Kyle Hill (@Coach_Kyle_Hill)

Scout & Writer

Newburgh, Indiana:  Week 8 of the 2020 Indiana High School Football season brings us one week closer to the beginning of the State Tournament.  The Sectional Draw has taken place, and we are two weeks away from the beginning of Sectional play.  Still to be decided, though, are conference championships.

Tonight’s game brought me to Castle High School, and John Lidy Field, in a  late-season game of major importance in the SIAC, as the Evansville Central Bears took on the Castle Knights.

As anticipated, defense ruled the day in this one.  All scoring in the game took place in the First Half, as Central scored touchdowns on its first two possessions of the game, as Tory Evans finished the Bears’ first drive (16 plays, 75 yards) with a 2-yard TD run on 4th-&-Goal.  Central’s second offensive possession (10 plays, 69 yards) ended with a Javonte Madison 9-yard TD run.

Castle struggled to generate much in the way of offense in this one.  On the Bears’ third offensive possession, Castle Safety Mason Ailstock intercepted Central’s pass, giving the Knights very good field position.  Castle ended up converting with a Field Goal, as PK – Jackson Mitchell booted a 28-yard FG through to put the Knights on the board.

Neither team was able to score in the Second Half (a half defined primarily by each team’s ground game), which led to time-consuming possessions.  Castle’s late 3rd-early 4th Quarter drive was cut short by a crucial penalty on 4th-&-1, leading Castle to try a 26-yard FG to try and make it a one-possession game.  The kick was no good, and Central was able to drain most of the remainder of the clock with its ground game, and this one ended in a 14-3 victory for Central.  

Central’s backfield (and rushing attack) of QB Blake Herdes, TB Tory Evans, FB Javonte Madison, and FB Jacob Boberg is right up there with any in all of Class 4A.  A lot of credit is due, however, to the offensive line of the Bears, keyed by the efforts of Luke Wahnseidler, Riley Broshears, Bryson Leach, Jaxx Wargel, and Garrett Maas, amongst others.

For the Knights, it was an outstanding defensive effort, as Central was held scoreless for the final 32+-minutes of play.  While it was an outstanding team defensive effort from the Knights, the performance of Davionte Hughes was one that stood out, as Hughes was in on many tackles on the night, and made a big impact for the Castle defense.  

With the win, Evansville Central has clinched an outright SIAC championship, and will look to try and cap an unbeaten regular season when it hosts Evansville North next week.  Castle will look to bounce back next week as they travel to Enlow Field to take on a rapidly-improving Evansville Memorial team.