Published: September 15, 2007 12:37 am            

Kokomo alone at the top

Kats rip Vikings to take sole possession of NCC lead

Earlier this week, Kokomo football coach Brett Colby paid the ultimate compliment to Huntington North when he said he hoped his Wildkat program was at North’s level in two to three years.

That was before Friday night.

That was before — Kokomo 41, Huntington North 6.

So much for Colby’s timetable.

“I told the kids that every week when you read down the list of scores in the paper, there’s one that shocks you,” Colby said. “I guess this is it.”



This one was a stunner on a number of levels. The Vikings were unbeaten and receiving votes in the Class 5A AP poll. They led the North Central Conference in total offense and defense and had outscored their four previous opponents by nearly 100 points. North also came to Walter Cross Stadium Friday night with seniors in 19 of 22 starting spots — veterans of a team that crushed Kokomo a year ago, 55-14.

Kokomo, 4-1 overall and 3-0 in the NCC, now stands alone in first place in the NCC for the first time since 1996.

That Kokomo won was considered by many a surprise. That the Kats won by such a sizable margin was a shock. The last time Kokomo won a game by more than 35 points was a 49-7 win over Logansport in 1997.

When Colby spoke at mid-week about what it would take to compete with North, he stressed the importance of a pounding ground game that ate yardage and clock, an offense that didn’t turn the ball over and a hungry, aggressive defense.

Consider his Kats a perfect three for three.



Kokomo won the ground game 259-93, didn’t have a turnover and its ever-improving defense held the Vikings 28 points below their average.

Colby also noted that his team needed to get off to a good start. Consider that after the first quarter, Kokomo led in every category that counted — score (12-0), first downs (7-0) and total yards (101-9). Kokomo led 21-0 before the visitors managed their initial first down; 28-0 before they got their second one.

“This one stung — this hurt,” Vikings coach Rief Gilg said. “Kokomo’s offense is foreign and hard to prepare for and they did a great job firing off the ball. They ran their offense consistently and once they got that early lead, they’re difficult to play. Hats off to them defensively too. They did some things we didn’t expect and did a good job covering our routes.”

Colby was excited for his team and the program, but the first thing he addressed in his post-game remarks to the players was his concern about next week’s opponent, New Castle.

“It was a great effort and I’m just happy for the players,” he said. “We felt we had a good game plan and I’m excited that we were able to go out and execute it. I think too, our players were a little embarrassed about getting pounded up there last year and they wanted to atone for that.”

Kokomo’s four scoring drives were textbook Colby. The first went 50 yards in 10 plays and took 4:20; then it was 51 yards, nine plays, 4:06; 57 yards, 10 plays, 4:50 and finally 80-yards, eight plays, 3:43.

Justin Patterson and Braxton Shelton combined for 237 rushing yards behind an offensive line that dominated the line of scrimmage. Devin Schacht, Kirby Pavey, Craig Ryan, Shane Reed, Jerell Johnson, Doran Slater and Julian Bellamy and blocking fullback Dylan Green paved the way for a running game directed by junior quarterback Taylor Carpenter.

It was Patterson’s eight-yard TD run that got the Kats started and after a quick defensive stand, the Kats came up with perhaps the biggest play of the night. Facing third and goal from the Vikings’ 21, Carpenter hit Alston Andrews between two defenders for a touchdown.



If that score didn’t set the tone, Andrews’ next play did. Just 29 seconds after the TD grab, Andrews intercepted a pass and raced 65 yards untouched for a TD. Eleven seconds into the second quarter, the Vikings were facing a 20-0 deficit.

Shelton scored from a yard out late in the second quarter to make it 28-0 at halftime, Patterson went for five yards and a score early in the third and Andrews capped it with another interception for a touchdown — this time from 46 yards.

“I knew [6-foot-5, 228-pound Jeff Herring] would be my responsibility and so I took home film this week and watched his moves,” Andrews said. “I just tried to play smart and break on the ball.

“We had a point to prove [Friday night] because we thought we were the No. 1 team in the conference,” Andrews said. “I guess we proved it — but beginning next week, it will just get harder.”

Kokomo’s defense throttled the NCC’s top offense coming into the game. Curt Hutchins led with 11 tackles, followed by Andrews (nine) and Rico Duke (six).

        

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