GHS dominates West Vigo, 35-6

Greencastle senior defensive tackle Dustin Williams (75) breaks through the line to sack West Vigo senior Jimmy Maples. Williams finished with three sacks for the Tiger Cubs. (Banner Graphic/GRANT WIEMAN)

Tyler Scott threw for 267 yards and Alec Pettit rushed for 105 yards and two touchdowns in Greencastle's 35-6 win over visiting West Vigo on Friday.

The defense of the Tiger Cubs (2-0) limited the Vikings to just 123 yards before the final play, an inconsequential touchdown after GHS put in its junior varsity defense.

"It was an overall effort," GHS coach Josh Buis said. "The defense played well. ... We're assignment sound and fundamentally sound."

Scott and senior wide receiver Seth Brown found a rhythm early. Brown pulled in 136 of his 156 receiving yards in the first half, including a touchdown to open the scoring with 2:20 remaining in the first quarter.

Greencastle senior quarterback Tyler Scott (18) completes a pass to junior receiver Ryley Cook during the third quarter against West Vigo on Friday. Scott threw for more than 250 yards in the win. (Banner Graphic/GRANT WIEMAN)

Greencastle had several chances to score prior to that, but the first two times they appeared to score the plays were called back on penalties.

With Brown and junior Riley Cook helping the Tiger Cubs spread the field, Pettit was able to do damage in the middle.

Going up against a loaded box, the GHS junior mashed for 67 yards on 14 carries in the first half. His two touchdowns came at 10:03 and 0:46 in the second quarter.

"West Vigo, year in and year out, they're going to make you throw the football," Buis said. "It's a very similar defensive philosophy to what we have. Load the box, stop the run and make a young quarterback beat you."

Greencastle controlled play throughout the game, getting constant defensive pressure up the middle as they rotated athletic linemen into the game, staying fresh and energized in the heat.

Senior Dustin Williams had three sacks for the Tiger Cubs and was a menace on every snap by the Vikings.

"He plays 100 percent all the time," Buis said. "It would be nice to have a little more depth on the offensive and defensive line to get guys like Dustin Williams, Austin Mitchell, Tanner Wood, Jordon Froderman and Grant Mundy some breaks, but we're just not that fortunate. ... We kept them out there quite a bit; didn't sub quite as much as we did last week to try to get some conditioning in this hot weather. It's going to pay off when it cools off."

West Vigo senior quarterback Jimmy Maples was scrambling for time on every pass play and because Greencastle was so dominant in blowing up run plays, he was scrambling a lot.

Sophomore Hunter Voils led the Vikings in rush yards at 55, but 48 came on one carry. Maples had 15 carries for six yards and completed 4-of-7 passes for 97 yards and a touchdown.

The Tiger Cubs took a 21-0 lead into the half, then quickly began working the clock. Junior Zach Secrest caught his only pass for a four-yard touchdown with 9:04 remaining in the fourth.

"Tyler is a phenomenal quarterback," Buis said. "We've got to continue to work with him on reading the defense and the coverages. He did a better job of spreading the ball around in the second half to Gierke, Calvin Hughes and Ryley Cook."

Hughes had one catch for nine yards and Brandon Gierke two for 38. Scott finished 15-26 with two TDs and an interception.

The Tiger Cubs marched down the field one final time late in the fourth, getting a first down on the Vikings' two yard line.

Pettit's attempt at a third touchdown ended in a fumble, but senior guard Jordon Froderman dove on the ball in the endzone.

No. 11 Greencastle's next game is Friday at Edgewood at 7 p.m.

Grabservations:

Tyler Scott relies on Seth Brown a lot, and he should.

On one of the few times the offense got into any trouble, Greencastle faced a third-and-17 late in the second quarter. Scott rolled out to his left, floated the ball up to Brown and his receiver hauled it in, broke a few tackles and raced down the sideline for an eventual 52-yard gain.

The Tiger Cubs made more of an effort to spread the ball around in the second half, but that's probably an unnecessary plan to help keep the defense honest.

"We've got to spread the ball out," Buis said. "But sometimes its not bad throwing it up to No. 84 and letting him go get the thing."

Luke Brotherton looks like a revelation for the Tiger Cubs.

Brotherton came out for the football team for the first time as a senior and wasn't expected to get a lot of action, especially early in the season. Instead, the coaches are having a hard time keeping him off the field.

With all-state kicker Sedrick Weinschenk missing the game with a concussion, Brotherton handled the place-kicking duties for GHS. After Greencastle's first touchdown he drilled the extra point, pounded the kickoff inside the Vikings' 10, then took his spot as the strong side cornerback.

He's got speed, athleticism and, at 6-foot-1, the size to become a great force at cornerback. For now, at least on paper, he's merely one of the best backup kickers in the state.

"That thing pops off the tee, doesn't it?" Buis said. "You're talking about an all-state golfer that comes out here and he looks like he's an all-state soccer player. That was much needed depth for him to come out for us. ... For Luke Brotherton to come out here and do what he did tonight played a key roll."

Senior Seth Brown fends off a defender (Banner Graphic/GRANT WIEMAN)

At Greencastle
West Vigo..............0 0 0 6 -- 6
Greencastle...........7 14 0 14 -- 35