Laughlin Field
Carlisle, OH
Coach Bret Pearce knew that his M-U Bulldogs had an extreme challenge ahead of them on Friday Night. When asked about the match-up Pearce staed, “We certainly have our work cut out for us. They are big, strong, and fast. There is a reason they’re 5-0.” They are also the number four ranked team in the state of Ohio for a reason, and they showed on Friday that they are not all hype by physically dismantling the Bulldogs in front of an enthusiastic crowd of Indian supporters.
M-U had possession of the football first and started strong with a Jake Finfrock eleven yard run. Finfrock found some success in the Carlisle defense throughout the game, but as was the case on every possession, M-U had to punt three plays later. What happened next set the tone for the entire contest. Carlisle fielded the punt on their own thiry-five, and after a lateral, set up a perfect wall along the far side line. Devastating block after block sprang Jordan Jacobs for a touchdown. Following the extra point, Carlisle led 7-0.
The second possesson of the game was the same for M-U and following the punt, Carlisle’s offense flexed its muscle. A fifty-three yard drive in 4:22 culminated with a Nick McGill two yard touchdown run, and the Indians led 14-0.
The third possession for M-U ended again after three plays, and the first quarter ended with Carlisle again at the M-U twelve yard line looking to make this into a laugher. At the end of the quarter Carlisle had 160 yards to M-U’s eight. This possession, however, ended differently. Cody Hill stepped in fron of a Carlisle pass to start the second quarter and intercepted the football in the endzone to breathe new life into the Bulldogs.
The M-U offense responded with the best drive of the night with a twenty-seven yard drive to close to midfield, but again the drive stalled and after the punt, Carlisle marched on an eighty-one yard drive culminated with another Jacobs’s touchdown making the score 21-0 with four minutes remaining in the half.
More of the same on the next M-U drive, but this drive ended with an Adam Martin interception, and the Indians took the return back to the M-U thirty-five yard line. Only 56.7 seconde remained in the half, but that was enough time for Carlisle to score. Nick Reyolds found McGill in the end zone with a perfect twenty-two yard pass play and the half ended with the Indians in command at 28-0. They had racked up 314 yards of total offense in the half along with that sixty- five yard punt return to start the game. M-U was held to seventy-eight yards total offense.
If anyone thought the first half was an aberration, that notion was soon dispersed. Carlisle marched seventy-seven yards on nine plays and moved the scoreboard seven more to 35-0. All M-U possessions in the second half ended in punts, and Carlisle added one more touchdown with a forty- three yard touchdown pass early in the fourth quarter. The rest of the game was filled with back-ups from both squads, and the final score read 42-0.
M-U will regroup this week and head to Preble Shawnee on Friday night.
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