Published: October 13, 2007 01:15 am            

Kats win NCC title outright in smashing style

Kokomo breaks rushing record with 502 yards.

MARION — Years from now, when the current Kokomo football players look back on the fall of 2007, the chilly Friday night of Oct. 12 will loom large. The scrapbooks and video collections will be stuffed with eye-catching numbers and highlight reel moments.

Wildkat running back Justin Patterson set a single game rushing record with 284 yards, teammate Braxton Shelton ran for another 214 and the Kats ran for a school record 502 yards in a 55-28 romp over North Central Conference rival Marion.

Yet on a night when Kokomo put up gaudy numbers, one number stood out larger than all the rest: 7-0.

That’s Kokomo’s NCC record after beating Marion. The Wildkats wrapped up their first outright NCC title since 1996, completing a transformation in four years.

“It feels good. My freshman year, 1-9, being bottom of the bucket,” Wildkat senior tight end Julian Bellamy said, recalling the difficult road he and his classmates faced through the years. “Senior year, it paid off.”

Bellamy said the emotion of the Kats has gone “from being the low of the low, and this is the ultimate high.”

Wildkat coach Brett Colby has guided the Kats to an 8-1 season. He enjoyed watching the players celebrate their title and hopes it has a carry-over effect.

“It’s got to be huge. It’s huge for the school, it’s huge for the town. I think there’s some pride coming back to Kokomo now — in Kokomo athletics,” Colby said, noting strong showings from the Wildkat boys tennis team and boys and girls soccer teams. “Hopefully we can carry this through to the winter. Hopefully we’re looking to get an all-sports trophy this year and do some things for the school.”

Kokomo wrapped up the NCC crown with an unstoppable performance against Marion. The Wildkats scored on their first five possessions before missing a field goal on the final play of the first half. Kokomo led 35-14 at the break, and scored on their first three possessions of the second half before taking a knee on their final possession to run out the clock. The Kats did not punt.

Thanks to Kokomo’s offensive dominance, Patterson and Shelton were able to shine. Patterson ran for 284 yards on just 27 carries. He ground out yards and tore them off in chunks, including an indomitable 16-yard TD run in the second quarter and a blistering 56-yard breakaway 2:07 before halftime.

“First off, I want to thank coach Colby and the offensive line,” Patterson said. “The offensive line did a great job blocking for me all year. Coach Colby’s scheme is run it down their throat. It just works. We’ve bought into it. We’ve run the ball hard all season, and eventually, I had my heart set on breaking the [rushing] record.”

The old mark was 274 yards set by KHS assistant coach Herman Fowler against Anderson in 1997. K.T. Moses was second at 269 yards two seasons ago. The Kats’ 502 rushing yards bettered the old team mark of 481 set against New Castle in 2003.

Shelton was the perfect complement to Patterson. Shelton gained 214 on just 23 carries. He started the scoring spree by dragging defenders into the end zone on an 11-yard run with 5:29 left in the first quarter, and added a 12-yard scoring romp three minutes later for a 14-0 Kat lead. Shelton had four TDs and Patterson three TDs.

“They’re good up front,” Marion coach Zach Shay said. “They’re big and strong and I think they were a little bigger and a little stronger than we were. They get you outnumbered on the perimeter when they run student body left and student body right. You’ve got to be able to get some penetration with your defensive line number one, and then you’ve got to try to make the ball go east and west, which we did not do.”

Asked if Kokomo’s offense was as effective as he’s seen Shay said “It looked pretty damn good tonight.”

Bellamy said the Wildkats wore the Giants down.

“We start from the beginning [of the game], bang people up,” he said. “It’s a physical offense: dominate people and after a while they start getting tired. I noticed more and more new faces on the [Marion] line as we lined up. Those guys started to get tired — got sick of being banged around.”

Bellamy said over the years the Kats have gotten more resolute between the ears.

“We have a mindset of: We’re going to do what we want to do and you can’t stop it.”

Marion had plenty of offense on its end. Giant running back Sam Trahan ran for 197 yards and one TD, but the Giants couldn’t stop the Kats

Marion threatened to make the game interesting with two touchdowns in the fourth quarter to make the score 49-28 Kokomo, but couldn’t recover a second straight onside kick. The Kats finished the scoring when Shelton churned down the sideline for the game’s final TD, a 25-yard run with 4:52 to play.

Larry Baker scored the Kats’ other TD, a five-yard run early in the fourth quarter.

Junior linebacker Curt Hutchins was a dominating force on defense, landing 18 tackles that ties his mark and Alston Andrews’ for second place in the record book.

        

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