Page 40 - 2016-17 Football State Finals Program

Last Year’s State Finals in Review

FW Snider wins State Title in Highest Scoring Championship Game
What looked like a blowout became the greatest ing performance from quarterback Alex Neligh, NP would
comeback in state finals history – until Fort Wayne Snider score 35 straight points from the end of the first half to early
decided it had one more score in it. in the fourth quarter, taking a 49-42 lead with 8:34 left in the
The fifth-ranked Panthers (13-1) built a 28-point lead on game.
No. 1 New Palestine, saw the Dragons storm back to take Snider would retake the lead at 56-49 and then block
the lead twice in the fourth quarter, and then responded New Palestine’s extra-point try on the Dragons’ ensuing
with a 68-yard touchdown drive in the final minute to pull touchdown to maintain a one-point advantage. But the
out a 64-61 win in the highest-scoring final in Indiana his- Dragons got a defensive stop and took possession at their
tory. own 11 with 1:23 left. Three plays later, Neligh hit Duke
With his team trailing 61-56, Snider quarterback Isaac Blackwell on a 56-yard score to give NP a 61-56 lead with
Stiebeling completed 4-5 passes for 65 yards to set up 63 seconds remaining. A two-point try by the Dragons
his 3-yard touchdown run with just eight seconds left. The failed, setting the stage for Stiebeling’s heroics.
two-point conversion gave the Panthers a 64-61 lead; Neligh finished the game throwing for an overall state-
New Palestine was then intercepted at midfield as time ran finals record 501 yards. He connected on four touchdown
out. passes, and also ran for 166 yards and four more scores.
Stiebeling had a monster game, throwing for 346 yards Blackwell set an overall finals record with 328 yards receiv-
and three touchdowns, running for 33 yards and three ing, catching 10 passes and scoring three times.
scores, and catching a 37-yard touchdown pass. His nearly The Dragons’ 757 total yards smashed the previous
flawless first-half performance helped the Panthers score record set by New Palestine in its 77-42 win against New
six touchdowns in just 7:33 of clock time to seize a 42-14 Prairie in last year’s 4A final. The teams also combined for
lead against the defending Class 4A state champs. an overall finals record of 1,302 total yards.
But the Dragons (13-1), who saw their 28-game win
streak snapped, wouldn’t go quietly. Behind a record-break-

Center Grove Completes Perfect Season for 6A State Title

Twice in the second half, Penn looked to have top-ranked Center Grove countered with another quick scoring
Center Grove on the ropes. Both times, as they’ve done all drive, moving 80 yards in just over two minutes. Lee Clinker
season, the Trojans answered. got free on runs of 37 and 11 yards to set up McCoy’s
Center Grove responded to two long scoring drives by 1-yard TD with 2:19 left in the third.
the No. 3 Kingsmen with touchdown drives of their own. Penn wasn’t done. Bohn – who threw for 139 yards and
The second was a 14-play, 77-yard beauty capped by Titus ran for 77 more – hit 4-5 passes for 55 yards to set up his
McCoy’s fourth-down, 1-yard plunge with 1:41 left that own 10-yard TD run with 8:38 left. But behind McCoy, the
clinched the Trojans’ 28-16 win and their second state title. Trojans were able to use up nearly seven minutes of clock
McCoy was the workhorse on the final drive, finishing before scoring the clinching TD.
with a Class 6A finals record 193 yards on 27 carries, scor-
ing three times. He made it look easy on Center Grove’s
first possession of the game, breaking off runs of 27 and
38 yards during the drive, the latter giving the Trojans a 7-0
lead just 2:09 into the game.
Two possessions later, the Trojans put together another
strong drive, moving 46 yards in nine plays. On second
down from the Penn 6-yard line, CG quarterback Joey Sid-
erewicz executed a perfect ball fake and found a wide-open
Triston Clark in the back of the end zone for the score.
Penn (12-2) followed with a 16-play, 76-yard drive took
8:43 off the clock and ended with a Sam Scholtes 21-yard
field. The Trojans countered by driving to the Kingsmen 37,
but CG kicker Nate Snyder was short and right on a 54-yard
field goal attempt as time expired in the half.
Penn opened the second half with another long drive,
using up 6:16 to move 77 yards. Quarterback Camden
Bohn was the catalyst, rushing three times for 41 yards
before finding a wide-open James Lapalucci in the end
zone from 15 yards out.

40 44th Annual IHSAA State Football Tournament is proudly presented by the INDIANAPOLIS COLTS.