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Tiger Cubs blister Patriots at Lucas Oil
GREENCASTLE -- The field might have had the iconic Colts' horseshoe at midfield, but the turf at Lucas Oil Stadium belonged to the Greencastle Tiger Cubs Saturday afternoon. The Tiger Cubs blasted Owen Valley 35-0 to close its season and improve to 4-5 on the season.
Greencastle scored on its first four possessions of the game to take instant control of the game, but never took its foot off the accelerator.
"We came out and did some nice things offensively," GHS head coach Eric Davis said. "It was nice to move the ball. Looking at the stats, we jumped on them pretty good and we had nice balance throughout the first half. So, with that being said, we move the ball well, we punched it in when we needed to punch it in. That was a refreshing feeling because it's been somewhat of a struggle offensively this year."
Greencastle's first scoring strike came with 8:14 on the clock when Tanner Battin hit Keegan Remsburg in stride for a 42-yard touchdown. Mixing it up, the Tiger Cubs went to the ground on its second drive and Jesse Vermillion pounded the ball in from one-yard out to go up 14-0 with 3:44 remaining in the first quarter.
Again, Battin dialed up Remsburg's number for an eight-yard scored with 10:39 in the second quarter. The duo did their best Peyton Manning/Reggie Wayne impersonation, hooking up for a third time with 6:58 remaining before the half.
The defense looked equally as good for the Tiger Cubs on Saturday. With minutes to go in the half, Hayden Stuckwisch cut off an Owen Valley receiver and picked up Brennan Tarrence to give Greencastle some great field position.
Scoring the final touchdown for the Tiger Cubs was Vermillion on a two-yard bulldozing run to put the Tiger Cubs up 35-0 just before the half.
Davis said Saturday's performance was the culmination of a week's worth of good practice time.
"A crisp week of practice, I'll start with that," Davis said. "I thought we had a pretty good week of practice. I think the next part of it is we just executed. When you execute, good things happen. You didn't see the drive-ending penalties that we had had early in the season or the fumbles."
While Greencastle's offense cooled a little in the second half, its defense stayed red hot. GHS was able to keep the Patriots out of the endzone with hard hits, such as Levi App's monster hit that echoed throughout the stadium.
Owen Valley had its best opportunity to score midway through the fourth quarter, but again the GHS defense stood tall. Tarrence took the snap and fired a shot to the endzone where Keith Carr leapt into the air and snagged the ball to give possession back to the Tiger Cubs.
Greencastle cleared its bench to ensure every member could say they played at Lucas Oil Stadium and came away with a 35-0 victory.
As most of the focus was on its offensive output, Davis also acknowledged the factor his stout defense had on the game.
"The defense played very well," Davis said. "I think Jesse Vermillion, when we go back and watch the tape, had one heck of a ballgame. The next part of it is, we were physical and we hadn't looked physical in a couple weeks. We're healthier than we've been in three or four weeks.
"I attribute a lot of it to that we're healthier, we're crisper, we hit harder, we looked more physical -- and those are all very good things that obviously bode well for a defense," he added.
He also thought his team took a big step in the right direction Saturday and noted how satisfying a feeling it is to have that.
"This was a nice game in terms of -- I think we matured a little bit. You see the maturation process moving in the right direction. From that standpoint that was refreshing to see," Davis said.
The Tiger Cubs will host Cloverdale Friday in the first game of the 2010 sectional and Davis just wants his team to stay its current course.
"I think it's huge," Davis said of the big win. "Now the next part of this is, we have to gear up for Cloverdale just like we geared up for Owen Valley and we have to move forward and we have to capitalize on the momentum we have right now," Davis said.
Remsburg was honored as the game's most valuable player following the game.
At Lucas Oil Stadium
Owen Valley 0 0 0 0 -- 0
Greencastle 14 21 0 0 -- 35
First Quarter
GHS -- Remsburg 42yd. pass from Battin, Parker kick 8:14
GHS -- Vermillion 1yd. run, Parker kick 3:44
Second Quarter
GHS -- Remsburg 8yd. pass from Battin, Parker kick 10:39
GHS -- Remsburg 10yd. pass from Battin, Parker kick 6:58
GHS -- Vermillion 2yd. run, Parker kick :15
Statistics
Owen Valley
Rushing -- Hersberger 13-38, White 10-22, Behrman 3-8, Bradley 1-4, Tarrence 5-1, Jones 1-2, Hutcherson 4-13, Kendall 2-1, Hendricks 1-0
Passing -- Tarrence 5-10-0-2 44 yards, 2 Int.
Receiving -- Bradley 2-21, Rice 3-23
Greencastle
Rushing -- Vermillion 11-70 2TD, Battin 7-31, Shuee 6-32, Christy 7-34, Muncie 2-(-2)
Passing -- Battin 10-16-3-0, 170 yards, 3TD
Shuee -- 0-1
Receiving -- Remsburg 4-73 3TDs, Shuee 3-50, Hutcheson 3-47