Indians Shutout Hornets
The Indians traveled to Dighton on Thursday evening, September 19, to play the Hornets. The Indians dominated the action winning 46-0 in two quarters of play. The victory moved the Indians' early season record to 3-0.
The Indians will play Decatur Community on Friday, September 27, on Greene Field in St. Francis. The game will be the first home game of the season for the Indians.
Though Dighton made it all the way to the semi-final round of the playoffs last season, graduation took a toll on the Hornets. The Hornets' 2019 team featured several young but talented squad members playing in skilled positions and a roster of 12 players.
The Indians kicked-off to open the contest. Senior running back Marcus Rowe (6' 3" 190 lb.) returned the kick to the 21-yard line where he was swarmed by a host of Indian tacklers led by Jayce Nider and Josiah Sims. On the first Dighton snap, Rowe carried the football over the left side gaining 5 yards. Quarterback Max Neeley (5' 8" 115 lb Fr.) then tried the middle of the St. Francis (SF) defense earning two more before he was stopped by Jesse Baxter, Shadryon Blanka, and Adam Krien. Dighton then took an early time-out at 10:25. Using a spread formation on the next play, Neeley attempted another run up the middle, but was smacked by Adam Krien for a large loss. Facing 4th & 10, Ariel Arevalo (5' 11" 260 lb Jr.) punted for the Hornets. The punt was blocked by Jesse Baxter and picked up by Colton Neitzel who rambled up the left side of the field to the Dighton 9 yard line. A touchdown-saving tackle was made by Kaden Bradstreet (6' 3" 200 lb Sr.), but the Indians were threatening without yet having been on offense.
Quarterback Brady Dinkel carried the ball up the middle on the first SF play from scrimmage plunging to the 3 yard line. On the next snap, Shadryon Blanka rambled around the right end for the first SF touchdown. Josiah Sims carried for the conversion points. The Indians led 8-0 with 9:12 left in the first period.
Brady Dinkel's kick-off sailed into the end zone for a touchback. Beginning at the 15 yard line, Dighton's Marcus Rowe tried the left side earning a yard. Max Neeley ran into the middle on the next play losing two yards when he was tackled by Jesse Baxter. On 3rd & 11, the Hornets ran an option to the left. Jayce Nider smacked Rowe with an aggressive tackle on the play. Unfortunately, Rowe left the field injured on the play. Facing 4th & 15, the Hornets punted for the second time.
St. Francis took over at their own 37 yard line. Brady Dinkel, breaking several tackles along the way, ran for a large gain on the first play of the possession. A flag on the play, nullified the large gain and set up a 1st & 15 situation. On the next play, Dinkel carried again, running hard, to gain 4 yards against the Hornet defense. A reverse around the right side on 2nd down covered 43 yards with Kobe Tice scoring the second Indian touchdown at 6:31. Josiah Sims carried for the conversion points. The Indians led 16-0.
After another kick-off into the end zone, Dighton's Jaden Coleman (5' 9" 140 So.) carried the football on the next three plays. Gaining only three yards, Bradstreet punted the ball back to the Indians.
Brady Dinkel returned the punt approximately 25 yards to the Dighton 26 yard line where the Indians set up offense. On the next two plays, Dinkel completed passes to Jayce Nider and Kobe Tice, one on each side of the field, advancing the ball to the 13 yard line. Dinkel then ran up the middle to the 5. A false start penalty on the Indians backed the ball up five yards, but Dinkel scored on the next snap following blocking by Shadryon Blanka and Adam Krien. Josiah Sims' conversion run was also successful giving the Indians a 24-0 advantage with 3:13 left in the first period.
Max Neeley was tackled on the kick-return by Jayce Nider at the Dighton 19 yard line. Nider drilled Neeley on the first snap of the possession, a run over the left side for a 3-yard loss. Dighton took a time-out after the play at the 2:22 mark of the 1st period. Jaden Coleman ran for 4 yards on the following play. Facing 3rd-&-9, Dighton went to the air, attempting a slant pass over the middle that was well-defended by Nider and fell incomplete. The 4th-&-9 punt was allowed to roll dead at the SF 23.
On the first play of the SF possession, Shadryon Blanka sprinted for 57 yards over the left side scoring the 4th Indian touchdown of the first period. Josiah Sims ran for the conversion points giving the Indians a 32-0 advantage with 1:17 on the clock.
Again, Brady Dinkel's kick sailed into the end zone. Running hard up the middle, Jaden Coleman gained 8 yards on two carries for the Hornets as the Indians began to play several substitute players. A quarterback sneak by Neeley earned the Hornets' initial earned 1st-down of the game at the 25 yard line as the quarter expired. A play-action pass from Neeley to Joel Ortega (5' 9" 165 lb Fr.) gained big yardage on the next snap. A touchdown-saving tackle by Jayce Nider gave Dighton a 1-&-10 at the SF 17 yard line. Coleman fumbled the ball on the next play. Nider recovered for the Indians stopping a potential Hornet score.
St. Francis took possession on their own 13 yard line. On the first play of the series, Brady Dinkel followed great lead blocking around the left end to score on a 67 yard touchdown run. Ben Busse carried for the conversion trotting into the end zone untouched. With 11:01 left in period two, St. Francis led 40-0.
Jacye Nider tackled Max Neeley on the kick-return at the Dighton 19 yard line. Neeley tossed a pass to Rey Castillo (5' 6" 115 lb Fr.) in the right flat. Castillo was tackled immediately by Kobe Tice after an 8-yard gain. Colton Neitzel tackled Neeley for a short loss on the next play. On 3rd-down, Neeley dropped back to pass and then ran left where he was tackled on the sideline by Shadryon Blanka at the 39. After a carry up the middle earned 7 yards, Coleman was stopped by Colton Neitzel for another loss. On 3rd-&-4, a pass to Castillo earned a first down at the 35. Dighton's fumble on the ensuing play was recovered by Blanka for the Indians.
Again, the Indians scored on the first play of their possession. This time, Brady Dinkel scrambled 52 yards around the right end for a touchdown. Unfortunately, a holding penalty nullified the score. After the penalty was accessed, Josiah Sims carried over the left side and then cut back across field to score on a 57 yard run. The conversion run failed. St. Francis led 46-0 with 6:50 left in the first half.
The Indians' squib kick rolled out-of-bounds deep in Dighton territory, and the Hornets set up offense at their own 25. Quarterback Neeley carried for 5 yards up the middle before he was tackled by Shadryon Blanka. Coleman's carry was stopped by Colton Neitzel and Jayce Nider after a short gain. An encroachment penalty on the Indians gave Dighton a "gifted" first down at the 37. On two option plays to the left side, Neeley earned 4 yards, and Dighton took another time-out at 4:05. An option to the right got the Hornet's close to a first down when Coleman was forced out on the sideline.
St. Francis took over on downs at the Dighton 35. Josiah Sims carried for two yards, and Kobe Tice followed with a 3-yard gain to the opposite side. With 1:18 remaining and trying to use as much clock as possible, SF called time-out to prevent a delay penalty. Tice then carried around the left end and was forced out-of-bounds at the SF 35, earning just enough for a 1st down. A carry by Tice (1 yard) and one by Preston Witzel (6 yards) expired the clock. St. Francis defeated Dighton 46-0 in two quarters of action.
