Greenwood’s Alan Burnett, left, cuts behind the block of Gunner Ruppert during Friday’s sectional quarterfinal at Connersville.
Rob Baker | For the Daily Journal
CONNERSVILLE
One nice thing about the state tournament is every team is 0-0 regardless of their regular-season record.
Make Greenwood 1-0.
The Woodmen erased the bad memory of last week’s heartbreaking Week 9 loss to Whiteland, and in the process halted a three-game losing streak by making easy work of Connersville, 49-20, Friday night in a Class 4A sectional quarterfinal.
It was the sixth time this season that Greenwood (5-5) scored 40 or more, and it was more than dominating on both sides of the ball against the larger but slower Spartans.
Quarterback Brock Riddle threw for 259 yards and four touchdowns, giving him 30 for the year. If that weren’t enough, he ran for two scores and a conversion. Wide receiver Amare Middleton inched ever closer to the 1,000-yard mark with 100 on four catches, two of those for touchdowns. He has 923 yards receiving and 11 touchdowns for the season.
Connersville (2-8) lost its seventh straight.
“We talked all week about preparing for the next game,” Greenwood coach Justin Boser said. “We knew Connersville would come out and fight hard. We started slow, but got things going with the passing game.”
Greenwood scored six touchdowns in the first half, with Riddle having a hand in five of them.
Riddle started the scoring on a 1-yard run and then had touchdown passes of 40, 51 and 46 yards to Tanner Crouch, Davion Jones and Middleton. Jackson Haessig also scored on a 4-yard run and Riddle bookended his first score with another 1-yard run with no time on the clock.
Connersville figured to make a game of it early, surprising the Woodmen when Draiden Perez scored from the 1.
Perez also scored on runs of 66 and 10 yards in the second half. He finished with 183 yards to lead all rushers.
The second half was mop-up time for the Woodmen. Riddle threw one more touchdown pass to Middleton, this one for 50 yards.
All told, the Woodmen had more than 400 yards in offense.
Boser said the rugged schedule of the Mid-State Conference was a help — especially the loss to Whiteland.
“It’s grueling. I think that’s probably why we were a little slow,” Boser said. “That (Whiteland loss) was a gut punch and that’s hard to come back from, but we did a good job.”
The Spartans not having a football pedigree also might have played into Greenwood’s hands. A longtime state boys basketball power with 60 sectional titles to its name, Connersville has never won a football sectional and will have to wait yet again another year.
Greenwood returns home next Friday to take on either Edgewood or Jennings County.
The Woodmen will have plenty of incentive, as a win would not only guarantee them a spot in the sectional final, but also at least a .500 season after going 1-9 a year ago.
