Short-handed Clovers never quit in 49-8 loss

TRAFALGAR — There’s always some uncertainty when entering something new, be it a new team, area or conference.

That described Indian Creek’s first year in the Western Indiana Conference, but after Friday night’s game against Cloverdale, any doubts were erased.

Indian Creek dominated on both sides of the ball in beating the Clovers, 49-8, ensuring the Western Indiana Conference East Division championship and making the Braves’ initial season in the conference a successful one.

The win was the third straight for the 5-3 Braves, and as the division champions, they move into the championship game at Sullivan next Friday night.

“I was excited going into the season,” said Mike Gillin when asked about joining a new conference. “It was a better conference and there’s better competition. We played well (tonight), but we’ll have to be ready to play next week.”

Since the beginning of the season, Gillin had said the Braves were a work in progress. And while they are not yet near their best game, they are getting closer.

It was a night were Gillin employed both his patented passing attack and a running game that at times has been erratic. On this night, it worked at the right moments.

Braves quarterback Taylor Voris threw for 236 yards and four touchdowns, two of them to senior end Bryce Hogue, who also had 105 yards receiving.

Isaiah Lacey and Brad Trietsch each caught a Voris pass for a touchdown, while Brandon Dunn ran in from 57 yards.

Also scoring for Indian Creek were Michael Perkins and Avery Welch.

Defensively, it was the Braves’ finest performance of the season as they held the Clovers to 44 total yards, recorded six sacks of quarterback Nick Winders and didn’t allow Cloverdale to penetrate past midfield until the fourth quarter, when Gillin started playing his reserves.

Indian Creek also had a Dunn interception and recovered a Clover fumble.

Cloverdale averted getting shut out for the fourth time this season when Dakota Kollman scored on a 4-yard pass from Winders.

Cloverdale dropped to 3-5, but came in at a huge disadvantage, dressing only 26 players.

“I was missing our starting quarterback, running back and wide receiver,” Cloverdale coach Tony Meyer said. “We’re also young, but I was proud of the way our guys played against a good team.

“We were overmatched, but we weren’t going to quit.”