By Cameron Baker
For the Daily Journal
INDIANAPOLIS
Greenwood Christian defeated Covenant Christian on Friday night, 24-14, in a game that was defined by stoppages.
The Cougars kicked off their Week 2 matchup by forcing a fumble on the second play of the game after Covenant’s Tyson Hall was unable to keep control after a 24-yard reception. They then methodically rushed the ball down the field and kicked a 33-yard field goal to give themselves the lead for good.
The next drive again saw the GCA defense force a turnover when freshman Luke Snyder intercepted Zeb Cox. That led to a 2-yard rushing touchdown by running back Evan McIntire that put the Cougars up 10-0.
Despite a rash of penalties in the second quarter, both the Cougars and Warriors were able to find their groove offensively. With 5:54 left in the second quarter, Cox was able to find Henry Schafer for a 41-yard touchdown pass to get the visiting Warriors on the scoreboard.
Directly after the kickoff, McIntire took a rush 52 yards to put the Cougars at the 32. Shortly after, Dobson found Daniel Honeycutt for a 23-yard pass, setting up a 5-yard touchdown connection between that same pair.
Dobson finished the day with 159 yards on 19 rushes and added 203 passing yards, along with two passing touchdowns and one interception.
“(Trey) is just a crazy athlete. He’s hard to game plan for because he’ll adjust and do his thing. We’re extremely blessed that he’s our quarterback and he can do multiple things, not just throw the ball,” GCA coach Andre Dobson said.
Coming out of halftime, the Cougars (1-1) looked to keep their offensive hot streak going when Trey Dobson hit Isaiah Johnson for a 46-yard pass. However, they were not able to capitalize due to a Covenant Christian interception in the end zone.
The beginning of the third quarter also saw multiple injury stoppages and a lightning delay. The rest of the second half brought on more stoppages, as both teams seemed to be unable to prevent the infamous yellow flag. One drive even saw the Warriors (0-2) backed up into a fourth down and 50 due to penalties.
Despite the flags, the GCA defense was able to stay focused and physical throughout the game, forcing four total takeaways (two interceptions and two fumble recoveries).
“The coaches put together a great game plan,” Andre Dobson said. “Everything we ran tonight was not what we ran last week, so I think that kind of baffled them a little bit. We threw in a new wrinkle on defense and that seemed to just be a big headache for them. I’m thankful for our kids for executing our game plan. They did a great job.”
Week 3 will see the Cougars back on their home field at Beech Grove Middle School for a third straight week, this time against Wes-Del.