Page 38 - 2015-16 Football State Finals Program

Last Year’s State Finals in Review

Big defensive play sends North Vermilion over Pioneer in Class A

The North Vermilion Falcons, with the No. 1 defense in football state title in its first finals appearance. Coach Brian
Class A football, used that asset when they needed it most Crabtree’s team, ranked second in the Associated Press
in the state championship game. poll, completed a perfect 14-0 season while defeating four
Clinging to a one-point lead in the final 2 minutes, consecutive top-10 clubs at the end.
North Vermilion forced and Jacob Earl rushed for 108 yards
recovered a fumble by the on 21 attempts for the Falcons. Cody Wright
Pioneer Panthers and held on completed 12-of-24 passes for 162 yards
for a 27-26 victory. Dakoda and two touchdowns. Earl caught three
Chapman forced the fumble, passes for 72 yards and a pair of scores.
and Braeden Hollowell jumped Early in the second quarter, North
on it at midfield. The stout Vermilion’s Vaughn DePugh returned an
defensive play preserved the interception 95 yards for a touchdown. That
Falcons’ triumph over Pioneer set a record for a scoring interception for all
and the top offense in Class A. classes.
The Falcons surrendered Coach Mike Johnson’s Pioneer
451 total yards to Pioneer while team, ranked fifth by AP, finished 13-2. The
collecting just 270 themselves. high-scoring Panthers averaged 53.2 points
But North Vermilion produced in beating their first five opponents in the
a timely 10-play, 64-yard drive tournament. They surpassed 60 three times.
for the winning score with 2:49
remaining. Adam Scott made The Panthers amassed 415 rushing yards
the extra point that nudged the in the title-game loss, led by 157 from Justin
Falcons ahead. Mersch and 113 from Keith Nies.
North Vermilion won its first

Stout running attack boosts Rensselaer Central over Evansville Mater Dei in Class 2A

Rensselaer Central captured the first state champion- defeating the Evansville Mater Dei Wildcats, 45-21, in the
ship in any sport in its school history. The Bombers’ unstop- Class 2A state title game. The previous Class 2A champion-
pable running attack made sure of that accompishment. ship mark for team rushing was 380 yards, set by Jimtown
Rensselaer amassed a record 383 rushing yards in against Clarksville in 1997.
The Bombers rolled to 24 first downs, compared to
seven for the Wildcats. Rensselaer held a time-of-posses-
sion advantage of 32 ½ minutes to 15 ½.
The Bombers didn’t finish far off of their Class 2A-
leading average of 52.21 points per game. Rylan Arihood
ran for 149 yards and a touchdown on 29 attempts for
Rensselaer. Trevor Hill totaled 99 rushing yards and a pair
of touchdowns on 13 carries.
For Mater Dei, Drayke Richardt rushed for 104 yards on
11 attempts. Quarterback Kurtis Wilderman passed for 145
yards and a score. Julian Weidner caught five passes for
114 yards and a touchdown. Luke Neitzke returned a kickoff
for a 77-yard TD and also scored after recovering a fumble.
The game pitted undefeated teams against each other.
Coach Chris Meeks’ Bombers, ranked second by the As-
sociated Press, finished 15-0. Mater Dei, coached by Mike
Goebel and top-ranked by AP, completed its season 14-1.

38 43rd Annual IHSAA State Football Tournament is proudly presented by the INDIANAPOLIS COLTS.