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Wabash County Sports

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Outside The County-Maconaquah

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Results from Maconaquah for Friday, September 16th and Saturday, September 17th

The Peru Tigers celebrated their homecoming by crowning its queen here Friday night, but after 48 minutes of wild, topsy-turvy football Maconaquah was king of the gridiron after grabbing a 30-13 win.

The all-important Three Rivers Conference victory keeps the Braves in the league title chase with an unblemished 4-0 TRC record.   It is only the second time since 1991 that MHS has got off to a 4-0 start in conference play.   The win leaves only Tipp Valley and Coach Tyler Campbell's gang as the lone unbeatens as Valley knocked off previously undefeated Rochester 26-13 Friday evening.  The Braves, now 4-1 overall, are riding a three-game win streak and will host county foe North Miami Friday in another TRC matchup.  Peru fell to 2-3 on the year and evened its TRC slate at 2-2.  Peru leads the all-time series, 29-22.  


 This one had it all.   Homecoming festivities... TRC title implications... a standing-room only crowd... 22 penalties... a pair of MHS touchdowns called back... and more.


 Campbell was quick to praise the large Maconaquah contingent that filled the visiting stands.  "Our student section brought it!"  he said. "And so did the rest of our fans.   They were loud in key moments," he continued.  "Our goal was to be the most physical and most fundamentally sound team."  Mission accomplished.


 Once again a solid, balanced team effort paved the way to victory.  Mac's defense once again got the the Braves off and running by limiting Peru to 10 first-quarter yards and holding the hosts scoreless.  Through its first five games Maconaquah has outscored its opponents by the tune of 53-7.

The stingy defense stuffed Peru on a fake punt to start the second period and MHS had the ball at the Tiger 37. It took the Braves only five plays to capitalize and take a 6-0 lead as AJ Kelly blew past his defender and took a 20-yard pass to the house with 9:30 showing.

Peru would take its only lead of the night at the 7:20 mark when Alex Ross barely crossed the goal line from four yards out. Isaac Beam’s PAT kick gave the Tigers a short-lived 7-6 lead.

Beam’s next kick was one he would like to have back. Kelly corralled the ball at his own five, turned on his jets and shocked the Tiger faithful with a 95-yard dash to the endzone. It was the second-longest kickoff return for a TD in MHS history. Kyle Lewis set the record (96) vs Western in 2012.

 Peru's next possession also ended in disaster as sophomore Brady Daush blocked a punt with Ayden Jernagan recovering for the Braves.   MHS quarterback Braxton Birner and company started at the Tiger 43 and bumped the score up to 18-7 when he teamed up with Fuddy Kile with a 27-yard TD strike with 1:10 left in the half. 

The Tigers had one final chance late in the half, reaching the Brave 36 before Kelly halted the threat with the first of two Mac interceptions on the night. Kile ended Peru’s final drive of the game with a pick and 33-yard return late in the fourth stanza.

Peru put together a nice 12-play, 81-yard scoring drive midway through the third quarter to trim the lead to 18-13 when Ross bolted in from four yards out. Wyatt Wood and Ethan Farnell snuffed out the two-point conversion attempt.

 Up 18-13 with 3:46 showing, Birner and company went back to work and lit up the scoreboard again.  Kaleb Shelton got things rolling with a nice 29-yard reception and Kile's catch on the next play moved it to the 13.  After a seven-yard carry by Ty Galvan, Birner found a wide-open Kile in the right corner of the endzone for another six and shoved the lead to 24-13.  Galvan led MHS rushers with 52 hard-earned yards on 13 carries.


 The Braves last score was set up by the dirty work of Dausch and Austin Ringeisen early in the final period.  Facing a third-and 22, the Tigers lost possession at their own 16 when Dausch forced a fumble with Ringeisen pouncing on the loose pigskin.  


   After a gain of six by Galvan and an incomplete pass, Birner teamed up with Shelton for a 10-yard TD toss.  Mac's failure to convert on its fifth straight conversion attempt provided the final score of 30-13 at the 7:31 mark and sent Tiger fans scrambling for the exits.  Birner's final stat line would show 26-31 accuracy, good for 242 yards and three touchdowns.  Kile added another 45 yards passing when he teamed up with Kelly on a long bomb to end the first half that ended up at the Peru 15.  On the night, Kile hauled in 12 passes (two for TD's) for 139 yards.  Kelly added 97 yards on eight catches.


Unofficially, MHS tackle leaders were:  Dausch (12), Carsten Hollars (9), Ringeisen (9) and Kelly (8).  With five apiece were:  Gavin Nethercutt, Jackson Collins, Shelton, Wood and Farnell.

