In what was anticipated to be a physical, smash-mouth football game, the Knox Redskins and the North Judson-San Pierre Bluejays provided exactly that at Liberty Field Friday night! In what ended up being a low scoring game, both the Redskins and Bluejays relied on their grit to compete in yet another exciting game between the two Starke County rivals.
The first battle of the night was won by the Redskins as they won the toss and elected to receive the opening kickoff. It would not take the Redskins long to draw first blood in the game. After gaining a couple of first downs with some tough running, the Redskins would turn to Senior Cade Short who began in the backfield to the right of fellow Senior and starting quarterback Zac Rose. At the snap, Senior running back Payton Baugh, who was lined up to the left of Rose in their Shotgun formation, came in front of Rose as the first option on the veer style play. As the defensive end to the left of the offensive formation chased after Baugh, Rose immediately pulled the ball from Baugh’s midsection and pitched it to Short, who was able to grab the ball in stride and flew forty-five yards downfield, to set up the Redskins with a first and goal situation at the North Judson five yard line. Two plays later, it would be Rose who would weave his way through the defense from three yards out to find the end zone for the first score of the game. After a successful extra point attempt by Senior Cody Wieringa, the Redskins led the Bluejays 7-0 with 7:32 left to go in the first quarter.
On the ensuing possession the Bluejays were slowly, but steadily putting together a nice drive, keeping the ball on the ground for the most part. The Redskin defense, however, would stiffen up enough to put the Bluejays in a third-and-ten situation with the ball on the Redskins’ forty-six yard line. In what is normally a passing situation, the Bluejays looked to do just that. Veteran quarterback Trey Hampton dropped back to throw, looking for Junior wide receiver Kason Sanchez, who was running a slant route going across the middle of the field from the left of the formation. However, Knox Senior strong safety Reese Keeton was able to jump the route and intercept the pass, giving possession back to the Redskins. The possession, though, would be short-lived as North Judson would tighten up their defense, forcing Knox to punt after a short drive. The first quarter would end with the Redskins holding onto a slim 7-0 lead.
The ‘Jays would be unable to find the end zone early in the second quarter, being forced to punt after moving the ball decently down the field. With the Redskins on the attack once again, the Bluejay defense continued to apply pressure on the Redskin offense, forcing the second punt of the game for Knox. With 7:57 remaining in the first half, the Bluejays would go back on the attack, still trailing their cross-county rivals 7-0. The ‘Jays would stick with their game plan, as they continued to pound the ball at the Redskins, picking up decent yardage as they tried to get points on the board. A controversial penalty of intentional grounding against North Judson threatened to end what had been building up to be a successful drive, but the ‘Jays would respond to the adversity in a positive way. After losing a down after the intentional grounding penalty, North Judson found themselves in a second and long situation. Senior quarterback Trey Hampton would be able to complete a big time pass to fellow Senior J.J. Blount, who laid out on the Bluejay sideline to make a sensational grab! While the incredible display of concentration did not result in a first down for North Judson, it did make their third down attempt a little more realistic, needing just ten yards to get the first. However, with 5:15 remaining in the first half, the Bluejay drive would fizzle out, ending with a punt back to the Redskins, who would take over at their own forty yard line. The Redskins would get the ball across the fifty with some more tough running by Cade Short and Gunner Wagner. The Bluejays would have one of their best defensive plays of the night come from Junior Brennen Benson who, on a first down play, would be able to chase down Rose, as he was rolling out on a bootleg pass, and sack the Redskin quarterback for a major loss! Ultimately, the half would come to an end with score remaining unchanged at 7-0.
The second half would start off with the Redskins kicking to the Bluejays. The ball would be fielded by Sophomore Gabe Ellis, who would immediately run to his left, handing the ball off to Senior teammate Eli Blount. Blount took the handoff and was able to explode for twenty-two yards down the field, giving the Bluejays great starting field position at their own thirty-seven yard line. However, the Redskin defense would prove to be too much, despite the Bluejays being able to move the ball down the field with some success. On a forth down situation, the ‘Jays attempted to go for the first down, but Senior Kenan Collins was able to get through the offensive line for a sack giving the ball back to the Redskin offense, after a great effort by #29!
The Redskins would start to move the ball down the field, continuing to wear down their Starke County Rival. They would complete a big fourth down conversion, giving the ball to Gunner Wagner, who was able to rumble forward to move the chains for another Redskin first down. Following that big conversion, the Redskins would then go to the air, as Rose would find Kole McIntire, who ran a textbook curl route, finding the first down marker, then turning around a half yard passed it to make the catch and give his team another first down. It would be Cade Short, however, who would find the end zone for the Redskins on this drive, as he was given a handoff on second down going to the left of the formation and was able to explode for a sixteen-yard touchdown with 1:16 remaining in the third quarter. Following another successful extra point kick by Cody Wieringa, the scoreboard showed its final total of 14-0 in favor of the Redskins.
The Starke County Co-Op Play of the Game would be that touchdown run by Cade Short with 1:16 remaining in the third quarter, from sixteen yards out to put the Redskins up by two touchdowns.
The Ashley Derrickson/Five Star Player of the Game went to the starting defense of the Knox Redskins, which stayed disciplined throughout the entire game, shutting out a very dangerous North Judson offense which was averaging 49 points per game going into Friday night. The effort by the defensive unit helped give Knox their second win of the year, improving their overall record to 2-2 and 2-0 in Hoosier North Athletic Conference play. The starting defense for the Redskins included Kenan Collins, Audie Rodriguez, Jesse Clemons, Trent Messer, Gabe Lovins, Braxton Geller, Gunner Wagner, Cohen Watson, Dominick Lovins, Reese Keeton, and Gunnar Krause.
Game Statistics
Knox
Rushing: 44 attempts for 172 yards and 2 touchdowns
Cade Short 7-69-1, Zac Rose 21-56-1, Gunnar Wagner 13-44, Payton Baugh-3-3
Passing: Zac Rose 5-11-54 0 touchdowns 0 interceptions
Receiving: Kole McIntire 3-42, Gunnar Wagner 1-8, Braxton Geller 1-4
North Judson
Rushing: 32 attempts for 94 yards
Trey Hampton 10-29, Gabe Ellis 5-19, Cheyenne Allen 6-17, Eli Blount 4-15, JJ Blount 6-14, Owen Frasure 1-0
Passing: Trey Hampton 7-17-73 yards, 0 touchdowns, 1 interception
Receiving: Cheyenne Allen 3-35 Tanner Craig 2-17 J.J. Blount 1-12 Gabe Ellis-1-9
*Statistics Provided By Knox Statistician Tim Knowlton*
