Heading into Friday night’s game at Walter Cross Field, Kokomo football coach Brett Colby had his concerns. In light of his team’s sluggish start last week and an expected soggy field where yards and points might come at a premium, he wanted to see his Kats get off to a good start.
They did that.
The finish was pretty impressive as well.
Kokomo dominated every phase of the game, beating North Central Conference foe Muncie Central 46-0. The only thing that saved this from being even bloodier was a merciful running clock after the Kats took a 39-0 lead early in the third.
“That’s the most complete game we’ve played in our two years here,” Colby said. “We weren’t very happy the way we played last week [a 54-28 win over Anderson] and we worked awfully hard in practice going into this game.”
The victory, coupled with Huntington North’s 48-6 win over Logansport, adds emphasis to Kokomo’s game at North next week. Both teams are 3-1 overall and share the NCC lead at 2-0.
As might be expected in a 46-point victory, the Kats were strong on both sides of the ball, but even on a night when Kokomo rushed for 411 yards, it was the defense that stole the show.
Central didn’t run a play in Kokomo territory until it trailed 32-0. And on that play, the Bearcats fumbled before Kokomo’s Shawn Tiggs picked up the ball and sprinted 52 yards for a TD.
Kokomo’s defense simply wouldn’t budge. In fact, it didn’t yield even a yard.
The Kats held the Bearcats to minus-6 yards total offense — the first time something like that has happened since the 1985 Kats held sectional foe Madison Heights to minus-4 yards.
“[Longtime assistant coach] Paul Hamilton said the best defense he saw at Kokomo was the ’85 team, so we named our defense the ‘wreck ’n crew’ after that defense,” Colby said.
“Last week we didn’t read our keys very well and we didn’t tackle well either,” Colby said. “I think that game woke us up. Our defense had not scored all season and tonight we had three of them.”
In addition to Tiggs’ fumble recovery, Jacob Schick had three tackles for loss and one sack amounting to a minus-29 yards. Curt Hutchins, Austin Colby, Nick Franklin, Doran Slater and Tyrone Brown were involved in tackles for loss.
The Kats’ defense entered the KHS record book as well with two safeties in a game.
Any question as to the dominate team was answered by Kokomo’s 24-0 lead with time remaining in the first quarter.
Kokomo drives of 71 yards in five plays and 13 yards on four plays were punctuated by TD runs of Braxton Shelton (59 yards) and Jairus Johnson (1 yard). A pair of two-point conversion runs had the lead at 16-0 before the Kats bagged a safety.
Central quarterback Joe Bird, backed up to the Bearcats’ 3 yard line, tossed a swing pass out into the end zone flat and as Cliff Burns and Brown came up to make the tackle, receiver Justin Darden slipped down trying to make a cut.
Brown was involved then in the Kats’ first passing touchdown of the season — coming on the Kats’ only pass of the game. T.J. Weir used good play-action and perfect accuracy to hit Brown for a 33-yard score that made it 24-0 with 1:54 left in the first quarter.
Jacob Schick and Nick Franklin combined to register a second safety midway in the second quarter, before Shelton capped a 69-yard drive with a 5-yard TD run that left the Bearcats (1-3, 1-1) in a 32-0 halftime hole.
Following halftime, Tiggs made his 52-yard dash with a fumble, before Shelton closed the scoring on a 1-yard run with 2:48 left in the third.
From that point, Kokomo used clock and backups to keep from inflicting any more damage. Kokomo’s second offensive unit took a knee three times inside Central’s 15-yard line to close the game.
Kokomo’s offensive front of Devin Schacht, Mike Barton, Doran Slater, David Sirmons, Rick Woerner, Jerell Johnson and Jake Schick provided outstanding blocking that paved the way for Shelton — a career-high 201 rushing yards — and Johnson’s 97 yard total.
Sports
Kats’ defense rules in 46-0 thrashing
Kokomo holds opponent to minus total yards for first time since ’85
- Sports
-
-
Kats lose heartbreaker
Kokomo’s girls basketball team executed its game plan to near perfection against host Logansport in the first game of the Class 4A Logansport Sectional Tuesday.
-
Tipton races by Taylor
Over the last two seasons, Tipton’s girls basketball team has been held under 40 points in just three games.
Tuesday’s sectional opponent — Taylor — held the Blue Devils down in two of those games. Tuesday was a different story.
-
It’s tourney time
In the girls basketball regular season, Tipton and Logansport compiled gaudy records and conference championships while Taylor and Kokomo finished with sub-.500 records.
-
What a kick for Hoosier native Weatherford
Indianapolis — While Steve Weatherford celebrated with his teammates in the New York Giants’ locker room after the 21-17 victory over the New England Patriots in Super Bowl XLVI, thoughts inevitably turned to Terre Haute — his hometown.
-
Ice baths can improve your health
Several years ago, I applied to be a participant in the weekly television show “Survivor.” Disappointingly, I was rejected.
-
Wiechmann comes up big in regional
Western senior wrestler Jake Wiechmann had lost twice this season to Kokomo standout Fletcher Miller, and was trailing 3-1 to Miller in the third period of the championship of the 182-pound match at the Peru Regional Saturday when the opportunity for vengeance struck.
-
Wildkat wrestlers move nine onto Ft. Wayne semistate
The Kokomo Wildkats’ bus will need just a little bit more gas than usual next weekend to haul its cargo up to Fort Wayne for Saturday’s individual wrestling semistate at the Allen County War Memorial Coliseum.
-
Visitors down at tourism office
Since moving its office location from the Kokomo Event Center to downtown Kokomo, the number of walk-in visits for tourism information has dropped 77 percent in one year.
-
Kokomo guts out a win at Lebanon
It didn’t take clairvoyance to deduce that Saturday night’s showdown between Class 4A No. 6-ranked Kokomo and Class 3A No. 3-ranked Lebanon in the Tigers’ Rosenstihl Gymnasium had the makings of a close affair.
-
Western beats Taylor, secures shot at outright MIC title
Something Taylor coach Andy Lewman noted about Western’s boys basketball team early on this season was how well the Panthers share the ball.
- More Sports Headlines
-
Worker Tells 911: Powell 'exploded the House'
Triple Win: Santorum Takes Minn., Mo., Colo.
Injured Marine Inspired by Homecoming
No Rape Charges Against Son of NYPD Commissioner
Romney Congratulates Santorum, Focuses on Obama
Paul Says Results Help Him Rack Up Delegates
Egypt's Ruling Generals Play Risky Game With US
Former Komen Exec Defends Funding Cut
Skip the Coffee Cup and Inhale Your Caffeine Fix
Calif. Gay Marriage Ban Ruled Unconstitutional
Jury Selection for Ex-UVa Athlete Enters 2nd Day
Raw Video: Giants Celebrate Another Super Bowl
Cab Driver Helps Wis. Family Escape House Fire
Greek Leaders Seek Deal As Bankruptcy Looms
Bernanke: Recovery Depends on Consumer Spending
Staff Removed at LA School During Abuse Probe
Eastwood in Super Bowl Ad 'Compassionate'
Stranded Fishermen Rescued From Bay of Green Bay
Analyst: Outside Troops Won't Intervene in Syria
Police: Father Planned Deadly Fire for Some Time
