next pass, the ball landing in the hands of Eli Pavey for an interception. The Lions called the same play for Barada and the junior obliged with a 38-yard scamper. S. Pavey scored from the 3 and added a 2-point run.
“We had possibly the worst quarter we could’ve had and the first quarter wasn’t good, either,” Gillman said. “Even on our TD drive in the first, we had to work for everything. Rushville was controlling the line of scrimmage. That was the disappointing part.”
So, what was the halftime wake-up call?
“We didn’t change defenses schematically. We didn’t even change personnel. We had guys set up that were supposed to be in the right spots, and they either didn’t go to that spot, or they did and got physically dominated,” added the coach. “We didn’t have the proper fight, focus or physicality in the first half, and because of that it cost us a game.”
The Lions are 2-1 for the second time in Sliger’s tenure and welcome unbeaten Batesville Friday, 7 p.m.
Lions 30, Wildcats 27
FC - 6 8 0 13 - 27
R - 8 22 0 0 - 30
Scoring
First Quarter
FC - Wewe 1-yard run, 3:04. Kick blocked.
R - Pavey 9-yard run, :21.3. Eakins run.
Second Quarter
FC - Wewe 1-yard run, 10:28. Kruthaupt pass from Gillman.
R - Wilson 52-yard pass from Jarman, 7:19. Pass failed.
R - Barada 55-yard run, 4:00. Wilson pass from Jarman.
R - Pavey 3-yard run, 1:58. Pavey run.
Fourth Quarter
FC - Kruthaupt 4-yard pass from Gillman, 9:26. Pass failed.
FC - Wewe 15-yard run, 6:36. Weartz kick.
Total yds - FC 463, R 294
Rush yds - FC 224, R 216
Pass yds - FC 239, R 78
1st dns - FC 23, R 9
Penalties - FC 9-78, R 9-98
Fumbles/lost - FC 2/0, R 0
Stats: FC - Rushing: Wewe 25-145, Gillman 13-79. Passing: Gillman 19-34-239. Receiving: Dozier 6-104, Wewe 1-23, Kerr 3-28, Wyatt Bowling 1-10, Kruthaupt 8-74. R - Rushing: Pavey 13-47, Barada 13-148, Eakins 8-21. Passing: Jarman 5-9-78. Receiving: Eakins 1-7, Wilson 3-64, Pavey 1-7. (Unofficial)
JV football
The Rushville Lions JV football fell to 0-2 after a 28-0 loss to the Shelbyville Golden Bears. Ryder Hatten and Lucas Blankenship led the Lions. The team fell to 0-3 after a 40-12 loss against the Franklin County Wildcats. Hatten scored the Lions’ first touchdown on a long run in the 3rd quarter. Late in the game, Caleb Short-Ogunmola hit Ryder Flannery on a long pass and then scored on a short run. The defense forced multiple turnovers and were led by Braiden Newman.