Knox Brings Home First Football Sectional Title!

Knox Redskins: 2019 Class 3A Sectional 25 Champions!

It was not easy. It was not comfortable. It was not warm or snuggly. It was cold, tough, ugly, and uncomfortable. John Hendryx and the Knox Redskins though did what no other football team in school history has ever done before. They hoisted up a football Sectional Championship Trophy. On a night with frigid temperatures, but on a field that looked and felt like it was out of a fairytale dream, the Knox Redskins topped the Calumet Warriors 19-12 in overtime to bring home the first Football Sectional Championship in Knox history.

It would be the Warriors of Calumet who began the scoring for the night, as quarterback Mark Flores was able to get the ball across the goal line on a one yard quarterback sneak. After a failed 2-point conversion attempt, the Warriors held a 6-0 lead. It would not take the Redskins long to respond. On their ensuing drive, which took the game into the second quarter, the Redskins were able to move the ball downfield, with a good deal of success both on the ground as well as in the air. The biggest pass play would come on a 4th down. The Redskins were lined up to punt after a third down conversion attempt came up empty. The hero on this play would be punter Paden Shidler who, rather than punting the ball, put his arm to use, completing a 26-yard pass to Braxton Geller who hauled in the fake punt for a Redskin first down. The Redskin offense would continue to march the ball down the field. After getting the ball to the 2-yard line, the Redskins would turn to Payton Baugh for the exclamation mark on a fantastic drive, as he pounded the ball in to give the Redskins the tying score with 8:44 left in the half. The Redskins, however, would not be done scoring in the half.

With Calumet trying frantically to move the ball downfield to get another score on the board before the half, it would be Gunner Wagner who stepped in with defensive heroics, as he elevated much higher than anyone in the WKVI broadcast crew thought he could, to pick off a Warrior pass, giving the Redskins the ball back with 54 seconds remaining. The Redskins continued to spread the ball around, relying on a mixture of Baugh and Cade Short to help move the ball down the field. It only took three plays to get the Redskins in scoring position. That’s when Zac Rose would take matters into his own hands and push the ball across the goal line on a 2-yard quarterback sneak, behind and incredible surge by the offensive line. After a failed 2-point conversion, the Redskins held a 12-6 lead at the half.

The second half would be filled with a plethora of back-and-forth between the two Sectional 25 opponents, with the bulk of the plays staying on the ground as the temperatures continued to plummet. The Warriors of Calumet would finally get some momentum as the third quarter ended and the fourth began. The Warriors were able to put together an 11 play, 75 yard drive that took 5:24 off the clock, and ended with a 16-yard touchdown run by Junior running back Cheffronio Cooper to tie the game at 12-12 with 9:05 remaining in the fourth quarter.

As both teams continued to battle in the less than tropical conditions, the time continued to tick with both teams showing signs of life offensively, but unable to get anymore points on the board before the final quarter in regulation expired. In the overtime period, the Redskins would once again turn to their veteran quarterback Zac Rose, who would punch in his second touchdown of the game, this time on a 10-yard run to give the Redskins the lead once again. After a successful extra point attempt by Ja’Kobe Dickson, the scoreboard showed the Redskins in the lead 19-12, and Calumet with their last chance to extend the overtime.

The Redskin defense would prove to be up to the challenge yet again, as they were able to keep the Warriors out of the end zone on their last offensive possession to give the Redskins an historical 19-12 win, and Knox High School’s first ever Football Sectional Championship!

In the postgame, it would be easy to decide on both the Starke County Co-Op Play of the Game on WKVI, as well as the Ashley Derrickson/Five Star Player of the Game. Without question the biggest play for the Knox Redskins came in the second quarter on the fake punt, pass completion, from punter Paden Shidler to tight end Braxton Geller for a 26-yard gain that kept the Redskins on the move and ultimately led to the game tying touchdown.

The Player of the Game went to the Senior players for the Knox Redskins, as it was their final chance at a Sectional Championship, and they were able to deliver to the City of Knox something it had never experienced before. So the Ashley Derrickson/Five Star Players of the Game for the historic victory were Koy Wagner, Arryana Posey, Ja’Kobe Dickson, Marty Napierkowski, James Trujillo, Paden Shidler, Dalton Kohn, Logan Shaw, Ethan Tyler, and Billy Durkiewicz.

The Redskins had a balanced attack from start to finish, as they ended the game with 32 rushing attempts for 137 yards while completing 7 passes for 136 yards. The seven pass completions would be spread out among four individuals, as Sophomore Kole McIntire led the ‘Skins with 2 receptions for 44 yards, Gabe Lovins added 1 reception for 43 yards, while Braxton Geller had 1 catch for 26 yards, and Cade Short ended with 2 grabs for 7 yards. On the ground it would be Payton Baugh who led the team with 17 carries for 56 yards. Short would add 44 yards on 7 carries, while Napierkowski ended with 2 carries for 25 yards, Zac Rose ran it 5 times for 10 yards, and Gunner Wagner had 1 carry for 2 yards.

Knox advances to Regional play, where they will host Mishawaka Marian, who defeated Jimtown 14-13 in the Championship of Sectional 26. The Knights put an end to the Redskins’ season a year ago in the Semifinal round of Sectional play. Both the Redskins and the Knights will come into the Regional with identical 11-1 records!