PREP FOOTBALL: Kings rule Titans

By PEDRO VELAZCO
For the Pharos-Tribune

October 04, 2008 01:46 am

— WALTON — Cass’ victory over Taylor wasn’t a shocker Friday night. The powerhouse Kings rolled into the game unbeaten in the Mid-Indiana Conference and ranked No. 5 in Class 2A.
It was how the Kings won that was the surprise. The Kings jumped on the Titans for three touchdowns in the first quarter and turned the game into a rout, coasting to a 49-0 victory as the second half was played with a running clock.
The Kings improved to 6-1 overall and 5-0 in MIC play with the win. The Titans fell to 4-3 and 2-3.
Cass coach Scott Mannering called it “a very, very strange game. I sure did not expect this at all.” For a few minutes, it was a good matchup as Cass stopped Taylor with an interception, and Taylor turned around and stymied the Kings, forcing Cass to punt after gaining just four yards.
“We expected the best out of Taylor and that first series, I thought that’s pretty much how the whole game was going to be played,” Mannering said.
The game turned quickly. On the Titans’ second possession, they were pushed to their own one-yard line and forced to punt. The Titans didn’t have enough players on the field for the punt and Cass punt returner Derrick Worden pounced, zipping home for a 36-yard touchdown and an early 7-0 lead.
On their next possession, the Kings needed just three plays to score as Colton Zeck scampered 53 yards. The next time they had the ball, the Kings scored in five plays as Zeck ran in from four yards for a 21-0 lead with seven seconds left in the first quarter.
“Offensively, it seemed like everything was a big play,” said Mannering, whose Kings rushed 30 times for 254 yards. “We didn’t really drive the ball or work the field much, it was just somebody would break a tackle and all of the sudden they’d score. We got ahead early, and we got a big lead early, and I think that took a lot of the fight out of Taylor.”
Cass went on to lead 42-0 at halftime.
Mannering praised his squad’s defense. It was the third straight week the Kings faced a spread offense. For Taylor, nothing went right. The Titans gained just five first downs and turned the ball over three times.
“Mistakes, mistakes, mistakes, mistakes,” Taylor coach Josh Ousley said. “[We turned] the ball over one time in the last five weeks and I don’t know how many we had [Friday]. You can’t make as many mistakes as we made and compete with anybody.
“I think that the thing was Cass came to play and some of us didn’t. That’s the difference in the game.”
Zeck scored twice more. He intercepted a pass from Titan quarterback Jake Leicht in the second quarter and weaved his way 25 yards for another TD, then scored on a 37-yard run in the third. He finished with nine totes for 117 yards.
Cass got a 40-yard TD run from Kyle Moore and a one-yard plunge from quarterback Damon Foreman to open up a 42-0 lead at halftime. Cody Larimore added 52 yards rushing on three carries.

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