Indians take a loss to Flatonia in district play

    The Indians suffered a heartbreaking loss against the Flatonia Bulldogs 17-14 in their district opener on Oct. 9.
    High School principal and assistant coach Andy Bridges said they couldn’t have asked more from the boys in terms of effort. “We made some mistakes that we just couldn’t overcome,” he said, “We have to learn from our mistakes and move on.”
    Representing the captains at the toss were junior co-quarterbacks #11 Matt Bridges and #7 Michael-Douglas Maresh, senior wide-receiver #1 Caleb Thedford, and senior tight-end #85 Mark Macha. The Bulldogs won the toss and opted to receive in the second half.
    Thedford received the ball on the kick-off and ran it to the Indians’ own 47-yard line. Maresh started as quarterback and began the run with two hand-offs to junior running back #4 Matthew Sterling; however, an incomplete pass to Macha forced a punt.
    The ball was received by the Bulldogs at roughly their 15-yard line, and the tackle was made by junior linebacker #28 Christian Palacios and Thedford. The Bulldogs made no progress on their first offensive drive of the night. A tackle by junior running back #22 Garrett McCann and a sack by junior #9 Jacob Foltyn contributed to the tough defensive run.
    The Indians began their next offensive drive with Bridges as quarterback. After a couple of carries, it was the hand-off to Sterling that brought out the first down. Another play by Sterling got the Indians to a first-and-goal situation. A carry by McCann scored the first touchdown of the night, and junior #18 Jorge Campuzano’s PAT was good, the score 7-0 with 3:53 remaining in the first.
    The last few minutes of defense were just as solid as the first. A tribe of Indians stopped the kick-off return at the Bulldogs’ 30-yard line. The Bulldogs made an offensive attempt with a carry and a quarterback keeper, but Foltyn put a stop to both. Senior #2 Brandon Lister added a tackle to the mix.
    Ganado’s defense took the field at the top of the new quarter and came out ready. On only the second play, Thedford intercepted the pass and ran to set up first-and-goal. Bridges handed off twice to McCann, and the Indian offense managed to score once again. Campuzano’s PAT was good, the score now 14-0, Ganado, with 10:02 left in the half.
    On the kick-off, Flatonia returned the ball and was met by Foltyn for the tackle. Foltyn and Macha shared a tackle on the next run. Eventually, the Bulldogs couldn’t break through the tribe and were forced to punt. Maresh stepped back in again, but between two carries by Sterling and an incomplete pass to Thedford, the Indians returned the favor by punting the ball back to Flatonia. The remainder of the quarter continued to be more of the same- both teams continued to stop the other, aside from a 60-yard run by McCann. The first half concluded with a Ganado 14-0 lead.
    The third quarter began with a strong Indian defense. Novak kept the ball for a short run and was stopped by Palacios. Junior #54 Michael Malek and Foltyn each contributed a tackle, forcing the Bulldogs to turn over the ball.
    The Indian offense did not take the field for very long. In an early play, the offense fumbled the ball. The ball was recovered by Flatonia, and their defense ran to the end zone, scoring their first touchdown of the night; however, the PAT was no good. The score now stood 14-6, Ganado with 7:31 to go in the quarter.
    On offense, Matt Bridges assumed the quarterback position. Hand-offs to Sterling and McCann helped make gains, but not enough to seal the deal, putting Flatonia back on offense. The Bulldogs tried runs with Castillo, but tribes of Indians put a stop to that. Thedford also managed to break up a pass, but on a pass a few plays down the road, the Bulldogs were able to reach the end zone once again. The two-point conversion attempt was successful, tying the score 14-14 with 1:12 left in the quarter. The Indians were not able to capitalize on the time remaining, therefore the quarter closed with an even score.
    The fourth quarter started with a mistake. Indians fumbled the ball early, and Flatonia recovered; however, the Indian defense was able to thwart this Bulldog drive.  This time on offense, Bridges stepped in as quarterback, starting the run with hand-offs to Sterling and Foltyn. A hand-off to Lister on the next play brought out an Indian first down. A 40-yard run on the next play gave the Indians yet another first down. On this first-and-ten run, though, the Indians fumbled, and Flatonia managed to recover the ball with 6:58 in the game. On defense, just as before, the Indians were tough, forcing the punt.
    On the punt Bridges fumbled the catch, and the ball was, once again, recovered by Flatonia in Indian territory and was stopped initially by Lister. In an early Flatonia play on the quarterback keeper, junior Indian #55 Malcolm Chaisson had a powerful sack. He added a tackle along with Foltyn, but Flatonia was able to get far enough downfield to execute a successful field goal attempt, taking the lead from Ganado 17-14 with 1:04 to go. That ultimately would not be enough time for the Indians to make a comeback. The ball game closed at 17-14, Flatonia, in their first district game.
    McCann said as the game progressed, the team let their lead get to their heads and that led to their loss. “We came out playing our style of football- pounding them on offense and holding them on defense. In the second half, we just started killing ourselves.”
    The team will face Shiner, formerly ranked number four in the state and Ganado’s biggest opponent yet. “They’ve proved that they’re a very good team,” said Lister, “We will have to come out and play a mistake-free game and just come out with heart.”
    The Indians will play Shiner away on Friday, Oct. 16. Kick-off is scheduled for 7:30 p.m.