Moody gets career high 199 yards as Cubs stay undefeated

WEST TERRE HAUTE — Greencastle coach Mike Meyer was a happy man Friday night.

The Tiger Cubs got a career-high 199-yard rushing performance from Damon Moody, complimented by a steady passing night from Brayden Baxter and some timely defense en route to a 23-12 Western Indiana Conference win over host West Vigo.

“I thought [Moody] had a nice game and we were pretty balanced. I’m really happy with what we got done today. I’m really happy to beat West Vigo down here,” Meyer said.

Moody may be kind of sore this weekend. the six-foot, 180-pound senior carried the ball 33 times and scored on runs of two and 25-yards behind a dominant performance by the offensive line.

At the same time, Baxter completed just enough passes, 8-13, for 100 yards to keep the Vikings off balance.

“We were inconsistent on both offense and defense. We had moments where we looked great on offense and great on defense and moments when we didn’t execute very well. Greencastle has a good combine of size (and speed in the backfield),” West Vigo coach Jeff Cobb said.

Greencastle’s defense held the Vikings to a net seven yards rushing, but gave up 198 yards to passing. Quarterback Dane Andrews completed 17-31 passes for 198 yards and one touchdown, but also had two attempts picked off because the defense expected him to throw.

The Vikings scored first, converting two big plays on a 90-yard touchdown drive. Zander Wilbur scored on a 54-yard pass play down the sideline. However the point-after-touchdown attempt failed.

Greencastle scored twice in the second quarter and prevented the Vikings from getting into the end zone with a good pass defense.

Moody capped an eight-play, 71-yard drive with a two-yard touchdown run and Hector Lezama’s point after kick put the Tiger Cubs ahead for good, 7-6. On the drive, Baxter found Alex Costin for a 28-yard gain and Moody broke free for a 17-yard picked up.

Dakota Campbell set up the Tiger Cubs’ second touchdown. Campbell picked off a pass at the West Vigo 22-yard line and four plays later Gavin Bollman powered his way into the end zone on a four-yard run.

West Vigo threatened to score again in the closing minutes of the first half. The Vikings reached the Tiger Cubs’ 11 before Costin tipped two passes away and Moody broke through for a quarterback sack.

The Vikings cut the margin to one, 13-12, midway through the third quarter. Getting great field position at the Greencastle 41, the Vikings scored on the first play. The Vikings went for two-points, but could not run against the stout Tiger Cub defense.

Greencastle pushed its lead to 20-12 with 25 seconds left in the third period. Baxter found Bollman on a 19-yard pass play and two snaps later Moody scored on a 25-yard run.

Kicking was Greencastle’s only real problem all night. The Tiger Cubs had trouble getting the center snap down. But in the closing minutes of the contest, Lezama connected for a 28-yard field goal off and over the cross bar to seal the win.

The undefeated Tiger Cubs host county and conference rival South Putnam next week.

WV — Zander Wilbur 54 pass from Dane Andrews (kick failed) 6-0, 1:05 Q1.

G — Damon Moody 2 run (Hector Lezama kick) 7-6, 5:24 Q2

G — Gavin Bollman 2 run (kick failed) 13-6, 3:16 Q2.

WV — Wilbur 41 run (run failed) 13-12, 7:29 Q3.

G — Moody 25 run (Hector Lezama kick) 20-12, :25 Q3.

G — Lezama 28 field goal 23-12, Q4.

Individual statistics

Rushing – Greencastle: Moody 33-199, Bolan 10-28, Campbell 1-1, Baxter 1-(-4). West Vigo: Wilbur 2-36, Berkley 2-(-7), Andrews 2-(-22).

Passing – Greencastle: Baxter 8-13-0—100. West Vigo: Andrews 17-31-2—198.

Receiving – Greencastle: Costin 4-69, Bollman 2-25, Sanders 1-7, Campbell 1-(-1). West Vigo: Wilbur 6-87, Hannahs 3-23, Fuller 2-38, Yates 2-2, Stroud 2-15, Berkley 2-7.

Next game – Next Friday, West Vigo (1-2, 0-1 in WIC) will host Northview and Greencastle (3-0, 1-0 in WIC) will host South Putnam.