Indians Open District Play With Win
The St. Francis Indian football team began district play with a decisive victory over the Syracuse Bulldogs on Friday evening, October 16th. The Bulldogs played tough early in the contest, but the Indians eventually took charge and coasted to a 1-0 record in district action.
Early in the contest, defense prevailed. The Indian defense forced several three and out situations for the Bulldog offense. The Indians moved the ball, but could not score having their first drive stall on the Bulldog 15 yard line and their second drive stall on the Bulldog 20.
Early in the second quarter, Grady Brunk recovered a Syracuse fumble on Bulldog 43 yard line to setup the next Indian possession. St. Francis drove the ball to the 5 yard line before a holding penalty backed the Indians up. A few plays later, Trent Raile scored the first points of the game on a 5 yard dive into the end zone with 8:46 remaining in the first quarter. Trent also ran for the conversion points to give the Indians a 8-0 lead.
On the next Syracuse possession, the Bulldogs completed a screen pass but fumbled the ball on the tackle. Adam Guthmiller recovered the fumble for the Indians on the Bulldog 37 yard line. A short time later, St. Francis scored their second touchdown on a 1 yard run by Terrence Lamb. The conversion attempt failed. The Indians led 14-0 with 5:39 left in the first half.
The next Bulldog possession found the Indians committing pass interference and offsides penalties giving Syracuse first downs and some valuable real estate. Then the Indian defense came up big with some sacks and the Indians got the ball back on the Sainty 45 yard line with approximately two and one half minutes remaining.
Cody Sherlock scored a touchdown with 0:49 seconds remaining in the half on a 1 yard run. Terrence Lamb ran for the conversion and the score advanced to 22-0.
Syracuse kicked off to St. Francis to open the second half. Matt Raile gathered in the kickoff and returned the ball 85 yards for a touchdown. Cody Sherlock ran for the conversion points and the rout was on. St. Francis led 30-0.
On the next Indian possession, Darris Keller scored on a pass from Matt Raile. Lamb ran for the conversion and the Indians let 38-0.
The Indians kicked off to the Bulldogs. On the return, Trent Raile caused a Syracuse fumble that was picked up by Matt Raile and returned for another Indian touchdown. Garrett Figgins scored the conversion points on a pass from M. Raile. The Indians led 46-0 with about four minutes remaining in the third quarter.
The young Indians played most of the second half gaining valuable varsity experience. Syracuse's quarterback, Tate Houshoulder, scored on a 1 yard touchdown run with 2:13 left in the fourth quarter. Houshoulder passed to Parks for the conversion. The Indians won their first district game 46-8.
The evening was also "Senior Night" with the senior football players/cheerleaders and their parents being recognized in a short ceremony before the game. Seniors recognized were Amber Smull, Grady Brunk, Darris Keller, Terrence Lamb, Alex Long, Jeff Meyer, Ben Neitzel, Matt Raile, Trent Raile, and Drew Zweygardt.
Next action of the Indians will be Friday evening, October 23, when they travel to Leoti to take on the Wichita County Indians. Kickoff is set at 7:00 PM.
