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GHS falls to South Vermillion
Despite suffering a last-second 34-31 defeat from a divisional rival Friday, the Greencastle Tiger Cubs walked away from an emotional Senior Night with their heads held high.
Greencastle (1-7, 0-5 Western Indiana Conference) held its own Friday against a stout South Vermillion (2-6, 1-4 WIC) football team, gaining an early lead and holding it until just before halftime. Greencastle regained the lead late in the fourth quarter, only to lose it again with 14 seconds left.
Head coach Mike Meyer said that, although they came away with a loss, he was pleased with the Tiger Cubs' intensity Friday.
"There was a lot of passion and a lot of enthusiasm," Meyer said. "But we're our own worst enemy. We had opportunities and we gave it to them. I don't want to take anything away from coach (Will) Porter or his team, they played a great game -- but unfortunately there at the end we gave up some things that we shouldn't have."
Friday's virtual player of the game for the Tiger Cubs was senior Jacob Kessler, keeping his team's hopes alive late in the fourth quarter by recovering a fumble (stripped from Wildcat quarterback Dunegan by Tiger Cub Cade Winslow) and running it back for a touchdown to give Greencastle a four-point lead with just two minutes left to play.
Although Greencastle gave its all with an impressive game-ending defensive stand, South Vermillion was able to utilize the last two minutes of the game and eventually punch the ball into the end zone for a three-point lead, giving the game its ultimate score of 34-31, Wildcats.
Greencastle drew first blood to start the game, forcing a quick three-and-out for the Wildcats. The Tiger Cubs then capitalized on the possession when junior running back Jackie Scanland punched in the short run for a 7-0 lead. After an answer from South Vermillion to tie the game at seven, quarterback Nick Costin ran nearly the length of the field for a touchdown to make the score 14-7, Greencastle.
Although South Vermillion answered yet again to tie things at 14, another Greencastle score before halftime by Costin made the score 21-14 before the break. However, the Tiger Cubs couldn't stop the Wildcats' momentum as South Vermillion scored twice before the half to make the score 27-21 in favor of South Vermillion at the break. A third-quarter field goal by Kessler brought the Tiger Cubs to within three points of the Wildcats to make the score 31-27 in favor of the Tiger Cubs before the inevitable strip from Winslow.
Coach Meyer reiterated how proud he was of his team for playing all the way to the end.
"The kids played hard and I feel bad for them," Meyer said. "We're just going to have to come back tomorrow and get back to work and finish it out on a good note."
Greencastle returns to action on Friday in a "conference-crossover" game on the road against Brown County (2-6, 1-4 WIC) at 7 p.m.