TERRE HAUTE — The Gibson Southern soccer men haven’t forgotten the lessons they learned from last season’s Class 3A state championship predecessors: how to overcome adversity and how to win.
They both did it in Friday night’s first game of 2022 at 5A Terre Haute South. Upset when the Braves’ Nas McNeal returned the opening kickoff 54 yards and his teammates drove 45 more to take a 7-0 lead with less than six minutes remaining, the Titans built a 13-7, 20-13 lead.
With the game tied at 20 in the opening minutes of the fourth quarter, they broke up a subsequent drive by the hosts, the Titans forced another punt and then raced 68 yards to win 27-20 when junior Sean DeLong blasted his way into the end zone. . to turn classmate Tanner Boyd’s underhanded shovel pass into a 3-yard touchdown with 5.8 seconds remaining.
As hosts Desean Lowe fielded sophomore Connor Wirey’s squib kickoff and ran back and forth for space, a group of Titans pummeled him and forced a fumble, with junior Michael Herren recovering at the end of the game.
“A gutsy performance and a big win,” said coach Nick Hart, whose Titans, having added to the 11-game winning streak that made them state champions last November, will be looking for a 13th straight when they take on Class 5A New Albany at 6: Starting at 30 pm Friday in their home opener at Jack Jewell Memorial Field. New Albany is where they won 63-24 last August.
“After Terre Haute South took that early lead, we reminded our guys that we had to keep playing and we did. We beat a team that was making plays and will win a lot of games,” said Hart, whose 11th season opener brought him his 106th career win out of about 20 losses.
Boyd, who replaced Indiana’s Mr. Football and Purdue quarterback recruit Brady Allen in 2021, completed 23 of 29 passes for 179 yards and 2 touchdowns around 1 interception. He also rushed 19 times for 131 yards and 2 touchdowns, accounting for a total offense of 310 yards and each of the four team scores.
“Tanner was great. He made good decisions and great pitches,” Hart said.
“When they got that first touchdown, we knew we had to respond and we did,” the 17-year-old Boyd said. “We unite and persevere.”
DeLong’s game-winning touchdown gave him 8 catches for 50 yards. “A great decision by Coach Hart,” DeLong, 16, said of the game-winning goal.
“I was patient and stayed behind the line when Tanner started the play. Right after Tanner threw the ball to me, I got hit, but I dragged that guy down, dropped my shoulder and crossed the goal line.”
“Getting this win feels great. We have a lot of young guys and we all believe in each other. Our offensive line was excellent: Teagen Baker at center, Zach Rose and Spencer Staggs at guard, Jacob Bales and Jackson Adams at tackle.”
Boyd noted that on the game-winning shot, he faked a shot before passing the ball to DeLong. “Sean was about twenty feet away from me when I saw that he was open.”
Hart said the play was “something we wanted to call earlier, but we weren’t in the right situation. That would have been our first play in overtime. The way Terre Haute South was playing, I felt like we could have some fluidity at the top.”
Braves senior Josh Cottee, a 195-pound TB whose 27 carries generated 130 yards and 2 touchdowns, capped the game’s opening drive with a 2-yard TD on the 12th scrimmage play. Adam Mohamed then converted the extra point. The Titans, getting the ball near midfield when a missed snap prevented the hosts from punts, ran for 48 yards in 6 plays and scored on Boyd’s 5-yard run in the second minute of the second quarter. Their 7-6 deficit held when a center hit prevented sophomore Cam Novotny from kicking the extra point.
A while later they ran for 48 yards in 5 plays, scoring on Boyd’s 15-yard pass to freshman Cole McKee and leading 13-7 when Novotny converted. The Braves responded quickly when Cottee turned second-year quarterback Brady Wilslon’s screen pass into a 75-yard touchdown, holding the 13-13 tie when he missed the extra point.
Boyd ran the final yard of a 65-yard drive that Novotny’s conversion gave him a 20-13 lead with 33 seconds left in the third quarter. Lowe’s 40-yard kickoff return propelled the hosts on a three-play, 55-yard drive that Wilson capped with a 34-yard run, followed by a Mohamed kick that forged a 20-20 tie at 33 seconds. of the last quarter. Gibson Southern’s defense stopped a subsequent drive when junior cornerback Gabe Bryant scrambled a pass into the end zone and then forced a 3-and-out to give the offense the possession it won.
“We’re together and we knew we had to face adversity,” senior linebacker Luke Foster said. “After that initial drive, we played more physical.”
Senior defensive end Ethan Ziliak said the Braves’ opening drive “told us we’d have to compete harder. Their offensive left tackle (6-foot-5, 240-pound Jude McCosky) is outstanding, but our defensive line is deep and we wear them down,” said the 17-year-old cousin of former Titans Eli and Austin Ziliak.
The Titans’ 219 rushing yards, in statistics kept annually by Ron Kahle, included 69 on 13 carries by senior Devan Roberts. His total offense of 398 yards, in 68 plays, included junior Michael Herren’s 5 catches for 41. McKee’s 4 for 41 and senior Isaac O’Neal’s 4 for 32. Herren also made a kickoff return for 38. yards.
The Braves’ 318 offensive yards in 57 plays include Cottee’s 139 and 2 TDs on 27 carries, his 3 receptions for 123 yards and a TD, and McNeal’s 5 receptions for 33 yards. The latter had 60 yards on a pair of kickoff returns, Wilson completing 12 of 21 passes for 167 yards. The Titans produced 27 first downs and the Braves 14.
College Football: Gibson Southern @ Terre Haute South (Aug. 19)
TITANS…0 13 7 7…Total: 27
BRAVES..7 6 0 7…Total: 20
Source: www.pdclarion.com