(SOUTHSIDER VOICE PHOTOS BY STEVE PAGE)
Correspondent
Never mind the steady rain or the other team that was intent on stopping your running game.
There was a conference championship at stake.
Even with all that, Decatur Central’s football team remained its explosive self.
The Hawks broke open a scoreless battle by scoring two touchdowns in two minutes late in the second quarter and adding Ashton Vogel’s record 51-yard field goal as the first half expired.
That 16-0 lead was more than enough, as DC continued to hold the Grizzly Cubs scoreless, then added more second-half scores for a 36-0 victory.
DC thus shares first in the Mid-State Conference with Martinsville, both at 5-2 and a game ahead of 4-3 Plainfield, Franklin and Whiteland.
“Coming back from 0-2 in the conference to win five in a row says a lot about the character of our young men,” said DC coach Kyle Enright. “They showed great leadership and love for their coaches and teammates to work to get better each week culminating in playing our best football week 9.”
“It was big for our defense to put up a goose egg,” said senior running back KC Berry, who had his share of the offense, gaining 115 yards on just 11 carries and scoring on runs of two and 67 yards.
That big run was unlike anything else all night. The steady rain helped slow things, except for the play on which Berry took a toss from quarterback Bo Polston, raced to the left sideline, then eluded would-be tacklers all the way to the end zone.
“N’Po Dodo and Halbert Aguirre had great blocks,” Berry said. “The plan was to get outside. I just took it all the way home. It was a good run. It brought momentum for the team.”
So did Vogel’s field goal. The pouring rain made handling the football perilous, but Alec Surber made a clean snap and holder Brycen Bonawitt held the ball in place for Vogel.
“It was awesome,” Vogel said. “It went up, and I knew it was good off my foot. I can’t give enough thanks to coach (Matt) Prusiecki and coach (Blaine) Gardner, our special teams coaches. We work on this stuff every single day, with my snapper, Alec Surber and Brycen Bonawitt. They do an awesome job, and I couldn’t do it without them.”
Prusiecki, for what it’s worth, doubles as the school’s superintendent.
As a running back, Dodo doubles as a pretty good receiver.
He raced past Franklin’s secondary to catch touchdown passes of 30 and 23 yards from Polston as the Hawks steadily pulled away.
“The first time he threw it, I didn’t go. I didn’t think he was throwing to me,” Dodo said. “Coach got on me for that. After that, I just went. I kept going and I had the ball.
“Whenever the run game is not working, the passing game always works.”
The Hawks, who fumbled the ball away four times a week earlier, did not have a turnover on Friday.
As time wound down, they went to their bench, and quarterback Braylon Morris scored on a five-yard run.
Then there was that defense, earning a game ball for defensive coordinator Max Goodin after DC’s first shutout since 2019.
The Hawks negated the Grizzly Cubs’ leading rusher, Alex Leugers and his 153 yards per game. Quarterback Clay Pinnick finished as the leader, with just 28 yards. He was 9-16-1 passing and Franklin never seriously threatened.
“The entire defense played fast and physical and held Franklin to 47 yards rushing on 28 attempts and 73 yards passing on 18 attempts,” Enright noted. “Forty-six plays for 120 yards and 0 points is stellar defense.”
Leading tacklers for the Hawks included Mykul Campbell with 12 solos, three assists and an interception, Stephen Oyatayo with eight solo stops, one assist and one tackle for a loss and Jalyn Shanks with five solos, two tackles for losses, three assists and a quarterback pressure.
Added Enright: “Center Nate Calahan won OL player of the week for his performance, dealing with snapping a wet football and playing extremely well!