MAX Game of the Week Recap: CMA beats No. 7 Knox in instant classic thriller
One week removed from the Knox-Culver Academy game and it’s still hard to believe the game we witnessed on MAX 98.3 FM WYMR.
Yes, it lived up to any and all pregame hype and A LOT MORE.
A total of 93 points were scored in 48 minutes of Indiana high school football.
If you loved offensive football, this was your dream.
As you would expect from an instant classic, this one came down to one of the game’s final plays.
Facing a fourth-and-one from the Knox 5-yard line, CMA senior quarterback Michael McColgan dropped back and threw a strike to junior Foster Stockton in the end zone. Stockton ran a perfect slant route and the throw was perfectly time where the Redskins defensive back had little chance to defend it.
The TD pass was the game-winner and came with just 18 second remaining.
The final score: CMA 47, No. 7 Knox 46 in one of the wildest games you could ever imagine.
“I’m just so proud of our guys,” Eagles long-time coach Andy Dorrel told The Pilot News.
“McColgan made some great decisions. Overall, he created the plays that we needed to win the ball game.”
The win improved CMA’s record to 3-0, while Knox fell to 1-2.
The two teams combined for 872 yards of total offense.
Knox had taken the lead with just over two minutes left in the fourth quarter when junior All-State quarterback Myles McLaughlin scored on an impressive 29-yard touchdown run. McLaughlin was stuffed on the two-point try that followed.
The visitors led 46-41 after the 12-play, 76-yard drive that took more than six minutes off of the game clock.
McLaughlin is one of the best players in the northern part of the state, and maybe even among the elite in the entire state of Indiana.
He takes a little bit of running daylight and turns run after run into chunk yardage plays. It’s really something to behold.
McLaughlin entered the game with a school-record 71 touchdowns and when he boarded the bus to return home, he had increased that mark to 75. Simply remarkable!
The second quarter was as crazy a quarter of football as you will ever witness.
In that 12 minutes of action, six touchdowns were scored and three two-point conversions were successful.
CMA held a narrow 34-32 lead at halftime.
As great as McLaughlin was, his backfield mate – senior Jake Conroy was nearly as good. Conroy ran for 199 yards on 32 carries, scoring on runs of 39 and 2 yards.
Dorrel was impressed with Knox’s one-two punch in the backfield.
“Not many teams run the ball the way they do,” the Culver Academy coach told The Pilot News. “They are a no-nonsense, downhill football club and I admire what they do.”
As for CMA, McColgan’s favorite targets were Stockton (seven catches for 104 yards) and slot receiver Ty Ranken (six receptions for 155 yards).
Ranken had a game-high eight solo tackles.
Knox really hurt itself with three lost fumbles, while CMA didn’t commit a turnover.
One of those turnovers started the scoring.
CMA senior linebacker Trey Schumacher scooped up a Knox fumble and returned it 24 yards for a touchdown on the game’s fifth play from scrimmage. The PAT was blocked so the Eagles led 6-0 with 9:29 to go in the first quarter.
Tonight Culver Academy plays at 1-2 Fairfield, while Knox returns home to host 3-0 Tippecanoe Valley tonight, a game that can be heard on our sister station 99.3 FM WKVI (kickoff is 7:30 p.m. ET).
MAX KNOX PLAYER OF THE GAME: McLaughlin 30 carries = 248 yds. & 4 TDs
MAX CMA PLAYER OF THE GAME: McColgan 18-28 passing, 356 yds. & 3 TDs (0 INTs)
Special thanks to Woodlawn Health in Rochester for being one of MAX 98.3 FM WYMR’S loyal sponsors. For more than 100 years, Woodlawn Health has provided quality, first-class healthcare to the residents of Fulton County and the surrounding areas. Please give their website a visit by going to https://woodlawnhospital.org/
Special thanks to Plumlee Dentistry in Plymouth for helping us bring you Indiana High School Athletics like no one else and for being the proud sponsor of the Plumlee Radio Booth, our on-location broadcast site at games. Please give their website a visit by going to https://plumleedentistry.com/
You can follow me on my personal Twitter page – @DougGriffMAX983 – as well as keep an eye on his posts on Twitter @Maxsports983 and on Facebook (facebook.com/wymrradio) and MAX’s website – MAX983.net.
