Trailing 28-7 in the fourth quarter, Eastern finally got its high-powered passing game going to make its Mid-Indiana Conference game at Northwestern interesting. The Comets scored twice in the final 6:23, and nearly got the ball back on an onside kick attempt with 3:18 left, but the Tigers were able to hold on for a 28-21 victory Friday night.
Northwestern dominated the early stages of the game. The Tigers scored touchdowns on their first three possessions, while holding Eastern to just one first down in its first five offensive series. Just :50 into the second quarter, Northwestern led 21-0 and looked ready to blow away the Comets.
“After the first quarter we just didn’t execute very well,” Northwestern coach John Hendryx said. “There were lots of opportunities we just didn’t take advantage of. Fortunately, our defense made some big plays when we had to have them. This reminds me a lot of how we played against Hamilton Heights (a 24-17 loss).”
While the Tigers’ offense was running all over the Comets, their defense was just as impressive. Eastern had minus 4 yards rushing in the first half on eight carries. The Comets didn’t cross into Northwestern territory until its sixth and final possession of the first half. That drive died at the Northwestern 20 as time expired.
Northwestern’s final three drives of the first half ended with two punts and a lost fumble. That fumble was scooped up by Eastern’s Joey Price who raced into the end zone from 17 yards out, leaving the halftime score 21-7.
The Tigers’ offense found its rhythm again late in the third quarter, thanks largely to the running of Michael Schulte. The senior fullback ran seven times for 27 yards during that drive, including a two-yard touchdown plunge that proved to be the game winner. With 11:50 left in the game the Tigers looked in control, leading 28-7.
“Mike’s a tough kid,” Hendryx said. “He runs hard and has some speed.” Schulte rushed 18 times for 118 yards and caught a pass for 5 more yards.
Eastern followed Schulte’s touchdown with by far its best drive of the game. The Comets’ quarterback Jonathan Keith engineered a 13-play, 68-yard scoring drive to make things interesting. Keith connected on 8 of 10 pass attempts during that drive, including a 1 yarder to Tyler Harnish to close the gap to 28-14 with 6:28 left.
The Comets’ defense forced a three and out on Northwestern’s next possession and Keith went back to work. This time Eastern scored quickly, needing just five plays and 1:14 to go 92 yards. Keith hit Blake Donson for 42 yards on the first play of the drive. The Comets advanced the ball to the 37 on the next four plays, aided by a 15-yard interference call. On first down from the Tigers’ 37, Keith tossed a lateral pass to Harnish who threw a wobbly, but accurate bomb to Caleb Gibson for a touchdown with 3:22 to go.
Eastern attempted its onsides kick, and for the third time, Northwestern recovered.
Helped by an unsportsmanlike conduct penalty on the Eastern sideline, Northwestern was able to run out the clock to preserve the victory.
Keith completed 23 of 37 pass attempts (60 percent) for 249 yards and a touchdown.
Northwestern ended the regular season at 7-2 overall, and 5-2 in the MIC. The Comets fell to 4-5 and 3-4.
Sports
FOOTBALL: Tigers hang on for win
Comets close fast but can’t get the upset
- Sports
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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.
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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.
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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.
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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.
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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.
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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.
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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.
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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.
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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.
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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.
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