ATTICA, Ind. – The Fountain Central football team traveled to Attica to face the Red Ramblers on the latter’s Homecoming night and came away with a 49-6 victory.
Although the score was one-sided, both head coaches said their teams gained from having played the contest.
“We got to play everybody,” Herb King, the Fountain Central head coach said. “And everybody that played got good time on the field.”
For Michael Winters, the Attica head coach, the game was all about making improvements.
“We’re getting better each week,” he said, explaining, “We are doing more of the little things you have to do to be competitive, but we’ve got to clean up what we’re doing out there.”
The Mustangs (2-3, 2-1 WRC) got the ball to open the contest and they used almost half of the first quarter to drive the length of the field for a touchdown that saw Dawson Blue run a pitch to the end zone from eight yards out. An extra point from Uriah Wildman made it 7-0.
The first Attica (0-5, 0-3 WRC) possession was one of their better ones of the night.
Dane Goris returned the kickoff out to the 45-yard line and then the Ramblers began to mix runs and passes.
Goris threw to Kyler Stamper and Hayden Galloway for good gains while carrying the ball himself for several plays.
Attica reached the Mustang 27 before Andrew Woodrow sacked Goris and an incompletion turned the ball over on downs.
Fountain Central quickly marched down the field to take a 14-0 lead with a minute left in the first quarter and then their defense forced an Attica punt at the start of the second period.
The Mustangs took only four plays before quarterback Owen Acton ran 42 yards for a touchdown and a 21-0 score.
The next Rambler drive ended on a pick by Brandon Pigg which lead to another short-field touchdown, this one by Luke Foxworthy from 11 yards out to make it 28-0.
Penalties stymied the Ramblers on their next drive and once again they had to punt, allowing the Mustangs to add one last touchdown with just over two minutes left in the half for a 35-0 score.
King then pulled most of his first-string offense, but kept a few starters on the field for defense in both the last portion of the second quarter and early in the third.
“I thought if we systematically substituted on defense, we could keep some continuity out there,” he said.
Attica got the ball to start the third quarter, but Acton killed the drive with a pick that give the ball to the Mustangs on the Rambler 12-yard line.
Three plays later, freshman quarterback Nolan Acton ran the ball the final six yards for a touchdown and a 42-0 score.
The Ramblers, going against a running clock due to the scoring margin, used up most of the remaining time in the third quarter as they drove into Mustang territory using an aerial attack, but a completed pass from Goris to Rylan Farrell came up just short of a first down.
Running down the clock, Fountain Central gave the ball to JD Allen, who scored the final touchdown for the Mustangs to make it 49-0.
Having made some solid plays all night according to Winters, his team finally reaped a reward for their hard work as Goris threw to Galloway who broke free down the right side of the field for a 73-yard catch and run touchdown that made the final score 49-6.
Winters said his team, who will be preparing to head to North Vermillion next Friday, said his team needs to put things together.
“We need all 11 to do the right thing at the same time,” he explained. “We see good plays, but not all eleven all the time.”
King said, as he has for at least two decades, that the goal for the team in preparing for Seeger on Friday will be to get better, adding, “and I think we did that tonight.”
Greg Flint is a freelance writer/photographer for the Commercial-News. He can be reached at: gfphoto@gfphoto web.com