Birner’s 26 completions now gives him 302 in his career, erasing the previous mark of 296 set by Jon Morrell.

***

The Maconaquah Lady Braves ran in the large-school division of the New Prairie Invitational, where they raced against some of the most talented schools in the state. In a field of 33 schools and 28 complete teams, the Lady Braves brought home a top-ten finish, placing 9th overall as a team!

Junior Abby Jordan continues to run well in big races. Abby crossed the finish line with a time of 19:36 on a challenging and warm course, where she placed 7th overall out of 246 runners!

Zoie Laber (46th, 20:56) ran well on the most challenging course she has ever run.

Chloe Jordan (51st, 21:02) finished strong and continues to show her determination.

Sophomore Samantha Jones looked strong today, finishing in 78th place (21:45).

Lucy Loshnowsky completed the scoring by placing 85th overall and running in 21:58.

Aburey McClain (158th, 23:34), Lauren Driscoll (172nd, 23:52), and Kaytlin Moeller (191st, 24:35) put forth yet another gritty effort.

***

The Maconaquah boys made the trip to New Prairie High School and competed in their largest race of the year. They did not disappoint! In a field of 32 schools and 27 complete teams, the Braves came home with the 4th place trophy! This was their best effort of the year by far.

Isaiah Wittenberg once again led the way for the Maconaquah boys, finishing in 4th place overall in a race that involved over 200 runners. His time of 16:54 was impressive on a challenging course.

Isaiah was not the only Brave who ran well…they all ran one of their best races of the season! Daylen Schrock ran a season-best time of 17:32 thus finishing in the top 20 (16th place). Kaden Miller also earned top-40 recognition by finishing in 18:08 and placing 32nd. Freshman Kaden Hanson seems to improve with every race he runs, just missing the top forty with a 41st place time of 18:41. Isaiah Moore (66th, 19:14) with yet another consistentv run.

Jacob Sayger ran a lifetime personal best time of 23:29 and placed 182nd overall. Senior Quinn Richard was not far behind, placing 188th running the course in 24:20.

The biggest improvement of the day went to first-year runner and sophomore Luke Abbott, who crossed the line in 28:10, shaving over 90 seconds off his best time!

**

For the first time in school history, the Lady Braves golf team won a sectional title. Playing Chippendale Golf Course in Kokomo, the Lady Braves shot 348, defeating defending champion and host Western (370) by 22. Western and Northwestern (384) advance to regionals next Saturday. The Lady Braves were extremely consistent shooting 172 on the front and 176 on the back. They held a 13 stroke lead at the turn and increased that margin by 9 on the back side. The Lady Braves played so well and so balanced that any combination of four scores would have been good enough to win the title. This also marks the first time in 22 years, a team outside of Howard County has won the title.

Sophomore Daisy Williams led the Braves in scoring with a seven over 80 on the par 73 layout. Daisy’s putting game was not as sharp as it had been in recent weeks after she missed a short putt on the first hole after a superb bunker shot and a par putt on the second hole. Most golfers would have panicked after two bogeys to start, but Daisy never got nervous and got back into her game of hitting fairways and greens. Daisy played the last 16 holes at only five over par. Daisy’s score was good enough to earn second place overall. Junior Miranda Stoll finished tied for third overall with an 81. Miranda played smart golf, hitting a hybrid and irons off most tees to keep the ball in play on the tight Chippendale fairways. This kept her ball in play and allowed her to use her excellent short game to keep her score low. Chippendale did not set up well for senior Courtney Stoll’s game as she is a power player and the course is not a power players course. She also played it safe off the tee frequently, but struggled with her iron play. Despite this, she finished with a very respectable 90 which was good enough for fifth overall. Playing in her first sectionals, Finley Dobbs stole the show with her performance. Finley hit her driver extremely well all day and took advantage of it by shooting a career best 97. Finley’s game has really come together the last few weeks and her scores will plummet as she gets more playing experience. Also playing in her first sectionals was Senior Lehna Wagner. It was evident Lehna did not have her A game as her swing was producing extreme hooks on the practice range. Knowing that the severe hook would get her trouble on the course, she decided to hit only punch shots off the tee and from the fairway. This game plan worked as she also shot a career best 98. Finley and Lehna’s scores put Maconaquah up 22 strokes early and that ended up being the final margin of victory over host Western.

The Lady Braves are back in action on Saturday as they tee off in the Lafayette Jefferson Regional at Battleground Golf Course.

As always, the Lady Brave appreciate the support of all the fans, family, and friends that come out and support the team each time. Special thank you to the Brave Junior Varsity (Sydney Barnes, Haley Washburn, Kathryn Rodkey, Maya Wagner and Jade Christopher) who supported their teammates on every hole.

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