Eagles claim sectional crown

Friday, November 6, 2020 ~ Updated 3:21 PM
South Putnam battled back from a 33-14 third quarter deficit to win its second sectional title in three years with a 43-40 win over Parke Heritage.
Banner Graphic/TRENT SCOTT

When No. 8 Parke Heritage’s Christian Johnson ran into the end zone with 2:15 left in the third quarter of Friday night’s IHSAA Football Class A Sectional No. 45 championship game, No. 4 South Putnam was in the worst spot of its entire 2020 season.

Trailing 33-14, the Eagles responded with the resolve of a championship team, scoring 23 straight points, responding when the Wolves scored after falling behind and holding the visitors out of the end zone on their final possession to secure a sectional title with a 43-40 win.

“We dug down when we needed to dig down,” South Putnam head coach Chuck Sorrell said about the comeback victory. “This group was relentless tonight.

“This was the kind of game where we put it in their hands. We looked at them in the eyes at halftime and said, “We’re going to have to make plays.”

“We couldn’t worry about the scoreboard; we had to keep fighting, the offensive line had to keep blocking and eventually, we made plays,” Sorrell added. “Hat’s off to this group of seniors, who deserve everything they got tonight.

“That was one heck of a football game and if you saw it here or on TV, it had to be amazing to watch. It wasn’t very fun to coach at times but it had to be fun to watch and I’m glad we were on the right side of it.”

Getting to the thrilling finish took some time as both squads came out of the gates uneasy with South Putnam picking up a first down before moving backwards on the next snap and seeing a muffed snap on a punt set up Parke Heritage on the Eagle 37-yard line.

The Wolves didn’t take advantage as an ineligible man down field penalty wiped out a touchdown while two others helped the hosts force a turnover on downs.

South Putnam went backwards again on its next drive and punted but forced the visitors into fourth-and-one.

A false start penalty moved Parke Heritage back five yards but didn’t deter the Wolves, who went deep as Johnson hit Anthony Wood for a 43-yard score and a 7-0 lead midway through the first quarter.

The Eagles responded with a strong drive, picking up three first downs and moving down to the visitors’ nine-yard line before a bad snap on third down resulting in a 19-yard loss, forcing a deep pass from Riley Stone that was intercepted by Noble Johnson at the five.

Parke Heritage picked up a first down but a false start penalty stunted the drive and forced a punt that initially was downed near midfield, only for a personal foul against the hosts moving the ball back 15 yards.

After picking up a first down, South Putnam punted away to start the second quarter and from there the Wolves moved quickly into home territory with pass plays of 33 and 24 yards to Noble Johnson.

A 21-yard pass to Riley Ferguson moved the ball down to the Eagle four-yard line and Christian Johnson hit Quinton Hanks on a two-yard roll out to double the lead to 14-0.

“(Christian Johnson) made a lot of plays,” Sorrell said about the sophomore signal caller. “Their receivers are great and they made so many plays.

“We don’t get a look like that in practice because he’s good. He makes plays with his feet, passes the ball well and when he scrambles it’s hard to defend him.”

The visitors then recovered an onside kick but an illegal block helped South Putnam force a punt to minimize the damage.

Going nowhere, the hosts punted away with Noble Johnson returning to the Eagle 32-yard line.

A trade of penalties broke up the momentum and a sack of Christian Johnson by Hayden Switzer halted the drive at the host’s 20-yard line.

South Putnam finally found a spark on offense as Switzer hauled in passes of 41 and 39 yards from Stone, helping set up brother Luke Switzer for a two-yard touchdown run, halving the deficit at 14-7 with 3:52 until halftime.

After a pass interference call extended the drive, Parke Heritage lost momentum with an illegal shift penalty being followed by a pair of incompletions and a punt.

The Eagles went three-and-out, losing Jeremiah Hibbeln to injury for the rest of the game in the process.

On the next snap, Noble Johnson beat the host’s secondary and hauled in a pass from Christian Johnson for a 75-yard score and a 21-7 lead with 1:35 until halftime.

South Putnam moved quickly with a short field from the kickoff, getting free yards from a Parke Heritage pass interference and 24 yards from Stone to Xavier Langley.

