AREA FOOTBALL ROUNDUP: TC wins in overtime; Tipton, Cass, Peru also win

Oct. 16—Tri-Central beat Clinton Central 12-6 in overtime to cap a wild finish to a defensive battle on the Bulldogs' field Friday.

The Hoosier Conference rivals went three quarters without scoring before the Bulldogs scored on a 40-yard pass play early in the fourth quarter. Tri-Central answered with 3:05 left on a 10-yard halfback pass from Daetyn Horn to Caden Leininger to knot the score at 6-all.

Regulation ended 6-6 and the teams went to overtime. The Bulldogs got the ball first but didn't score. On Tri-Central's turn, Horn ran in the game-winning TD from four yards out to lift TC to victory.

"Huge win for our program to beat a quality program like that that's got a Hall of Fame coach," TC coach Shane Arnold said, referring to CC's George Gilbert, who led TC to a state title in a prior tenure with the Trojans. "There's nobody that we or myself respect more than coach Gilbert. He was here and helped teach all of us and the kids just performed [Friday] night and came through with a big win."

Horn ran 25 times for 109 yards and Leininger had 12 totes for 50 yards. The TC defense left its mark as well.

"Our defense played light's out," Arnold said. "I really thought our physicality and pursuit was the best it's been since probably Week 2. Kids flying around, reading their keys well and then finishing. We tackled well, which is something we've worked on the last few weeks, tackling better."

With the win, Tri-Central finished the regular season 4-5 overall and 2-5 in the HHC. Clinton Central fell to 2-7 overall, 0-6 in the HHC.

TIPTON 28, LCC 13

In the Hoosier Conference's third-place game, Class 2A No. 8 Tipton took control in the first half against Class 2A No. 10 Lafayette Central Catholic and kept the lead throughout. The Blue Devils got a TD run from Eli Carter in the first quarter and Sutter Griffin in the second to take a 14-0 lead into halftime.

Tipton got a 39-yard scoring run from Carter in the third quarter and a five-yard TD run from Carter in the fourth.

CASS 42, TL 27

Cass is taking some momentum into the tournament after a win at Twin Lakes in the Hoosier Conference's seventh-place game.

The Kings (3-5) snapped a three-game losing streak with a win over the Indians (2-7).

"It's like a huge weight's been lifted off our shoulders here," Cass coach Clayton Mannering told The River 102.3-FM in a postgame interview. "It was a good ballgame against a good team. It feels like in practice we're becoming a better football team and that's tough when you've had the stretch that we've had. I'm very proud of our kids, our coaching staff. This is a big one."

Cayde Ingram made big plays all night for the Kings. He opened the game with a 78-yard touchdown run. He caught a 10-yard TD pass from LJ Hillis. Ingram also had a 71-yard interception return for a score that made it a 34-13 game in the fourth quarter.

Cooper Frey was a workhorse for Cass. He rushed for 113 yards and two TDs on 16 carries. Haden McClain added 65 yards and a TD on 10 carries. Ingram had 115 yards on seven attempts. Hillis was 8 of 15 passing for 76 yards.

BC 8, NORTHWESTERN 6

The Bison edged Northwestern in the Hoosier Conference's ninth-place game, ending a 17-game losing streak in the process. Benton Central wraps up the regular season 1-6 while Northwestern falls to 0-8.

SHERIDAN 28, CARROLL 21

Sheridan took a share of the championship of the HHC with the victory, sharing the title with Eastern. The Blackhawks finish 6-1 in the league and 6-3 overall.

Sheridan and Carroll traded special teams TDs less than two minutes into the game for an explosive start to the game. Clay Metzger scored an 81-yard kickoff return for that first Cougar score. Metzger then scored on a five-yard run in the second quarter to put Carroll up 14-7 early in the second period but Sheridan punched in two more TDs to lead 21-14 at the half.

The Blackhawks went up 28-14 with a score early in the fourth quarter but Carroll cut into the lead with a 10-yard Chris Huerta run to make it a one-score game at 28-21. That closed the scoring.

Carroll fell to 6-3 overall, 3-3 in the HHC.

DELPHI 60, TAYLOR 6

Taylor dropped to 0-4 both overall and in HHC play with the loss. Delphi improved to 4-2 in the HHC and 6-3 overall, taking third place in the league behind co-champions Eastern and Delphi.

PERU 33, MANCHESTER 13

The Bengal Tigers led 19-0 at halftime and got up 33-7 in the fourth to coast to victory.

With the win, Peru finishes 6-1 in the Three Rivers Conference and 6-2 overall. The Bengals take second in the league behind unbeaten conference champ Tippecanoe Valley, which overwhelmed Southwood 56-25 to finish a perfect league run.

Manchester fell to 4-3 TRC, 4-4 overall.

ROCHESTER 44, MAC 12

The Braves gave up the first TD, then tightened Rochester's lead to a point at 7-6 after an 80-yard TD pass from Braxton Briner to Brayden Betzner in the first quarter. The Braves stayed close early in the second, scoring again through the air to cut Rochester's lead to 14-12 at that point, but it was all Zebras after that. Rochester led 30-12 at the half.

Birner finished with 182 yards on 18-of-32 accuracy and now has a school-record 1,794 passing yards.

Betzner had 91 yards on five catches. Fuddy Kile had 68 yards and a TD on six receptions. Gavin Nethercutt led the defense with 12 tackles and Matt Ingram added 11.

Mac fell to 2-5 overall and 2-5 in the Three Rivers Conference while Rochester upped its record to 5-2 overall, 4-2 in the league.