By Cale Stephens
thepaper24.7.com
NEW MARKET – Indianapolis Chatard senior running back Ari Pappas rushed his way past his second Montgomery County team in two weeks Oct. 30.
Pappas gained 269 yards on the ground and scored four touchdowns as the Class 3A No. 1 Trojans downed Southmont, 35-0, in a Sectional 21 semifinal game played in the sloppiest of field conditions.
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The Trojans (10-1) advance to the sectional championship game at No. 8 Brebeuf. The Braves (10-1) defeated North Montgomery, 21-7, in Friday’s other sectional semifinal.
What little offense Southmont (8-3) had was in the first quarter. Senior quarterback Logan Petry led the Mounties to four first downs in the opening quarter, when Chatard was shut out.
After that, the flood gates were opened.
In the raging downpour of the second quarter, the Trojans posted three touchdowns and 180 yards of offense. Pappas, who gained 182 yards in Chatard’s first-round sectional win against Crawfordsville last week, accounted for all of the yardage and all three scores.
“[Chatard] obviously made some adjustments to what we were doing,” said Southmont coach Desson Hannum. “We were trying to spread them out and get a better look at their defense.
“They out-executed us. A lot of our guys play both ways. [Chatard] was able to sub guys in and out on defense. It wore us down.”
The Mounties gained 94 of their 125 total yards in the first half. Nine fumbles (only one lost) hampered their offense in the slick conditions of the second half.
“We had trouble with the snap later on,” Hannum said. “The ball was tough to handle. We had a tough time later on adapting to the muddy conditions.”
Southmont ended its season with its most wins since recording eight in 1982. The Mounties also picked up their first football Sagamore Conference championship, finishing 6-1 in conference play and winning the title outright.
“When we look back at the season, I think we’ll be happy with what we accomplished,” Hannum said. “I don’t think anyone expected us to have an 8-3 record or win the conference. Those are things to be proud of.”
In three years as the head coach, Hannum has more sectional wins (three) than in the previous seven years (two).
“I hope [the culture at Southmont] has changed,” Hannum said. “I don’t know for sure. We’ll find out after this year. It depends on if we can get guys to come out for the football team.
“The guys on this team, in the three years I’ve been here, have put in a lot of work. That’s what it’s going to take. We need to get the guys out and have the work and the effort.”
Eleven Mounties played their final football game, including Petry, running backs Jordan Burkett and Tanner Hill, and lineman Colton Livingston.
“These seniors have been with us all the way,” Hannum said. “They’ve stuck with it in hard times and good times. They’ve kept their nose to the grindstone and shown the community that we can be successful as a football program.”
Sectional 21
#1 Indianapolis Chatard 38, Crawfordsville 21
Southmont 23, West Vigo 0
North Montgomery 31, Western Boone 28
#8 Brebeuf 49, Danville 7
#1 Indianapolis Chatard 35, Southmont 0
#8 Brebeuf 21, North Montgomery 7
The box score:
Indianapolis Chatard 0 21 7 7 – 35
Southmont 0 0 0 0 – 0
Chatard – Ari Pappas 9 run (Cody Dickson kick), 10:23
Chatard – Pappas 5 run (Dickson kick), 7:43
Chatard – Pappas 35 run (Dickson kick), 3:55
Chatard – Pappas 17 run (Dickson kick), 8:39
Chatard – Michael Adkins 1 run (Dickson kick), 6:37
C S
First Downs 7 8
Rushes-Yards 36-338 42-113
Passing Yards 0 13
Comp-Att-Int 0-1-0 2-7-0
Fumbles-Lost 3-2 9-34
Rushing
Chatard: Ari Pappas 24-269, Nolan Miller 4-41, Ryan Kleinschmidt 2-27, Michael Adkins 2-1
Southmont: Micah Hatch 12-60, Logan Petry 20-49, Tanner Hill 3-3, Brayden McKinney 7-0
Passing
Chatard: George VanVliet 0-1-0
Southmont: Logan Petry 2-7-13
Receiving
Southmont: Lucas Long 2-13