Stone rolled out on second down from the Wolves’ 26-yard line and hit Langley running the same direction for a score with :13.7 left until the break, sending the teams into halftime with the visitors leading 21-14.

Parke Heritage quarterback Christian Johnson was a hard player to pin down, throwing for 483 yards and scrambling for 10 total yards, but on the final play of the first half the Eagle defense managed to corral the sophomore with Ethan Harcourt (56) leading the charge.
Banner Graphic/TRENT SCOTT

Getting the running game going was a struggle as the hosts were held to 20 net yards on 18 carries, numbers Sorrell attributed to the Wolves keeping things compact up front.

“(Parke Heritage) did a good job on defense,” Sorrell said about the lack of running game early. “We looked at Riley and said he was going to have to win this game if they we’re going to use seven guys in the box.

“We needed to throw the ball a little bit to get a guy out of the box so we could run a little bit. That’s what we did: Riley made plays, Hayden made plays, our seniors made plays and the offensive line started blocking.”

Parke Heritage stated the second half with a bang as Wood hauled in a pass before skirting the South Putnam secondary for a 79-yard score and a 27-14 advantage.

The Eagles moved down the field, getting two first downs via penalty and reaching first-and-goal from the nine-yard line.

Two blasts from Luke Switzer got the ball to the two-yard line before a one-yard loss set up fourth-and-goal from the three.

Hayden Switzer took a jet sweep in for a score but a holding call and unsportsmanlike conduct penalty made it fourth-and-goal from the 32-yard line, leading to Stone heaving the ball to the end zone and coming down in the hands of Ferguson for an interception.

From their own 20-yard line, the Wolves picked up four first downs before Christian Johnson ran in from two yards out to make the score 33-14 with 2:15 left in the third quarter.

South Putnam needed scores quick and got one within a minute after Hayden Switzer ran a sweep for 44 yards and Hayden Switzer cashed in from four yards out to bring the deficit down to 33-21.

Trailing 33-14, South Putnam sophomore Luke Switzer follows the block of Parker Hacker (58) to get a score on the board in the third quarter, cutting the deficit to 33-21.
Banner Graphic/TRENT SCOTT

Parke Heritage picked up two first downs to end the third quarter but an incompletion and sack left the visitors facing fourth-and-23.

The Wolves elected to throw but Christian Johnson’s pass was tipped in the air and Matthew Goodpaster came away with the interception.

The Eagles found paydirt quickly as three runs netted a first down and Stone hit Hayden Switzer for a 42-yard strike that brought the deficit down to 33-28 with 10:18 left to play.

Christian Johnson then lobbed a pass too high on the second snap of the next drive and Hayden Switzer came down with it at the Parke Heritage 19-yard line.

“Once we started to get to (Christian Johnson), that helped our defensive backs out,” Sorrell said about the defense in the period. “It took a while because (Parke Heritage’s) line blocked well and handled our pressure.

“We had to do a lot of things to them. Our guys made plays and that’s what we’ve been working on since July, for a game like this.”

Staying on the ground, South Putnam hammered away with Luke Switzer for three plays, getting to the one-yard line, before Stone leapt across the line to give the home team its first lead of the night at 36-33 following a successful conversion.

“It was about our kids making plays and our seniors wanting it,” Sorrell said about the surge to take the lead. “We didn’t change any scheme; we did the same thing and just made plays.”

Parke Heritage swung back as Christian Johnson first hit Wood for a 38-yard gain and followed it up with a 21-yard pass to Ferguson to regain the lead at 40-36 with 7:33 remaining in the game.

With another short field, the Eagles pounded away on the ground, getting 25 yards from Hayden Switzer on a jet sweep and 21 more from Luke Switzer on the next play before the latter plunged in from five-yards out to take the lead again at 43-40 with 5:46 to play.

On the next possession, a pair of incompletions and a penalty left Parke Heritage facing third-and-15 from its own 29-yard line but a 32-yard pass to Wood moved the ball into South Putnam territory.

A swing pass to Noble Johnson netted no yards before an incomplete pass, a penalty and a Drew Teipen sack pushed the Wolves to the brink facing fourth-and-22.

