By BRYAN GASKINS
WALTON — Lewis Cass’ football team let fourth-quarter leads slip away in non-conference losses to Pioneer and West Lafayette, leaving the Kings with their first 0-2 start since 1998.
The Kings righted the ship Friday night in their home opener.
Northwestern had three offensive drives in the fourth quarter, but Cass stopped all three and went on for a 26-7 win in both squads’ Mid-Indiana Conference opener. Safety Damon Foreman had two interceptions in the quarter and defensive ends Blake Widner and Cody Larimore halted the other drive with a fourth-down sack.
“It feels really good to get our first win of the season,” Foreman said. “We played two really good teams at the beginning. We played good enough to win, we just couldn’t hold on in the fourth quarter. It was nice to come out here and [turn that around].”
Cass, the defending MIC champion, extended its league winning streak to 13 games.
“We want to get the conference this year,” Foreman said, “but we have to take it one game at a time.”
Foreman made sure the Kings took a strong first step into conference play. Offensively, the King quarterback passed for 173 yards and ran for another 31 yards and a TD. And defensively, he had the two picks in the fourth quarter — including one deep in the red zone with the Kings holding a 20-7 lead.
“He is just a great player on both sides of the ball,” Northwestern coach John Hendryx said. “I thought defensively, he really got after it there in the fourth quarter.”
Foreman’s picks put an exclamation point on a determined defensive effort.
“The key to this game was our defensive effort,” Cass coach Scott Mannering said.
The Kings jumped to a 14-0 lead in the opening half.
After going three-and-out on their opening series, the Kings put together a seven-play, 80-yard drive to crack the scoreboard. Matt Eckelbarger keyed the drive with a 39-yard romp to the Northwestern 18-yard line. Four plays later, Josh Knutson scored on a 3-yard run and Aaron Richardson added the PAT kick.
After Cass cornerback Derrick Worden intercepted a pass, the Kings went right back to work. On the first play of the second quarter, Evan Depew had a 51-yard reception off a nice pass from Foreman. And on the next play, Knutson ripped off a 27-yard TD run off a dive play to cap a quick five-play drive.
Worden picked off another pass late in the quarter and the Kings went into halftime with a 14-0 lead.
The Tigers moved the ball at times in the first half, but a pair of penalties and the two turnovers stalled their momentum. Their first two drives in the second half ended quietly — but then they came alive.
After Brayden Merrell intercepted a pass, Merrell hauled in a pass from Tiger QB Tanner Martin and raced to the end zone for a 78-yard TD. Matt Marrah kicked the PAT to bring the Tigers within 14-7 at 1:09 of the third quarter.
But on the next play from scrimmage, Foreman rolled out on a bootleg play and connected with Worden for a 78-yard catch-and-run play. Foreman followed with a two-yard TD sneak to put the Kings up 20-7.
“Obviously, [Merrell’s TD] kind of rose everyone’s emotional level, and then it was instantly gone,” Hendryx said. “I have to give them credit for that because that’s a mark of a good team — that’s an immediate answer.”
The Tigers followed with a 13-play drive to the Cass 10-yard line, but Foreman read the Tigers’ second-down play perfectly to pick off a pass with 8:05 remaining, effectively sealing the Kings’ 10th straight win over the Tigers.
“Damon had a tremendous football game, both sides of the ball. I can’t say enough about him — he has become our leader,” Mannering said.
The Kings showed their usual offensive balance. Knutson (7 carries, 79 yards), Eckelbarger (5-51), Caleb Comoglio (10-47) and Worden (7-36) led the ground assault. Knutson ran for three TDs. Worden also had 99 receiving yards.
“The line protected really good,” Foreman noted.
Martin started again in place of the injured Trevor Gibson. Martin made some impressive plays, breaking loose for a 25-yard run in the first half and passing for a total of 189 yards, but he also made some sophomore mistakes as one might expect.
Merrell finished with six catches for 131 yards. The Tigers (2-1) gained 302 yards, but hurt themselves with four turnovers and four penalties.
“I thought we moved the ball well all night long … but the jumping off-sides, the silly miscues, the dropped balls — you cannot beat Lewis Cass with that. If you’re going to beat them, you have to beat team because they’re not going to beat themselves,” Hendryx said.
