FB 1A REG. 19: #13 Clinton Central blanks host Lutheran, 14-0

By Travis Miller

Contributing Writer

INDIANAPOLIS – Five years ago, Indianapolis Lutheran didn’t even have a football team. On Friday the 13th, the Class A unranked Saints found themselves standing two steps from Lucas Oil Stadium with a regional home game against No. 13 Clinton Central.

In the end, however, Lutheran’s passing attack was stymied by four second-half interceptions. The Bulldogs gave up little more than 150 yards and moved on to the semistate round for the first time in school history with a hard fought 14-0 victory.

“Where we’ve come in just the two years I have been here is amazing,” Lutheran coach Dave Pasch said of his burgeoning Indianapolis southeastside power. “This is the result of what 18 seniors have done for us as the first guys to play all four years at the varsity level.”

This defensive stalemate was a clash of offensive styles: Lutheran preferred to spread the field and throw with big quarterback Kyle Brockett, whereas Clinton Central used a traditional Wing-T to grind out yards on the ground.

The latter’s patient effort bore fruit as the Bulldogs ran for 257 yards on 56 rushing attempts. Clinton Central also added just enough of a passing element to keep Lutheran off-balance as Dylan Padgett had three big completions for 52 yards.

“Lutheran is a heck of a defensive team,” said Clinton Central coach Mike Quick. “We felt we had some opportunities before halftime, but at least we weren’t behind.

“The kids played their rear off. We knew it would be a challenge, and the defense set up both scores.”

Clinton Central turned the “D” up even more in the second half, holding Brockett to just one completion for 35 yards on 14 attempts. At one point, the Bulldogs picked off three consecutive pass attempts by Brockett.

“I believe that at this point, teams are here because they don’t commit penalties or make mistakes,” Pasch said. “It takes great attention to detail to do that, and we didn’t do what we needed to do.”

With the Bulldog defense playing lights-out football, it was only a matter of time before the offense would break through. Clinton Central finally did just that on a short field midway through the third quarter.

Corbin Orr intercepted a pass at the Lutheran 38-yard line to give the Bulldogs good field position. Four plays later, Jordan Woodard broke the tie with a 19-yard run to make it 7-0.

Lutheran then had its best drive of the second half before the Bulldog defense stepped up again. This time it was Cody Cannaday, who made a tip-toe interception just inside the field of play at the Bulldog 38 with 5:50 left in the third quarter.

That is when Clinton Central’s ground game got to work in earnest. The Bulldogs went on a grinding 13-play, 62-yard drive for a much-needed insurance score. Cannaday provided the big play on the drive, converting on a 3rd and 20 with a 22-yard scamper down to the Lutheran 11.

David Griffy capped the drive with three straight runs – the last one from a yard out – to make it 14-0. The drive took seven minutes off the clock and put the Saints in serious hurry-up mode the rest of the game.

With the way the Clinton Central defense was playing, the lead was more than enough. Griffy and Todd Dunn each collected interceptions in the fourth quarter as the Saints never seriously threatened.

Once Clinton Central forced a final turnover on downs with a minute left, it set off a wild celebration on the Bulldog sideline.

“I just can’t say enough about our defense tonight,” Quick said. “We have a new set of challenges every week and we’re going to enjoy this one tonight before getting to work again for next week.”

Clinton Central’s running game was a three-pronged attack. Cannaday provided the flash with 101 yards on 16 carries, Griffy did the heavy lifting with 74 yards and a touchdown on 20 carries, and Woodard provided a little of both with 87 yards and a score on 14 carries.

Jeremy Rolf was a standout for the Saints in his final game, catching six passes for 72 yards. Half of that came on Lutheran’s lone second-half completion with the Saints backed up inside their own 10 with less than two minutes to play.

Clinton Central will host third-ranked Fountain Central (13-0), a 21-7 winner over No. 12 Linton, in the semistate next weekend with a trip to Lucas Oil Stadium on the line.

The box score:

Clinton Central 0 0 7 7 – 14

Indianapolis Lutheran 0 0 0 0 – 0

CC – Jordan Woodard 19 run (Dylan Padgett kick)

CC – David Griffy 1 run (Padgett kick)

CC L

First Downs 14 10

Rushes-Yards 24-47 55-248

Passing Yards 56 107

Comp-Att-Int 3-10-3 10-28-4

Fumbles-Lost 3-0 2-0

Penalties-Yards 6-54 7-68