By Mike McGraw
Executive Director
MICHIGANTOWN – It is difficult to believe that a 42-14 football game could have a great deal of suspense. For most of the night in third-ranked Fountain Central’s lopsided Nov. 20 Class A southern semistate victory over No. 13 host Clinton Central, however, that was indeed the case.
The first quarter gave no indication of the excitement to come. Fountain Central (14-0) returned the opening kickoff to the Clinton Central 34 and scored in just three plays, with Trent Spear covering the final 18 yards on a run around left end.
After holding the Bulldog offense without a first down, the Mustangs once again drove deep into Clinton Central territory before being stopped on a fourth-down attempt. The third time they had the ball, though, they would not be denied.
Starting at the Clinton Central 39-yard line, the Mustangs methodically drove the short field, and Spear once again carried the final distance to paydirt. This time his run covered just two yards and took place on the first play of the second quarter.
It gave the Mustangs a 14-0 lead.
To that point, Clinton Central (9-5) had failed to register a first down. Starting at their own 40, it appeared the Bulldogs would fail in that area once again after losing eight yards on two plays for a 3rd and 18. But running back Cody Cannaday came to the rescue.
He scampered 59 yards around the right side, and suddenly Clinton Central was in business. The Bulldogs finished the drive with a three-yard touchdown run and, having been dominated for most of the first half, they trailed only 14-7.
It took the Mustangs less than two minutes to respond. They started at midfield after a Clinton Central penalty on the kickoff return and quickly scored on a 36-yard pass from senior quarterback Scott Moore to tight end Brandon Bowlus.
This time, Clinton Central began to trade blows with the powerful visitors. The Bulldogs drove from their own 43 and cut the lead back to seven, 21-14, on a nine-yard run by Cannaday.
The touchdown came with just 46 seconds left in the first half. That was too much time.
On the second play of Fountain Central’s ensuing drive, Moore found wide receiver Zach Robertson for a 52-yard touchdown down the right sideline. The flurry of action led the Mustangs into intermission with a 28-14 lead.
Clinton Central had the ball first in the second half, and hence a chance to narrow the gap quickly. It appeared they were headed toward doing just that, but the drive stalled on downs at the Mustangs’ 17.
After the teams traded three-and-outs, Clinton Central once again began in great field position at the Fountain Central 44. Yet the Bulldogs were intercepted on a fourth-down pass attempt, and the lead remained 14 points.
Two chances were all the Bulldogs would get. Fountain Central took the ball on its next possession and drove down the field, scoring on a 33-yard jaunt from Moore to make it 35-14 and end the suspense early in the fourth quarter.
The Mustangs tacked on one more score midway through the period on a Robertson 79-yard run for the final tally.
Watching this contest, one was struck by two things.
The first is the versatility of the Fountain Central offense. The Mustangs can hurt opponents on the ground from three different sources, and Moore is more than capable through the air.
The second was the incredibly hard running of Cannaday for Clinton Central. He repeatedly ran over would-be tacklers in the Fountain Central secondary.
Fountain Central earns a trip to Lucas Oil Stadium for a 1A championship game berth opposite second-ranked Lafayette Central Catholic (14-0), a 47-13 northern semistate winner over No. 8 Southern Wells, next Friday afternoon.
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