Published: October 30, 2009 11:04 pm      

Minutemen true to name against Riley

DUNLAP, Ind — Three touchdowns in 1:46 made it easy Friday night for Concord in a Class 4A high school football sectional semifinal.

The Minutemen pounced on mistakes by the South Bend Riley Wildcats to notch a 42-8 victory at a very muddy and wind-swept Concord field.

A key decision before the game even started helped sway the momentum in Concord’s favor.

The Minutemen won the toss and decided to take the wind, meaning they kicked off to start both the first and third quarters.

“We thought there was a chance we could pin them back and it worked to our advantage,” said Concord coach Tim Dawson. “We did the same thing a few years ago at Northridge.

“Despite the weather, we stuck to our game plan and were solid in all phases of the game. We got off to a good start and I was proud of our kids’ effort.

“Riley turned the ball over a lot and you can’t do that in sectional games.

That made it a lot easier for us.

“We were able to try some things, like snap the ball to our tailbacks and give us a different look. It was still all within our offense.

“We were favored to win, but you still must go out and take care of business. You have to be ready for the unexpected at tournament time.”

After a Riley punt, Concord needed just four plays to cover 53 yards and take the lead.

Junior quarterback Anthony Yoder gained 20 yards on a keeper and then tossed a 20-yard scoring strike to senior LaRone Smith with 7:20 to go in the quarter.

Riley was again forced to punt. A bad snap led to a blocked kick by junior Shane Jackson of the Minutemen and the ball was recovered by freshman Franko House for a touchdown. Yoder passed to junior Logan Draus for two extra points and a 14-0 lead.

The ensuing kickoff was fumbled by Riley and recovered by Jackson of the Minutemen.

Yoder then passed 13 yards to senior Kyle Gavin for the touchdown. It went from a scoreless tie to a 21-0 score in a matter of 106 seconds.

Yet another Riley bobble was pounced on by CHS senior Adam Cantwell, but the Minutemen did not score on this opportunity.

Starting late in the second period, Concord went 54 yards in eight plays to take a 28-0 lead.

It was Yoder to Gavin again, this time for 20 yards and senior Cameron Doering added the extra point.

Concord garnered another takeaway on the very next play when freshman DuWhan Alford intercepted a Wildcat pass.

After being stopped, the Minutemen got the ball once more before halftime.

Yoder found junior Alex Sith for a 5-yard scoring aerial with 0:52 until intermission and it was a total runaway at 35-0.

Another bad snap to the Riley punter led to him being tackled on the Riley 20 early in the second quarter.

Sophomore TeShon Sanders then capped the scoring for the Minutemen by sweeping right for a 20-yard touchdown with 7:05 still to play in the third stanza.

Dawson then gave his starters the rest of the night off with some clean green jerseys taking the field for the team¹s next possession.

Riley got on the board with 7:00 to play as senior quarterback Myles Cossey tallied on an 8-yard keeper up the middle. Senior Tim Buckingham ran for two extra points.