By Josh Lewis, Writer
It was a wet, but not a wild game between Corydon and Salem on Saturday. The game was moved thanks to the stormy weather coming into the area, and both teams squared off in the rain on Saturday afternoon. Both offenses struggled, but Salem struggled just a little more than the Panthers as they fell 10-6.
Head Coach Brian Glesing said he was proud of the effort from his squad despite the loss.
“I liked our fight. We executed the game plan defensively. I was happy with our defense. This is a team averaging a lot of points and we held them to 10. That was pretty good. I liked how we fought. We wanted to control the ball and we did in the second half. We got the ball back and gave ourselves a chance. We just aren’t a team that can line up and throw it like you see in a two minute drill,” said Glesing. “We just aren’t that team.”
After both teams traded punts in the first quarter Corydon finally got some offense going on the ground, converting a fourth and short to keep the drive going. They broke the stalemate early in the second stanza with a 30 yard field goal.
The Lions next drive looked promising after getting a first down with a penalty, but a fumble on their own 40 yard line allowed the Panthers to drive the field with some gashing runs and put in a 1 yard touchdown run to make a 10-0 game with 4:15 left in the half.
In the third quarter the Lions started to get some momentum with a long run from Noah Deaton to get out to the Corydon 46 yard line. But the drive stalled after a holding penalty.
Both teams traded punts again and the Lions again started to move the ball with a mixed ground and air attack. Caris Moore got a big run followed by a catch from Seth Ponsford. The Lions looked like they were about to punch in a score, but a fumble on the snap gave the ball back to Corydon at the two yard line.
After forcing another punt the Lions drive again stalled when they turned the ball over on downs at the Corydon 30 yard line. This time though the defense forced a fumble on the next play. To get the ball back. Two plays later Adam Mull found Deaton down the seam for a 27 yard score. The two point conversion was stuffed and Salem trailed 10-6 with 2:39 left in the game.
The onside kick was recovered by the Panthers but after forcing a quick three and out Salem was able to give themselves a chance, taking over at their own 26 with 1:28 to play. But the Lions offense couldn’t get going and an interception at the 42 yard line ended the game, extending their losing streak to five.
Salem has been short handed and fighting the injury bug the last couple weeks. Glesing remarked that getting those guys back will help them get on the right side of their losing streak.
“We have to get 14 guys healthy. It's tough when you have 50 on the team and 30% of them are out. We have to continue plugging away. When a guy gets hurt you have to switch positions and it can get discombobulated sometimes. We have to get guys healthy and fight," said Glesing.
With so many guys out Glesing said they moved some guys around and he was proud of them for making that sacrifice.
“C.J. Ward went to guard this week from fullback. He made a move for the team. It’s tough to go from being a ball carrier to the offensive line," acknowledged Glesing. "Braxton Dean had to play some running back. That’s tough to do but it’s team stuff with guys caring more about the team.”
Up next for the Lions is a trip to Eastern for a county showdown.
Caris Moore breaks a tackle on a long run.
Noah Deaton gets around the end for a big run.