Millers too strong for Kats in sectional

By DAVE KITCHELL
Tribune sports editor

October 20, 2007 12:34 am

— Kokomo’s 2007 football team will be remembered for winning the North Central Conference championship in flawless 7-0 fashion and for producing the school’s first winning season since 2000.
But that elusive sectional win — well, that will have to wait for another night, another team.
Friday night at Walter Cross Field in an IHSAA Class 5A Sectional 4 opener, Noblesville was simply better in every phase of the game in handing the No. 9-ranked Wildkats a 42-14 whipping. It marked Kokomo’s 10th consecutive opening round sectional loss.
“[The Millers] just beat us up front and nothing else really matters than that,” said Wildkat coach Brett Colby. “They made some big plays that hurt us and that’s something we haven’t given up much this season. But we just didn’t stop the run — no excuses. We’ll take about three weeks off and begin addressing that problem in the weight room.”
Noblesville did a lot of things right in this game, including getting senior quarterback Sam Swafford in the lineup. Swafford played the first two games this season, suffered a broken collarbone, and just returned to the squad last week.
A difference-maker — definitely. With Swafford in the starting role, the Millers are 4-0, without him, 1-5. On this night he was virtually flawless in running the offense, while hitting 9 of 12 passes for 127 yards and two touchdowns. Swafford guided Noblesville to 7-of-10 conversions on third down — and on one of those the Millers missed on, they picked it up on fourth down.
In first quarters this season, Kokomo had outscored its opponents 99-14 and was plus-11 in turnover margin. In the first quarter Friday night, Noblesville jumped to a 14-0 lead and one of those scores came directly off a Kokomo turnover.
The Millers set the tone on the game’s first play when Adam Parker got loose around his left end and sprinted 70 yards for a touchdown. It was a punch in the stomach from which Kokomo never recovered.
Following the touchdown, the Kats cranked off two quick first downs and looked capable of putting together a game-tying score, but they lost just their 10th fumble of the season and the Millers used eight plays to go 61 yards for a 14-0 lead.
“[Noblesville] is a good team but I really thought we had a shot at them,” Colby said. “I think those first two scores kind of shell-shocked us. I was proud the way we came back, but that was a lot to overcome.”
Kokomo did bounce right back with a 70-yard, eight-play scoring drive — all the yardage coming on the strength of running backs Justin Patterson and Braxton Shelton. The Kats had closed to 14-7, but nothing went their way in the crucial minutes before halftime.
Four plays into the Millers’ drive, Larry Baker forced a fumble and Wildkat linebacker Curt Hutchins picked up the ball and literally fought his way up the sideline for 16 yards. Somewhere along the route, however, Hutchins, the leading tackler the past two seasons, broke his left arm in two places. His defensive talents and leadership was sorely missed from that point.
Rather than tie the score, the Kats turned the ball back over to the Millers and they put together the biggest drive of the night. On third-and-five, 6-foot-6 Drew Hood went over two defenders for a spectacular catch that netted 31 yards. Then on fourth and one at the Kats’ 10, Raymond Burks went up the middle and on the closest measurement of this — maybe any season — got the back-breaking first down by less than an inch. The Millers scored on the next play and the 21-7 lead stood at half.
The game was never in doubt from there.
The Millers punched across a TD in the third quarter and sandwiched huge scoring plays — a 42 yard run from Parker and a 93-yard kickoff return from Evan Latty — around Patterson’s 23rd TD of the season.
It’s likely Kokomo established a program first by producing two 1,000-yard rushers. Patterson finished with 119 on the night and 1,218 on the season and the promising sophomore Shelton had 105 against the Millers and 1,067 for the season.
Defensively, Rico Duke closed out a fine career with his top tackling effort of 14. Classmate Alston Andrews finished with nine.
Colby honored his 16 seniors after the game by lining them up and having their teammates and coaching staff go one-by-one to them, thanking them for their contributions that included an 8-2 finish.
“I’m really proud of our seniors,” Colby said. “I told them after the game that they laid the foundation of this program and that now it’s up to our young players to build the house. This is a bitter pill for them, but they have to feel good about what they accomplished.”

Copyright © 1999-2008 cnhi, inc.