Published: August 18, 2007 01:13 am            

Big play bonanza

Wildkat seniors pave the way for Colby’s first win

In 18 years of coaching varsity football, Brett Colby has learned — among other things — how to recognize players who have the skills to make his life a little easier.

“Thursday night after practice, I talked to three of my seniors, [Alston] Andrews, [Thaddeus] Jefferson and [Justin] Patterson, and told them they had to step up, be leaders and make big plays,” Colby said.

Consider the message received — the mission accomplished.



Andrews scored Kokomo’s first touchdown on a 52-yard fumble return; Jefferson rambled 37 yards from scrimmage for a TD and Patterson scored on a kickoff return of a school record 99 yards, then scooped up a fumble and ran 10 yards for the game-winning touchdown.

As it turned out, Kokomo needed every one of those big plays to make Colby’s Wildkat coaching debut a success — a 27-24 win over Mount Vernon of Fortville Friday night at Walter Cross Field.

The final score may have been the only pretty part of this one for Colby and his staff. The Wildkat offense struggled mightily and the Kats’ special teams were bitten by a blocked punt and blocked PAT.

But on a night when two young quarterbacks tried to fill the void of Bryce Robinson, the team’s starter the past two seasons but still ineligible, Colby was eager for a win any way he could get it.



“This is big for the program to get off on the right foot,” Colby said. “We’ve got a win and they can’t take this one away. I’m happy for the kids because they’ve worked their tails off. We have a long way to go, but this is one we desperately needed.”

Were it not for big plays, neither team may have scored in this one. Each squad finished with just 144 rushing yards and perhaps for the first time since the forward pass came into the game, Kokomo did not complete one. Two were attempted — two were intercepted.

Mount Vernon, a defending sectional champ in Class 3A and now a 4A entry, struggled against Kokomo’s defense all night. The Marauders scored three first half touchdowns — two directly off Kats’ turnovers near their goalline — but could manage only a field goal after intermission.



“Our defense played pretty well,” Colby said. “We went to our 4-3 in the second half and really shut them down.”

Andrews and Curt Hutchins finished with a team-high honors of seven tackles each and Larry Baker knocked down third and fourth down passes in the final minute to preserve the win. Colby also noted solid line defensive play from Kegan Walker, Jerell Johnson, Cliff Burns, Blake Bowley, Kirby Pavey and Julian Bellamy.

It was Andrews’ 52-yard return of a fumble, forced by Dylan Green, that got the Kats rolling and Jefferson’s 37-yard dash on the first play of the second quarter bumped the Kats’ lead to 14-0.

Mount Vernon punched in two quick scores courtesy of Kokomo mistakes. A turnover gave the Marauders possession at the Kats’ 16 and a Daniel Turner to Jesse Reed pass of 13 yards got the visitors on the board. Then a blocked punt gave the ball right back to Mount Vernon and Joe Von Bank’s 2-yard run tied the score.

“That [blocked punt] was disappointing because we’ve worked so hard on special teams,” Colby said. “I think in 18 years of coaching that’s the third one we’ve had.”

Patterson struck seconds later. He took the kickoff barely inside his own goal line — broke a couple of arm tackles and followed a line of blockers into the end zone. He said it was his first kickoff return for a TD — ever.

Von Bank broke a tackle at the line of scrimmage and motored 31 yards just before half to tie the score, but in the second half, the Marauders managed only a field goal while the Kats defense limited them to 36 total yards.

Kokomo took its final lead on the first play of the fourth quarter when Patterson picked up an errant pitch and dashed in the final 10 yards.

“I try to have a mindset that when I get my hands on the ball, I want to make something happen,” Patterson said. “[The win] was great for coach Colby — I like him a lot. He’s going to make it happy around here for us.”

In post-game remarks to the players, Colby offered the game ball to his players and asked them to sign it for senior Brock Butler who suffered a season-ending ankle injury in practice on Thursday.

        

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