Apparently Kokomo’s Wildkats were in no mood to share.
A week after assuring themselves of at least a tie for the North Central Conference championship, the Wildkats put an exclamation point on the 2008 regular season Friday night at Walter Cross Field.
The Kats needed a meager 10 offensive plays to put a 21-0 stranglehold on Marion, led 42-6 at half and using backups and a running clock in the second half, mercifully completed a 49-13 victory.
“We didn’t want to share the championship,” said Wildkat running back Braxton Shelton. “This was a very good game to win.”
In winning, the Kats:
• Finished 8-1 overall and 7-0 in the NCC.
• Won the school’s 14th league championship (eight outright, six shared).
• Provided KHS with back-to-back outright titles for only the second time in school history, and first time since 1964-65.
• And extended the school’s longest string of NCC victories ever to 15 over parts of three seasons.
Marion coach Randy Sehy tipped his hat to the NCC’s finest.
“[The outcome] wasn’t necessarily what I thought it would be, but it was what I knew it could be,” he said. “Kokomo is just very good. It isn’t so much their size, but they are strong and quick. Their offensive line is outstanding. They fire off the ball so low that if our defensive line doesn’t react instantly, we’re done.”
That’s exactly what happened from the very beginning.
After Kokomo forced a quick 3-and-out, the Kats took control and needed just three plays to cover 56 yards for the game’s first TD. Jairus Johnson ripped off the first 21 of those yards and then Shelton rolled 35 yards off right tackle for the TD.
Another 3-and-out, gave Kokomo the ball at the Kats’ 49. Three plays into the possession, it was Shelton again through the heart of the Giants’ defense — 46 yards and the TD.
“Our offensive line is awfully good, Shelton said. “I don’t think I was touched on either one of those touchdowns. [The offensive line] spent a lot of time in the weight room over the summer and it shows.”
Shelton, the area’s leading scorer with 23 TDs, wasn’t finished yet. On the Kats’ third possession, a perfectly lofted pass by quarterback T.J. Weir that was snared by tight end Devin Schacht covered 31 yards. From there, it was more of Shelton — this time 10 yards for the TD.
It was 21-0 at the quarter and to that point, Kokomo had owned the line of scrimmage, amassing a 164-29 margin in total yards.
It never got any better for the Giants, who closed their season at 3-6 overall and 2-5 in the NCC.
“I’m proud of our kids because they’ve brought their hard hats into every game,” said Wildkat coach Brett Colby, who stands 14-0 in NCC play after two seasons.
“Last year we won a couple of conference games in rather unconvincing fashion and that didn’t happen this year other than against Huntington [North] — which is a very good team. This team came out determined from day one with a little different fire in its eyes. Now we want to go to [Anderson] Highland next week, get a win, and get this monkey off their backs.”
Kokomo teams have lost 10 straight sectional openers and the Kats hope to end that streak of nastiness Friday, against a 7-2 Highland squad.
The Kats picked up just their third passing TD of the season in the second quarter when Weir hit Tyrone Brown for 22 yards and after Marion scored on a 40-yard run by Ervin McClung, Kokomo’s Casey Shipley raced 70 yards for a TD on the ensuing kickoff.
Kokomo closed out its 42-6 halftime lead when Jairus Johnson picked up two blocks by Shelton and skirted left end for a 17 yard TD.
Kokomo used backups throughout the second half, including quarterbacks Austin Colby and Evan Humbert. Senior Terrail Johnson, who hadn’t carried the ball all season, brought smiles to the faces of teammates when he scored his first career TD on a five yard run midway in the fourth quarter.
Marion’s Michael Mable closed the scoring with a 50-yard run.
Wildkat senior Kurt Hutchins spearheaded the Wildkat defense with 11 tackles. In all, Kats defenders registered eight tackles for loss.
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FOOTBALL: Kats thrash Giants
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