Playoff Primer: IN Semi-State finals

Friday night will be a very special evening for the Eastern Indiana Athletic Conference and its members Lawrenceburg and East Central. They have made it to the final four round of the playoffs. A rare occurrence for two EIAC teams to make it this deep into the postseason. It just proves that the conference is strong and football is a force to be reckoned with in the southeastern corner of the Hoosier State.

Class 3A Semi-State final
(Friday, November 18th, 7:00 p.m., Dick Meador Stadium, Neary Field

Lawrenceburg WR/DB Ben Murphy (photo by Mike Noyes/TriStateFootball.com)

BROWNSTOWN CENTRAL (12-1) at LAWRENCEBURG TIGERS (12-1) – It’s a real intrastate “Route 50 Rumble” as Brownstown Central heads east, up the famous road about 75 miles to take on Lawrenceburg for the right to represent their school and community in the Class 3A state title game. Both teams are pleasant surprises and deserving of being in this spot but unfortunately this will be the closing chapter to a memorable campaign for one of them.

These squads can light up the scoreboard on offense. Brownstown Central has scored 50 points or more on seven occasions. Five of those have been during the Rebels current seven game winning streak. Lawrenceburg has put up 42 points or more eight times. The Tigers have posted 61 points-plus three times during its current eight game winning streak.

As good as Brownstown Central has been under head coach Reed May who is 240-47 in 24th year at the school, they have never won a Semi-State game. Their victory Friday night against Evansville Memorial was just the third regional title in the programs history and first since ’08.

The Braves run the misdirection of the Wing-T offense about as well as anyone in Indiana. Last week they ran the ball on 57 of their 61 plays. They will control the clock with long drives. Brownstown Central’s ability to come out on top of the time of possession war has worn down many a foe this season. Lawrenceburg can negate that by getting out to a two-score lead which will be easier said than done.

Senior running back Gavin Bane flourishes in the Wing-T scheme for Brownstown Central. He is also the team’s leading receiver and has well over 2,000 all-purpose yards. Bane is a threat to score every time he touches the ball with 27 touchdowns on the year. He became the school’s all-time points leader last week with a total that now stands at 430 points scored. Quarterback Kyle Kramer is still a threat passing the ball with more than 1,000 yards through the air.

For the first time in 31 years Lawrenceburg is regional champions. The Tigers also won their only Semi-State title in ’85.
Lawrenceburg running back Austin Bowling has scored four touchdowns or more in seven straight games. He has 49 touchdowns and 2,812 yards on the ground for the season.

Tigers quarterback Reid Strobl along with receivers Ben Murphy and Jordan Houze have to establish that they are a legitimate threat through the air early in the contest. That will keep the Brownstown Central defense from keying in on stopping the run and Bowling.

Prediction: Lawrenceburg 38, Brownstown Central 34

Class 4A Semi-State final
(Friday, November 18th, 7:30 p.m., Trojan Field

East Central TE Justin Drees (photo by John Maxwell)

RONCALLI REBELS (13-0) at EAST CENTRAL TROJANS (11-2) – A script for 2016 playoff football could not have been written any better than this. Roncalli and East Central faced off in last season’s Class 4A Semi-State game. This Friday night’s rematch pits two squads with different motivations guiding them.

The two teams are very familiar with each other. Roncalli beat the Trojans at home, 31-10 in last year’s regular season finale. Five weeks later a healthy East Central clan returned the favor on their turf, beating the Rebels, 21-0 in the Semi-State contest to advance to the state championship game.

An unblemished record and the opportunity to avenge last year’s loss to the Trojans is keeping Roncalli focused. East Central would love nothing more than ruin the Rebels quest for perfection and make the statement that they are still the top team in Class 4A in the southern half of the Hoosier state.

Roncalli is looking for its 12th Semi-State title and first since 2005. The Rebels have won eight state titles but none since ’04 which was the last of three in a row for the school.

This is a senior-laden Roncalli group. Running back Kenny Gillum and quarterback Derek O’Connor pace the offense. The Rebels find strength in their play up front on both sides of the line. The defense has held six foes to seven points or less and another three to just 14 points. Attacking East Central in the trenches is a battle that Roncalli must win late in this affair. The Rebels could exploit a Trojans weaknesses by using their size and that would allow Gillum to assert his will on offense.

East Central is shooting for back-to-back Semi-State titles. The Trojans have won three Semi-State crowns in program history. The only state title for East Central was in ’94.

The Trojans won on a last second “Hail Mary” pass of 38 yards from Austin Maxwell to tight end Justin Drees on Saturday night at Evansville Reitz. East Central must avoid the hangover of still being caught up in the euphoria of that win. It was only the second game all season that East Central has played that has been decided by 10 points or less. Roncalli is 7-0 in games decided by eight points or fewer.

East Central QB Alex Maxwell (photo by John Maxwell)

Maxwell’s performance against Reitz was a coming out party for the sophomore as he ran for four touchdowns and tossed the game winner in the victory. He has amassed 1,970 yards of total offense (1,136 rushing, 834 passing) and accounted for 25 touchdowns (15 rushing, 10 passing). Junior running back Logan Storie has run for 1,783 yards and 21 touchdowns. He also has two scores on seven receptions for 153 yards. Senior Garren Messmore has played just eight games but has 468 yards rushing, 243 yards receiving, leads the team with 11 receptions and touchdown receptions to go along with his nine trips to the end zone (five rushing, four receiving).

Pressure and push by the East Central defensive front seven has played a large role in helping the team force 35 turnovers. That group includes seniors, Clint Mirus, Kaleb Krummen and five juniors. Krummen leads the teams with 11 tackles for losses and solo tackles with 50.

Prediction: East Central 24, Roncalli 21

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