Published: October 09, 2008 11:25 pm         

Logan ready for NCC front-runner Kokomo

No. 5 Cass hits road; Winamac visits Caston

Things turned around for the Logansport football team in a hurry.

Last week the Berries snapped a three-game losing streak by throttling Muncie Central on the road, 42-6. Starting quarterback Derek Rowe returned to the lineup from an injury and on his first play back, ran for a 79-yard touchdown. He finished with 193 yards rushing and three touchdowns.

Then earlier this week Logan (4-3, 2-3 NCC) had a seemingly favorable sectional draw, as highly-rated Lowell, Concord and Plymouth are in the opposite side of the bracket.

“Life’s looking up,” Berries coach Bucky Kramer said. “The kids played a great game [last] Friday. They’ve been practicing hard the last three weeks and plotting their course. They continued to believe in themselves.”

Tonight the Berries host first-place Kokomo (6-1, 5-0 NCC) for senior night. Though the Berries are no longer in position to win the conference title, they could play a spoiler role with what would be a huge upset victory. The Wildkats have been dominant most of the season and are ranked 10th in Class 5A.

“They’ve got an opportunity right now to win the conference outright the next two weeks, and we’d like to spoil that for them,” Kramer said. “They’re a great team; they’re well-coached; we have a lot of respect for what they do. They will pose a challenge for us both offensively and defensively.”

The Wildkats are ranked first in the NCC in both offensive scoring per game (37.5) and defensive scoring per game (16.9).

“They run the ball with no apologies about it,” Kramer said. “They run a wing-T in a phonebooth and just line up about a foot apart and run the ball. Defensively, they’re very fast and they get a lot of pressure. They’ve good, skilled athletes, they’ve got a good line play and they have a good kicker. They’re a good club.”

Last week Kokomo beat Richmond 39-14. The Kats led 14-7 at the half, but took control of the game after intermission. Richmond needed just three plays from scrimmage to score on a 68-yard pass play from Stevie Jarrett to J.J. Lemons, but the Kats scored 32 unanswered points to secure the victory. Two Wildkat runners topped the century mark with Casey Shipley totaling 135 yards and Braxton Shelton having 129, and Kokomo had five rushing touchdowns.

No. 5 Cass (6-1, 5-0 MIC) at Maconaquah (0-7, 0-5 MIC)

This is seemingly just a tune-up for Class 2A No. 5 Cass before its showdown with Class 3A No. 3 Western next week. After all, Cass is cruising along while Maconaquah is mired in a school-record 13-game losing streak.

Further, Cass has won the last nine meetings between the teams including 61-0 last season. That game marked the largest winning spread by either team since the series began in 1965.

Still, veteran Cass coach Scott Mannering is not about to overlook any team.

“Offensively, [the Braves] are averaging between 270 and 300 yards per game. They’ve moved the ball on everybody, but they’ve had a problem with turnovers and costly mistakes,” Mannering said. “From a talent standpoint, I think they’re better than some of the teams we’ve played this season. Offensively, I think their backfield is good and they’re huge [up front].”

Cass has shut out Maconaquah in four of the last six meetings.

Winamac (3-4, 3-2 MWC) at Caston (1-5, 1-4 MWC)

The Warriors had a three-game winning streak snapped with a 28-6 loss to North Judson last week. The Comets lost their second straight with a 21-19 loss against South Newton last week.

Winamac hopes to win out the rest of the season to be in a position to possibly finish in second place in the Midwest Conference.

Caston, meanwhile, hopes to get a big win on senior night and get momentum going into the sectional. Comets coach Chris Ulerick thinks his squad started momentum last week with the narrow loss to South Newton.

“That was certainly a bright spot last week,” Ulerick said. “We were able to sustain drives and our line played their best game of the year. We got close to 400 yards rushing. That was a big step for us and our offensive line to know that they can do that.”

Winamac is looking to cut down on turnovers after having four costly in the loss to North Judson.

“We’ve got to play with the same intensity we played against North Judson and not turn the ball over like we did against the Jays,” Winamac coach Tim Roth said. “We had two interceptions and two fumbles that led to 14 points, and we can’t afford to do that. This week we’ve worked on securing the ball and making the right reads in the passing game. Hopefully that shows [tonight].”

Roth added Caston is a team that is “a lot better than their record indicates.”

Tri-County (2-5, 2-3 MWC) at Pioneer (5-2, 5-0 MWC)

Will the Panthers be looking for revenge after the stunning 23-21 loss to the Cavaliers in a sectional semifinal game a year ago?

“I wouldn’t say revenge,” Pioneer coach Mike Johnson said. “I know we watched the tape of that game and relived that moment, and you certainly want to play well against a team that knocked you out of the tournament.

“There should be all kinds of motivation to play in this ballgame. We’ve got a chance to stay unbeaten in the conference and a chance to keep the traveling trophy [the Bull].”

The game is also senior night for Pioneer.

“It’s important for our five seniors to play well, and it’s important for our underclassmen to play well for those seniors and have a good senior night,” Johnson said.

The Panthers have won two in a row, including a 21-18 win at North White last week. Tri-County has lost three in a row.