Satellites Get Their First Win Of The Year In Wild Game!
It was a beautiful night for football at Culver Community High School Friday night, as the Cavaliers played host to the South Central Satellites. The rivalry between these two programs as continued to grow both in intensity as well as excitement over the years, and never fails to keep fans on the edge of their seats, regardless of which side of the field they sit.
The Satellites would put the first mark on the scoreboard with 9:04 remaining in the first quarter. Junior Jacob Oehmen would take a toss from quarterback Brady Glisic, heading towards the Satellites’ sideline at full speed. With textbook blocking along the edge of the formation, which included a bone shaking pancake block by Junior fullback Matt Mulligan, Oehmen was able to hit the accelerator, exploding to the end zone on a 47-yard touchdown run. Following a Trent Hudspeth extra point, the Satellites took an early lead at 7-0.
On the ensuing drive for the Cavaliers, things were starting to shift in favor of the orange and black, as the quality running attack of Shane Shuman, Jalen King, and Blake Thompson kept the Satellites on their heels as quarterback Tucker Fisher would balance the handoffs. The Satellites would toughen up when they needed it, forcing the Cavalier drive to stall with no points added to the board. With 11:00 minutes remaining in the half, the Satellites would run a quick option play to the left of their formation, reading the unblocked defensive end. As quarterback Brady Glisic read the end crashing down towards him, the veteran quarterback quickly pitched the ball to Sophomore Hayden Trutko, who took the pitch and flew down the field 85 yards for another huge touchdown run for South Central. After another successful extra point, the Satellites found themselves leading 14-0 with 10:46 remaining in the half.
The Cavaliers would turn the heat up on offense, as the ensuing possession would see another steady helping of Shuman, King, and Thompson. With Culver continuing to hammer the ball straight at the Satellites’ defense, the physical attack would find pay dirt in the person of Shane Shuman, who pounded the ball in from five yards out. The Cavs would go back to Shuman to punch in the 2-point conversion to make the score 14-8, with just under six minutes remaining in the half. The Satellites were not willing to settle for a six point lead heading into the half. The boys from Union Mills would continue to mix up their play calling for a nice balance, not allowing Culver to pick up on too many tendencies, all the while, consistently moving the ball down the field. With 2:27 remaining in the half, quarterback Brady Glisic would fake a jet sweep handoff going to the left of the formation, he would then tuck the ball up, cut to his right, and plunge into the end zone from four yards out. Following the successful extra point, the Satellites held a 21-8 lead, which would be the score at the end of the first half.
The second half would see the Cavaliers begin to come alive, after South Central appeared to have them a little bit shell-shocked in the first half. As is usually the case with Mike Zehner coached teams, the Cavaliers did not panic, nor did they waiver from their original game plan. The Cavs would continue to hammer the ball down the field on their first possession of the second half. Jalen King would be the hero on this drive for the Cavaliers, as once again the field vision and athleticism for the 5’11 200lb Junior would help him find the end zone. As he took the handoff from Fisher, King would tuck the ball up and turn on the jets, outrunning everyone on the field to find the end zone! The two point conversion would be successful to pull the Cavaliers to within five points, at 21-16. The celebration would not last long for the Cavaliers, however. On the ensuing kickoff, Junior Brandin Young would field the kick at the 11-yard line, without getting too fancy, he hit the accelerator and took the ball right down the middle of the field, 89 yards for an incredible touchdown! The successful extra point increased the South Central lead to 28-16 with a quarter and a half left to play.
Once again, the Cavaliers refused to panic. Trailing by twelve points with, roughly, a quarter and half left to go, the Cavs stuck with their game plan, continuing to hammer the ball at the Satellites. The Cavaliers would consistently pick up first downs on nice chunks of yardage from their three-headed monster of King, Thompson, and Shuman at the running back positions. With 44 seconds left in the third quarter, the Cavs would once again turn to Jalen King, who would take the ball off the right of the formation, making one swift cut back to the left, to find the end zone for the second time in the ball game! Following the successful 2-point possession by Blake Thompson, the scoreboard read 28-24 in favor of South Central. The battle between the two teams would continue through the fourth quarter, with Culver having chances to take the lead and South Central having chances to ice the game.
In the end, Coach Buzz Schoff’s Satellites were able to hang on for their first win of the season, in a game that felt every bit like a postseason bout (which we could see again in a couple months). From a spectator’s standpoint, it was everything that was expected from the matchup, with exciting plays coming from both sidelines, and two teams going all-out for four quarters!
The Starke County Co-Op Play of the Game on WKVI came late in the ballgame, as the South Central Satellites were able to stuff the Cavaliers on a goal line play late in the game, that would have given Culver the lead with time running out.
The Ashley Derrickson/Five Star Play of the Game went to Culver’s Shane Shuman who was one of two 100-yard rushers for the Cavaliers, as he ran the ball 32 times for 171 yards and a touchdown. Teammate Jalen King was able to rush for 148 yards on 20 carries as well.
The Satellites could make it two in a row next week, as they will be back at home taking on a Boone Grove team which is currently 0-2 on the season. The Cavaliers, however, will have yet another tough test, as they will be getting on the bus to head to Community Field, where they will be taking on the Knox Redskins, who will be looking for their first win of the season, a game that will be aired on K99.3, WKVI!
*Photos Sponsored By Momma’s Pizzeria In Downtown Knox*
