Story by David Roorbach for The News Herald–
MUNCIE, Ind. — With less than 90 seconds remaining in the 4th quarter, Mississinewa running back Alez Sherron caught a quick pass in the right flat at the Eastbrook 12 yard line, turned upfield…and WHAM! Eastbrook linebacker Alex Gunter used all of his 205 lbs to bury Sherron in the Scheumann Stadium turf with a devastating hit. The crowd gasped. “Greetings and salutations! That’s textbook tackling,” said WBAT’s Andy McCord on the radio call. Everyone turned to watch the replay on the jumbotron. Three plays for no gain later, Eastbrook took over on downs and kneeled twice to end the game: Eastbrook 28, Mississinewa 7.
The hit was symptomatic of the entire game: Eastbrook’s defense consistently stifling Mississinewa, while its offense steadily converted opportunities to build the lead. After ending the first quarter locked in a 7-7 tie, Eastbrook never looked back, scoring three unanswered touchdowns.
Eastbrook started the scoring when sophomore Andrew Barajas fielded a punt at his own 27 yard line, gained the edge on the sideline and took off for a 73-yard TD, putting the Panthers up 7-0 with 6:31 remaining in the first quarter.
Mississinewa answered by putting together its own 58-yard drive. Led by fullback Costan Orsmby and running back Sherron in I-formation, the Indians bludgeoned their way through the center of the Eastbrook defense down to the 1 yard line, capped off by sophomore quarterback Cade McCoin’s sneak for the TD at 2:27 in the first quarter.
Two minutes later, Mississnewa’s defense forced a punt and the offense took over at its own 23 yard line. Runs from Ormsby and Sherron advanced the Indians to midfield before Sherron fumbled and gave possession back to the Panthers.
Eastbrook quarterback Jackson Liddick started the drive at his own 49 yard line and did nothing but hand off for 51 yards. Senior running back Luke Elliott, who rushed for 84 yards in the game, converted a 4th down attempt inside the Indians’ 30 yard line to keep the drive alive and finished it with a 1-yard TD run at 6:19 in the second quarter.
Two minutes later — after a brief Mississinewa drive went nowhere — Eastbrook took over at its own 42 yard line. Two ineffective runs from Barajas and Elliott stalled the Panthers at midfield. Facing 3rd-and-7, Liddick took the snap, rolled right, and hit tight end Justen Reece for the first down. Two plays later, Senior running back Peyton Watson took the hand off and ran for a 40-yard TD with 2:29 left in the second quarter.
Mississinewa’s next drive ended after Eastbrook defensive back Tyler Bennett’s intercepted McCoin’s pass to bring the half to a close.
Mississinewa’s opening drive of the second half was plagued by two penalties and an unrelenting Eastbrook defense, which quickly forced a punt five minutes in.
Starting at their own 33 yard line, runs by Elliott and Barajas only advanced the ball to the 37 before a Mississinewa penalty — encroachment — set up a 36-yard run by Elliott down to the Mississinewa 28 yard line. Two plays later, Watson picked up a first down on an end-around to the 3 yard line, setting up an Elliott TD run with 7:22 left in the third quarter. Eastbrook 28, Mississinewa 7.
Fast forward to less than eight minutes remaining in the fourth quarter: Facing 3rd-and-10 at his own 19 yard line, Mississinewa quarterback Cade McCoin hit wide receiver Kody Cowgill across the middle for a 56-yard gain, taking the Indians down to the Eastbrook 25 yard line. Momentum, finally. Next play, a bad snap got McCoin sacked for an 11-yard loss. Two more pass plays went nowhere and the Indians were facing 4th-and-12 at the 27 yard line. For the second time in the drive, a poor snap to McCoin scuttled the drive when his knee went down as he tried to collect the ball. Turnover on downs.
Seven minutes and one massive Gunter hit later, Eastbrook moved to 6-0 on the season — “Greetings and salutations!” Here come the Panthers.
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