On the final Wolves possession, Hayden Switzer made a crucial pass breakup on second down that helped force the visitors into a turnover on downs, helping the Eagles to seal their 12th sectional title in school history.
Banner Graphic/TRENT SCOTT

Another incomplete pass gave the ball back to the hosts, who only needed a first down to seal the game.

“I looked at the players and said they had to make a play,” Sorrell said before the last defensive series. “I looked at Xavier and Gabe Langley and said we need to make a play.

“Xavier made a play on the last pass, Dru got some pressure on the quarterback and we got it done.”

The task was made more difficult with a holding penalty on first down but three-straight Luke Switzer runs made up the difference as the Eagles picked up a first down and ran out the clock to win their second sectional title in three seasons.

“It’s awesome,” Sorrell said about winning the sectional. “This was the best atmosphere we’ve had all year.

“We got 1,000 people in here, we had alumni all over the place, some of my former coaches, friends, players’ girlfriends, moms, dads, grandparents and everyone here. You gotta love it.”

South Putnam moves to 12-0 with the win and will travel to No. 5 Covenant Christian next week after the Crusaders upended No. 1 Indianapolis Lutheran 46-38.

Sorrell said it would be another challenge for the squad next week but believed the team had it in them to continue onward if they showed the same grit and tenacity they had in the second half over the course of 48 minutes.

“We saw them one week against Heritage Christian and used some of what they did in that game for our game,” Sorrell said when asked about Covenant Christian. “They run the ball really well, they’ve got guys who can make plays.

“We’ll enjoy this tonight and (Saturday) morning, we’ll start breaking down their film and if we play like we did late for four quarters, we can beat any team in the state.”

Parke Heritage71412740
South Putnam01472243

Scoring Summary

1st Qtr

PH — Anthony Wood 43-yard pass from Christian Johnson (Quinton Hanks kick), 7-0, 6:41.

2nd Qtr

PH — Quinton Hanks 1-yard pass from Christian Johnson (Quinton Hanks kick), 14-0, 9:14.

SP — Luke Switzer 1-yard run (Wyatt Kendall kick), 14-7, 3:52.

PH — Noble Johnson 75-yard pass from Christian Johnson (Quinton Hanks kick), 21-7, 1:35.

SP — Xavier Langley 26-yard pass from Riley Stone (Wyatt Kendall kick), 21-14, :13.

3rd Qtr

PH — Anthony Wood 79-yard pass from Christian Johnson (kick failed), 27-14, 11:10.

PH — Christian Johnson 1-yard run (run failed), 33-14, 2:17

SP — Luke Switzer 4-yard run (Wyatt Kendall kick), 33-21, 1:18.

4th Qtr

SP — Dru Teipen 42-yard pass from Riley Stone (Wyatt Kendall kick), 33-28, 10:18.

SP — Riley Stone 1-yard run (conversion run), 36-33, 8:35

PH — Riley Ferguson 26-yard pass from Christian Johnson (Quentin Hanks kick), 40-36, 7:33.

SP — Luke Switzer 5-yard run (Wyatt Kendall kick), 43-40, 5:46.

PHSP
First Downs1720
Rushing yds28-3045-167
Passing yds483225
Comp-Att-Int21-43-210-29-2
Total yds71-51374-392
Penalties13-8512-100
Fumbles-lost2-04-1
Punts3-38.34-35.3

Rushing: Parke Heritage: Christian Johnson 20-10, Ozzy Jones 7-14, Noble Johnson 1-6, South Putnam: Luke Switzer 28-136, Jeremiah Hibbeln 7-17, Riley Stone 8-(-21), Jarred Bunch 1-(-3), Hayden Switzer 1-38.

Passing: Parke Heritage: Christian Johnson 21-43-2 483. South Putnam: Riley Stone 10-27-2 225, Jeremiah Hibbeln 0-2-0 0.

Receiving: Parke Heritage: Noble Johnson 9-182, Anthony Wood 6-232, Reece Simpson 2-18, Riley Ferguson 2-47, Quinton Hanks 1-1, Seth Edington 1-3. South Putnam: Hayden Switzer 6-138, Santiago Hernandez 1-14, Xavier Langley 2-31, Dru Teipen 1-42.