A dominant second-half effort on both sides of the ball led Kokomo to an impressive 54-28 North Central Conference victory over the Anderson Indians Friday night at Walter Cross Field.
It was the 9th straight NCC win for the Wildkats (2-1, 1-0) who won their last conference game of the 2006 season and all seven last year.
Anderson fumbled the ball away on its first two possessions, and Kokomo took advantage of great field position to jump ahead 13-0 with 1:43 left in the first quarter. Braxton Shelton raced in from 26 yards out on Kokomo’s first play from scrimmage, for the first of his four rushing touchdowns, and Casey Shipley added an 8-yard scoring run.
Then the Indians turned the game around with a aerial attack that was just as impressive as Kokomo’s ground game. Quarterback Nolan Earley followed Kokomo’s second score with a 68-yard strike to Tre Jackson to cut the Wildkats’ advantage to 13-7.
Kokomo put together a typical 10-play, 72-yard drive capped by a 3-yard score from Shelton to stretch the lead to 21-7, but the Wildkats couldn’t stop Anderson’s passing game. Earley hit Jackson with another perfect strike, this time for a 74-yard touchdown.
“We couldn’t get to (Earley) quick enough.” Kokomo coach Brett Colby said. “We tried a couple of things in the first half, but we never got any pressure on him. He’s a really good quarterback. Unfortunately, I think he broke his hand in the fourth quarter.”
The first half, which ended in a 28-all draw, was a nightmare for the defensive coaches on both teams. Kokomo rushed for 227 first-half yards, while Earley threw for 275 yards and three touchdowns.
The second half was a whole different story. The Indians added just 15 yards to their passing total and were shutout by an inspired Kokomo defense.
“We made some nice adjustments as a staff at halftime that didn’t allow their receivers to get deep,” Colby said. “I’m very proud of our kids’ effort. They could have folded up their tent after Anderson tied the score (with just :10 left in the half), but they regrouped. The attitude we came out with in the second half was what we want from our defense.”
In a game that featured very few defensive highlights, it was a pair of big-time plays by linebacker Curt Hutchins that sealed the deal for Kokomo. Shelton’s fourth touchdown gave the Wildkats a 42-28 lead with 11:56 remaining, but that lead didn’t look so big considering Anderson’s 275 first-half passing yards.
The Indians faced 3rd and 2 when Hutchins knifed through the line and brought down Earley for a one-yard loss. Anderson called time-out and decided to go for it on 4th and 3 on its 27. Jackson got the ball on a reverse but Hutchins wasn’t fooled, wrapping him up a yard short of the first down.
“Hutchins made a couple of nice solo tackles,” Colby said. “But that’s what a senior, captain starter should do. He was all-conference as a junior, leading us with 109 tackles last year. We trust him so much that we let him make some of the defensive calls. He’s like another coach on the field.”
Kokomo took over following Hutchins’ second big stop, and three plays later put the game away when Jairus Johnson bulled his way in from five yards out for a 48-28 Wildkat lead. Hutchins led the Kats with 10 tackles, including two for loss and recovered a fumble.
Kokomo didn’t rewrite its record book, but the run-happy offense came close. The Wildkats rushed for 495 yards, second-best in school history, narrowly missing the 502 they put on Marion last season. Shelton and sophomore Bruce Johnson led the Kats with 154 and 147 rushing yards each.
Kokomo’s eight rushing touchdowns was also a second-best effort in team history, one behind the nine the 1996 Wildkats scored against the Indians.
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