Published: October 03, 2008 11:49 pm      

FOOTBALL: Kats own second half

Ground game keeps Kokomo atop NCC standings

RICHMOND — Brett Colby’s streak of North Central Conference victories is still alive at 12, but Richmond made his Kokomo Wildkats earn it for a half Friday night here at Lyboult Field. The Kats overcame a quick early score with their usual bruising ground game en route to a 39-14 victory, keeping them a perfect 5-0 atop the NCC standings.

“We had to make some adjustments tonight,” said Kokomo coach Brett Colby. “We just had to figure out their slants and pitches and it takes some time to figure those things out. We got our power blocking fixed at halftime and once we did that we knew we were going to have a good half.”

The Red Devils made an early statement on a special night of ceremony as former greats Lamar Lundy and Vagas Ferguson had their numbers retired in an extended homecoming ceremony. Sophomore quarterback Stevie Jarrett sent the crowd into a frenzy by hitting a streaking J.J. Lemons for a 68 yard score on the third play from scrimmage and an early 7-0 lead.

Kokomo then turned the ball over on its next possession, and Jarrett very nearly made them pay again. On third down running back Richard Nelloms got loose on a wheel route, but dropped a wide open pass from Jarrett that would have given the Red Devils a two score lead early.

“Nelloms is the best athlete we have played against. He is very elusive and there is no question he is going to play at that next level,” said Colby. “They have some good receivers and some good underclassmen but I felt we did a good job of getting good pressure on the ball early. We had a slow start because we had a terrible week of practice and I was disappointed in the immaturity of some of our players coming in.”

From that point on, Kokomo settled down on both sides of the ball. Jairus Johnson scored from 20 yards out to cap an eight play, 61 yard drive early in the second quarter. The Kokomo defense then forced a punt from the two yard line that netted just 24 yards. The Kats took advantage of the short field with quarterback T.J. Weir scoring from nine yards out. Casey Shipley added the two-point conversion run to make it 14-7.

Kokomo blew things open with an 18 point third period thanks to some big plays and several defensive stops. Braxton Shelton broke a 64 yard run up to the Richmond 10 yard line on the third play of the half to set the tone. He would score from a yard out four plays later and tossed the two-point conversion pass to Shipley for a 22-7 lead.

A sack by Tyrone Brown on Richmond’s next possession set up Drew Marshall’s first career field goal from 28 yards.

Kokomo’s defense then forced another three and out, sacking Jarrett twice before another punt. Kokomo took over at the Richmond 36 and used only two plays to get Shelton in the end zone from 16 yards out, leaving the Kats up, 32-7. All told Richmond was held to minus 20 total yards for the quarter.

Defensively Kokomo allowed very little in the second half. The Kats sacked Jarrett seven times and allowed only three first downs — all on Richmond’s final scoring drive. Shipley closed the scoring on a 58 yard run.

“We were definitely able to get some stuff fixed at halftime,” said Colby. “I’m not sure how many sacks we had [six] and how many pressures we had but our kids up front don’t get blocked very easy and we find ways to get into the backfield.”

Shipley had 135 yards rushing and a score while Shelton had 129 yards and two TDs. Jairus Johnson would have been a third back over the century mark, but he had a 54 yard score called back due to a hold. He finished with 76 yards and a touchdown. Kokomo out-rushed Richmond, 417-22.

Jacob Schick led the defense with nine tackles, including three for loss. Curt Hutchins and Brown each had six tackles and a pair of sacks.

A win Friday at Logansport guarantees the Kats (6-1, 5-0) of at least a share of the NCC title. Richmond dropped to 4-3 and 3-2.