Opening-night repeat: Cubs top Crawfordsville again

Saturday, August 18, 2018
Greencastle’s Gavin Bollman sacks Crawfordsville quarterback Cameron Saunders during Friday night’s 9-0 victory.
Banner Graphic/JOEY BENNETT

Last year, Greencastle’s Tiger Cubs opened their football season with a 10-0 shutout victory at Crawfordsville.

On Friday night, the Tiger Cubs almost identically repeated that outcome with a 9-0 homefield win over the Athenians.

One major difference between the two games was that while last year’s game was played in bright sunshine on Crawfordsville’s artificial playing surface, this year’s rematch was a mudbath after a long day of rainfall that Tiger Cub coach Mike Meyer felt hurt both teams.

“It was tough,” Meyer said. “The field conditions affected both teams, and we both had the same problems. Fortunately, we came out with the win.

“You always want to win your opener, and we always say it’s how much better you get before the next one,” he added. “We have a lot of work to do.”

Greencastle’s Gavin Bollman, the state’s returning leader in quarterback sacks, got his first of the new season on Crawfordsville’s second drive of the game to force the Athenians to punt from deep in their own territory.

The Tiger Cubs took over at the Crawforsville 39, and reached the Athenian four-yard-line before a pair of penalties forced them to settle for a 33-yard field goal by Hector Lezama.

Those would turn out to be all the points Greencastle would need, but the game was far from over.

The rest of the first half was scoreless, but the Tiger Cubs scored their only touchdown on the opening drive of the second half.

An ill-fated short kickoff was fielded by Bollman at his own 17 and returned to the Athenian 40. Five plays later, Bollman scored on a five-yard TD run and the scoring was over.

Crawfordsville had trouble offensively, accounting for just 66 total yards, hampered both by the field conditions and the Tiger Cub defense.

Greencastle got 126 yards rushing from Damon Moody and 42 more from Bollman to be able to control field position a little bit better.

Both teams mishandled quarterback snaps due to the muddy and wet footballs, and the field conditions deteriorated drastically as the game went along.

“That drive to open the second half was really important for us,” Meyer said. “We got a couple of interceptions [from Alex Costin], and both defenses were having a good day due to the conditions. We were able to run the ball, and it was a good game that could have gone either way.”

Meyer coaches from the old-school, grind-em-out theory of the game, but this one was closer than he liked.

“I wish we could have had a bigger cushion,” he said. “The kids did a nice job.”

Greencastle's Jake Overstreet (14) makes a big hit on a kickoff return.
Banner Graphic/JOEY BENNETT

Besides Moody and Bollman, Meyer credited Trever Wood, Jordan Meyer and dimunitive Jake Overstreet — who used every ounce of his 5-1, 130-pound frame to make several good tackles on special teams.

“I’m sure there were even more who will stand out on the film,” he said.

The game would have to have been a bright spot personally for Meyer, whose daughter Kenzie passed away earlier this month.

Players wore stickers on their helmer with her initials “KM” on them, and a moment of silence was observed prior to the game.

Meyer downplayed any notion that his team had won the game for him and his family.

“I wanted them to win it for them[selves],” he said. “We had a lot of kids who were making their first start and this was big for them.”

A potential tragedy was averted during the game when Crawfordsville receiver Carson Tharp was injured in the first quarter and was motionless for several minutes before being taken away by an ambulance. Tharp returned to the Athenian sideline before the end of the game.

Crawfordsville00000
Greencastle30609

G — Lezama 33 FG

G — Bollman 5 run (kick failed)

CG
FIrst downs57
Rushes-yards29-3044-158
Passing yards36-2
Passing7-24-22-7-1
Penalties-yards6-6010-78
Punts-avg.4-28 5-24

Individual statistics

Rushing — Crawfordsville: Latre 18-13, Saunders 7-17, McCarty 4-0. Greencastle: Moody 25-126, Baxter 8-(-10), Bollman 11-42.

Passing — Crawfordsville: Saunders 7-24-2 36 yards. Greencastle: Baxter 2-7-1 -2 yards.

Receiving — Crawfordsville: Tharp 1-5, McCarty 1-13, Martin 1-3, Weaver 2-4, Horton 1-3, Schloemer 1-8.