Knox Gets A Big HNAC Win At Culver!

The Knox Redskins came into Culver on a mission. When going to Culver Community High School, you are guaranteed to be facing stiff, well coached competition. The Redskins mission was to not underestimate their Hoosier North Athletic Conference opponent, and come away with the win, which is exactly what John Hendryx’s Redskins did.

The Redskins were able to get on the board first in the ballgame, as Martin Napierkowski was able to bulldoze across the goal line from 1-yard out, giving Knox an early 6-0 lead. The Cavaliers responded well, as they were able to put a methodical 12 play 68-yard drive together, which was topped off by Zac Ditmire’s 1-yard touchdown run to tie the game 6-6. As the Cavaliers often do, they went for the 2-point conversion after the touchdown, giving the ball to star fullback Carter Stevens who was able to punch it in and give the Cavaliers their only lead of the night at 8-6.

On the ensuing Redskin drive, sophomore wideout Kole McIntire once again showed off his explosiveness, as he hauled in a pinpoint pass from quarterback Zac Rose and was able to breakaway from the defense, trucking 41 yards for the Redskins’ second touchdown of the game.

It was the second quarter that put space between the two teams. The Redskins once again turned to Napierkowski who was able to score his first of two second quarter touchdowns, just twenty-six seconds into the quarter. With 9:51 left to go in the half, Napierkowski hauled in a pass from Rose, and exploded for 55 yards, as well as his second touchdown of the quarter. After Knox converted the 2-point conversion with a completed pass from Rose to junior Cade Short, Knox took a 26-8 lead with just under 10 minutes left in the half. Short was Mr. Reliable once again for Knox as he was able to pick off a pass, which he returned for 21 yards, as well as adding 5 tackles, defensively, while on the offensive side, he was able to pull in 3 catches for 55 yards, while rushing the ball 4 times for 37 yards. The scoring was not done for the Redskins’ second quarter explosion. With less than a minute to go in the half, it was quarterback Zac Rose who was able to scamper for 19 yards on his way to the third touchdown of the quarter for Knox. The 2-point conversion was good once again as Rose found McIntire in the end zone to give the Redskins a 34-8 lead heading into the locker room.

The third quarter saw both teams very focused on taking care of the ball, as the rain began to come down in a much more consistent fashion. Despite the extra focus, the rain did cause the ball to hit the ground more times than either coaching staff would liked to have seen. Knox’s Payton Baugh provided the biggest highlight for the Redskins in the second half, as he was able to go 39 yards for his lone touchdown of the ballgame, with a little less than three minutes gone by in the third quarter. Napierkowski was able to put in the 2-point conversion to give the Redskins a 42-8 lead over the Cavaliers. Less than six minutes later, it was Jalen King who provided the biggest highlight of the game for the Cavs, as he took the ball off the right edge, and left everyone in the dust as he showcased his speed going 78 yards for the touchdown.

Both teams had a lot of great individual performances in the ball game. In the end, it was the Redskins’ ability to take advantage of the Cavaliers’ mistakes that led to the 42-14 win. Knox quarterback Zac Rose was named the Ashley Derrickson/Five Star Player of the Game on WKVI, after he went 7-14 passing for 181 yards with two touchdowns and was also able to gain 39 yards on just three rushing attempts, which included his 19-yard touchdown run in the third quarter.

*Statistical information in this article provided by Knox statistician Tim Knowlton