Published: September 08, 2007 12:48 am            

Wildkats grind up Bearcats

Ground game keeps Kats unbeaten in NCC.

MUNCIE — In case the Wildkats didn’t already know they were in the cat bird seat going into halftime of their football game here at Muncie Central Friday night, they got an objective opinion at the break that let them know just what was going on.

“When the referees come up to you at halftime and tell you ‘your offensive line is blowing people back’ that’s a good sign,” Kokomo coach Brett Colby said.

The halftime scoreboard signaled a 14-7 Kokomo advantage, and the Kats got even stronger in the second half en route to a 24-7 victory. Kokomo improved to 3-1 overall and 2-0 in the NCC while Central fell to 0-4, 0-2 NCC.

Kokomo is tied for first place in the NCC with Huntington North which visits Walter Cross Field Friday night.

There was no doubt what delivered victory — it was Kokomo’s bullish running game. It started at the line, filtered back to the blockers and runners, and put Kokomo in control. Led by sophomore runningback Braxton Shelton, Kokomo racked up 337 yards rushing.

“They whipped us up front,” Central coach John Hochstetler said.

Shelton churned and twisted his way for 191 yards on 21 carries with one touchdown. Justin Patterson rushed for 49 yards and gave the Kats an electric start when he took the opening kickoff 76 yards for a touchdown. Quarterback Bryce Robinson added 37 yards, Casey Shipley gained 36 and Larry Baker 22.

The teams were tied at 7-7 through one quarter after the home Cats scored on a 55-yard screen pass from QB Troy Johnson to Anthony Mann with 3:11 to play in the opening frame. It was the last scoring from the Bearcats.

The Wildkats added a touchdown in the second quarter when Robinson scored on a one-yard QB sneak with 2:19 left before halftime. Kokomo led by seven points but hampered its cause with some with penalties in the first half which stalled drives. Kokomo also threw one interception. The Kats didn’t throw a pass after halftime — they didn’t need to.

“We went in there at halftime and said listen ‘no more cutsey-pie, we’re going to go out there and bang ‘em in the third quarter,’” Colby said.

That plan worked.

“We had two nice 80-yard scoring drives [in the second half] which kind of sealed the deal.”

Kokomo got a 25-yard field goal from Caleb Shockley with 6:20 left in the third quarter to push the margin to two scores, then scored its final TD when Shelton ran in from four yards out with 3:19 to play, sealing the outcome.

Watching from the press box, former Muncie Central coach Terry Hitchcock gazed in amazement as the Kats crowded all 11 bodies in close on offense before firing off the ball and knocking down yards like a bowling ball hitting pins.

Colby’s “Wing T in a Phone Booth” offense worked perfectly.

“You get tired of defending this offense when you just keep getting pounded like that,” Colby said. “It gets old for the defense. It just isn’t any fun to go in there and get your head knocked off every play and three downs later they have to start all over again on another first down.”

Hochstetler agreed. He said the Kats are “making you play their hand” when they execute well, and that it will be tough to deal with for any team that doesn’t have the physicality to contend up front. He said Colby’s imprint is already on the current Kats.

“You can see his energy and his philosophy come out in his players,” Hochstetler said.

On the other side of the ball, Muncie Central got little done after the first quarter. Bearcat QB Johnson completed 5 of 14 passes for 102 yards but had two balls picked off.

Kokomo’s Jacob Schick snagged an interception in the first quarter and Thaddeus Jefferson gobbled one up in the end zone in the second quarter after a teammate deflected the ball. Kokomo’s Blake Bowley also recovered a Central fumble in the fourth quarter.

Colby credited his team’s defensive coaches for making good adjustments after halftime because the Bearcats were gaining ground early with new wrinkles offensively.

“Overall give the defense an A for effort especially in the second, third and fourth quarters because we really made some nice adjustments,” Colby said.

Curt Hutchins led the defense with a dozen tackles, Alston Andrews added seven and Cody Hibler, who forced Central’s fumble, had six. Colby had words of praise for the sophomore back Shelton and was glad to see Robinson go out on a winning note.

Robinson will have shoulder surgery next week and miss the rest of the season. The QB sneak Robinson scored on hadn’t been run in practice, but Colby said to go ahead and try it as a parting gift to the senior.

The victory over Muncie Central was Kokomo’s first since 2000. The Bearcats had won six straight in the series, which now stands at 34-29-4 in Kokomo’s favor.

“I think they were pretty excited about it,” Colby said of the Kat players who broke Central’s streak. “We’re trying not to make a big deal about it because we’re trying to start a lot of new things here in Kokomo. We’re hopefully going to do a lot of things we haven’t done in the past.”

        

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