Greencastle mauls Brown County

NASHVILLE – Complete domination by the Greencastle Tiger Cubs was the theme on Friday night in Nashville as the Cubs defeated the Brown County Eagles 84-0 in a Western Indiana Conference football game.

The Tiger Cubs had 10 possessions and scored 10 touchdowns. They averaged 22.3 yards per play on just 26 plays with 18 of those plays being a first down.

Greencastle had 95 yards rushing on just four carries, while Cole Stephens set a Greencastle record with 10 touchdown passes as he completed an astounding 19-of-22 passes for 485 yards.

The defense was just as dominant as it held the Eagles to 72 total yards in the shutout win, only allowing Brown County across midfield three times in the game.

The big victory set the Tiger Cub record at 4-2 and 3-0 in WIC. Brown County fell to 1-5 and 0-3 in conference play.

“We always talk about that we want to be process-focused, not outcome-focused. We worked really hard this week to maintain a championship level of football. The hardest thing to fight is the human condition. When everyone knows your opponent may not be as skilled, it can be hard to maintain your focus,” Greencastle head coach Dave Stephens said.

The Tiger Cubs Lamar Moore ran for 17 yards on their first play from scrimmage, which turned out to be the only time Greencastle ran the ball in the first half.

Stephens then hit Owen Huff with a 15-yard touchdown pass for a 6-0 lead. Just two minutes later, after a penalty wiped out a Huff punt return for a score, Stephens found Ian Williamson with a 52-yard pass and score.

Moore added the conversion run and Greencastle had a 14-0 lead with more than half of the first quarter left.

“I am not going to run the ball into an eight-man front with blitzing,” Stephens said when asked of the pass-heavy ratio on the night.

The Eagles managed a first down but kicked the ball back to Greencastle and for the third-straight series, the Cubs had a brief two-play drive with Williamson and Stephens connecting again from the same 52-yard distance and a 21-0 lead.

The Cubs recovered an onside kick and guess what? Two plays later Stephens found Garrett Cooper deep down the left side for a score and a 27-0 lead still in the opening period.

Another stop by the Cub defense to start the second quarter led to Huff having another big return nullified by a penalty and Greencastle had to work a little harder for the next touchdown.

A four-play, 78-yard drive saw Williamson get his third touchdown reception of the night, leaping over a defender in the back of the end zone, for a 35-0 lead as Moore converted the run.

Greencastle recovered another on-side kick and after Stephens threw his first of only three incomplete passes on the night, he hit Williamson for 13 yards and Huff for 29 yards for another score setting the score at 41-0 with 8:45 left until halftime.

The special teams decided to get into the scoring act on the next series as they forced a punt that the Eagles mishandled Alex Grove scooped the ball, racing 26 yards for a touchdown and another Moore conversion run set the score at 49-0.

“A lot of credit to our defensive coordinator, Jorden Froderman. We tried this week to build our depth and we came out playing our assignments with five or more players that usually are playing on Monday,” Stephens said.

Brown County moved the ball a little on the next drive but still punted away and three offensive plays later, Brayden Monroe took a pass from Stephens over the middle and rumbled 56 yards for another touchdown.

Greencastle got the ball back with just over a minute left in the half and Stephens found Huff for 55 yards and another score to go up 63-0 at the break, almost doubling the total needed for a running clock in the second half.

Greencastle took the second half kickoff and overcame four penalties to move down the field with Huff picking up 78 yards rushing on three carries before finding paydirt on a 12-yard pass from Stephens and a 70-0 lead heading into the final quarter.

Chris Olson picked off an Eagle pass on the first play of the fourth quarter and Stephens then found Huff again for his fifth touchdown reception of the night and a 77-0 lead.

The Eagles seemed to find a way to move the ball after the Cubs put their JV team following the score, but the defense decided to get in on the action as Caden Brenner picked up a fumble by the Eagles and raced 44 yards for the final score, setting the margin at 84-0.

“We have a couple of tough games coming up with Owen Valley and, of course, North Putnam. We are working to get ready for the tournament, but we are not overlooking them,” Stephens said of his team’s outlook.

The Tiger Cubs will travel to county rival Cloverdale next week to try and extend their four-game winning streak.

1st Quarter

GHS – Owen Huff 15 pass from Cole Stephens (kick failed), 6-0, 9:54.

GHS – Ian Williamson 52 pass from Cole Stephens (Lamar Moore run), 14-0, 7:32.

GHS – Ian Williamson 52 pass from Cole Stephens (Ian Williamson kick), 21-0, 1:44.

GHS – Garrett Cooper 35 pass from Cole Stephens (kick failed), 27-0, 1:16.

2nd Quarter

GHS – Ian Williamson 21 pass from Cole Stephens (Lamar Moore run), 35-0, 9:30.

GHS – Owen Huff 29 pass from Cole Stephens (run failed), 41-0, 8:45.

GHS – Alex Grove 26 fumble return (Lamar Moore run), 49-0, 6:39.

GHS – Brayden Monroe 56 pass from Cole Stephens (Ian Williamson kick), 56-0, 3:39.

GHS – Owen Huff 55 pass from Cole Stephens (Ian Williamson kick), 63-0, :32.

3rd Quarter

GHS – Owen Huff 12 pass from Cole Stephens (Ian Williamson kick), 70-0, 2:45.

4th Quarter

GHS – Owen Huff 46 pass from Cole Stephens (Ian Williamson kick), 77-0, 10:20.

GHS – Caden Brenner 44 fumble return (Ian Williamson kick), 84-0, 1:23.

Rushing: Greencastle: Owen Huff 3-78, Lamar Moore 1-17, Brown County: Noah Lucas 5-(-15), Cory Bartlett 12-18, P.J. McMasters 1-3, Kyle Cobb 7-13.

Passing: Greencastle: Cole Stephens 19-22-0 485. Brown County: Noah Lucas 8-16-1 53, Kyle Cobb 0-2-1 0.

Receiving: Greencastle: Owen Huff 9-204, Ian Williamson 7-167, Brayden Monroe 2-79, Garrett Cooper 1-35. Brown County: Landon Scott 3-14, Westin Fulford 5-39.