SHARPVILLE — For a few brief moments here Friday night — five Andy Hensley bolts up the middle for 26 yards and a one-yard shot by Justin Grubb to be exact — it appeared Tri-Central’s battered and beleaguered Trojan football troupe may have struck gold.
But just as quickly, a visiting Clinton Prairie Gopher crew that graduated 19 seniors last year and had just four seniors on its 2008 roster of 33 became stubborn, bullish and football nasty.
With senior quarterback Jon Jarrett, 210-pound freshman fullback Brady Woodruff and senior wide receiver Alan Barker teaming up for four touchdowns and 120 of the Gophers’ 272 total yardage, the Gophers had their own sweet way in a 27-0 Hoosier Heartland Conference triumph.
In evening their overall season mark at 2-2 and capturing their league debut, coach Shaun Wines’ CP troupe frustrated the Trojans of coach Mark Burdsall to the almost invisible tune of 47 yards on 32 rushes and a meager 91 yards through the air via meager 7-of-24 passing.
The Trojans, now 0-4 overall and 0-2 in the league, aided their fourth consecutive downfall by fumbling five times and heaving one interception. TC recovered those five bobbles, but its bungling ways wiped out any semblance of offense, especially with quarterback Robby Howell constantly under the gun of an aggressive Gopher blitz that kept TC out of sync.
And therein was the key — a 3-5 Prairie defense that turned TC’s second-half offense into a mirage of minus-three yards on the turf and 2-of-11 passing. And yet, TC was still alive and hopeful at halftime despite a 14-zip Gopher lead and a Trojan offense that had managed a woeful 108 first half yards on 24 maneuvers.
But there was another item that chilled the Trojans — 10 penalties for 85 yards including one that wiped out a tying touchdown in the first half.
“Our pass rush was the key,” Wines said. “[Robby] Howell is a good young quarterback, and TC has a good, quick receiver in [Corban] Fiscus. We worked all week on pressure, and that’s what saved us.
“We didn’t feel safe with that 14-0 halftime lead, and we wanted to come out in the third quarter, stop them and not let them get back into the game. TC has some good talent and they play hard. They’re young, but they’ll get there.”
Woodruff’s power game proved more than TC could handle, and Barker and Slayd Schimmel got loose at key times on quick openers.
Prairie got a 6-0 lead when Jarrett hit Barker for a 45-yard payoff with 1:10 left in the first segment. The two Gophers hooked up again with 9:09 left in the first half, and Schimmel ran for the two-point conversion.
TC’s first drive lasted 14 plays and carried to the Prairie 22. Howell skirted outside for a 22-yard touchdown, but the Trojans were fined for an illegal block. And the drive went to pot at the CP 35.
The Trojans got as far as the Gopher 26, but the same old nemesis — dropped passes — reared its ugly head. Time and time again the ball escaped Tri-Central hands wiping out first downs and promising drives.
Prairie got a third score at 7:01 of the third act when Woodruff got lose for a 41-yard payoff, and the bruising fullback wrote the finish with a 30-yard TD gallop with 2:51 left in the contest.
“I saw it coming early,” Burdsall said. “We had that touchdown called back, and we dropped our heads. We were only down 14-0 at the half and still alive with plenty of time to come back. But we constantly shot ourselves in the foot with the same old mistakes.
“What’s disappointing is we have good athletes. But we just don’t do what we’re capable of doing, and when things go wrong we get our heads down. And it’s getting to be a habit. Simply said, we don’t know how to win.”
Fiscus caught six passes for 87 yards; Hensley had 27 yards on eight carries and Keegan Pyke added 15 yards on seven trips.
The Trojans were missing No. 1 running back Tyler Burke due to an ankle injury but should be available next week.
The Trojans head for Clinton Central next Friday, while Prairie visits Delphi.
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Clinton Prairie shuts out Tri-Central
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