Braxton Shelton may have been a little shocked by his record-setting performance Friday night at Walter Cross Field but it isn’t likely anyone wearing Mount Vernon colors was the least bit surprised.
They’d seen it all before.
Last season Shelton scored three touchdowns in a 43-7 win over the Marauders and in this 2009 season opener, Shelton duplicated that performance — albeit in more exciting fashion.
The 5-foot-11, 200-pound senior dazzled on TD runs of 69, 31 and 51 yards in leading the Kats to a 34-7 victory and in the process, became the all-time leading scorer in the 87 year history of KHS football.
Shelton’s 18 points pushed his career point total to 248, passing Dondre Johnson (240), who had been the leader since 1997.
Shelton, unaware he was close to the record, was quick to thank his teammates.
“The offensive line did a heck of a job,” Shelton said. “The first run [Casey] Shipley, and [Dylan] Green had great blocks — I mean I scored without having to make a move. The big thing for us is we can’t get complacent like we did in the second half. If we play for four quarters, we can compete with the best teams in the state.”
Coach Brett Colby was pleased but certainly not surprised by Shelton’s performance.
“He’s much more concerned about winning than any personal accolades,” Colby said. “He knows that if the team does well his [accolades] will come. He’s improved so much from a year ago. He’s stronger and his vision is better — it’s like he’s his own blocker. He’s making a lot of guys miss.”
Colby was generally pleased with a win over a team he said was considerably better than a year ago, although he did think his team was flat after intermission.
“Same as last year with [Mount Vernon],” he said. “We were ahead 28-0 then and we came out flat and we did [Friday night] too. I don’t know what I have to do at halftime, but we’ve got to be able to get things going [in the third quarter].”
All three of Shelton’s touchdowns came in the first 14 minutes — the second and third scores on almost identical runs that involved nifty cutbacks that simply froze defenders.
Leading 21-0, the Kats bumped the margin by another score when the defense produced. Cheyse Swain applied the pressure on Marauder quarterback Austin Parker and T.J. Weir alertly collected the errant pass and returned the interception 39 yards for a touchdown.
It wasn’t until the Marauders trailed 28-0 with 2:17 left in the first half that they managed their initial first down.
“I think of everything that happened, that was the most pleasing thing to me,” Colby said. “We started seven new players on defense and held [Mount Vernon] that long without a first down.”
There was nothing pretty about the second half. Mount Vernon stepped up the intensity on both sides of the ball and the teams played pretty evenly throughout. The Marauders punched across a score on a two-yard run by Trey Ross midway in the third, but the Kats answered in a matter of seconds.
On the ensuing kickoff, Kokomo sophomore Armon Bridgeforth was inserted. He took the kickoff down the sidelines, juked a pair of would-be tacklers and was off for a memorable first varsity touchdown — 94 yards.
Shelton finished the night with 188 rushing yards. Zach McKinney, whose father was an outstanding athlete at Haworth High school, led the Marauders with 98 yards on 16 carries.
From his safety position, Austin Colby led the Kats with 13 tackles. Brock Barbary added seven and Swain, Bridgeforth and Green had six pops apiece.
Kokomo returns home Friday with its first game ever against Indianapolis Arlington, an opening night 27-6 winner over Indianapolis Tech at Lucas Oil Stadium.
Sports
FOOTBALL: Shelton makes history
Senior leads Kats in opening night romp
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