Published: October 11, 2008 12:48 am      

Maconaquah no match for Cass

Kings roll 69-0; Western matchup in next

BUNKER HILL — Dominant.

That is the only word to describe visiting Lewis Cass’ stampede Friday night as the Kings blitzed Maconaquah 69-0 in Mid-Indiana Conference play.

“I’m very proud of the effort that the kids put in,” said Kings coach Scott Mannering. “I know coming in that I was concerned that the kids might be looking past [Maconaquah] to next week’s game with Western. I know we as coaches knew what Maconaquah was capable of, but until the game started we weren’t sure if the kids were aware. But they really responded in a business-like matter and went out and got the job done.”

The Kings threw 20 points on the board in the first quarter and stretched it out to a 55-0 advantage at the half. With the clock running except for time-outs in the second half, Cass held the ball except for six Maconaquah offensive plays, essentially running out the clock in taking its 10th straight win in the series.

The Cass defense was so dominant that it didn’t allow Maconaquah a first down until 4:02 remained in the game. In the first half, the Kings held Maconaquah to four total yards on 26 plays. On Maconaquah’s nine first-half possessions, the Braves punted the ball seven times, had a pass intercepted and lost a fumble.

“I was really impressed with the intensity that our defense showed,” said Mannering. “Our big guys matched up well with their big guys and pretty much controlled the line of scrimmage. It seems like each week our defense keeps getting better and better. We’re playing much better now than I thought we would at the start of the season.”

Cass’ offense was impressive as well, grinding out 323 rushing yards, spread out among 15 different ball carriers. Through the air, Damon Foreman was 2 of 2 for 37 yards with both passes going for touchdowns. Keith Lee was on the receiving end of a 23-yard toss while Kyle Moore pulled in a 14-yard aerial for the first points of the game.

Andrew Troutman paced the Kings’ ground attack with 54 yards on three totes while Sean Ward had 42 yards on three carries, highlighted by an impressive 33-yard touchdown jaunt.

With its sixth straight win, Lewis Cass improved to 7-1 overall and 6-0 in conference play, setting up a championship showdown Friday night against Western, 8-0, 6-0.

“It’s going to be fun,” said Mannering. “This is what you work for all summer — to be playing one game for the outright conference title. I’m really looking forward to that game and I’m sure there are a lot of other people who are as well. I expect we’ll see a pretty good crowd at our place next Friday.”