Wildkats swarm Panthers for sectional win
Kokomo's first-ever football trip to Western ends in decisive victory
This article is brought to you by Don Haworth for Howard County Council, District 3. Don is honored to accept the endorsement of Chuck McCoskey, who believes that Don will be an excellent representative for the district and all of Howard County.
By Josh Sigler
for the Kokomo Lantern
The Kokomo football team got off the bus Friday night ready to play – quite literally.
The Class 4A No. 7-ranked Wildkats spurned Western High School’s facilities in favor of dressing and warming up at the friendly confines of Walter Cross Field before making the 5.9-mile drive to Western, arriving and exiting the team buses 21 minutes before kickoff with their pads on and helmets strapped up.
The strategy paid dividends for Kokomo, which used a swarming defense and a rushing attack that wore down the host Panthers, coming away with a 28-8 victory in a 4A Sectional 20 semifinal.
It was Kokomo’s first trip to Western, and also the first time the bitter rivals have met in the postseason.
“We came out and won the first half,” Kokomo coach Austin Colby said. “I thought our entrance to the field was awesome. It was pretty cool. We got momentum on our side right away, came out, and played hard. It was a good win.”
Defense ruled the day early in the contest, as Western (6-5) won the toss and elected to take the ball first, but were forced to punt after managing one first down and crossing just into Kokomo territory
Kokomo (10-1) was also forced to punt on its first possession after driving to the Western 40-yard line, and Andrew Barker’s boot, which pinned the Panthers back to their own 12, set the stage for the first huge, momentum-shifting sequence of the ballgame.
Western was forced into a 3-and-out, and on fourth-and-3 from its own 20, the Kokomo punt return team swarmed Panther punter Deaglan Pleak before he could get the ball out, as Brandon Bennett dropped Pleak for a 13-yard loss, giving the Kats a first-and-goal from the seven-yard line.
Two plays later, Kokomo quarterback Evan Barker plowed in from two yards out, giving the Kats a 6-0 lead after an errant snap on the PAT with 2:05 left in the first quarter.
From there, Western embarked on its first productive drive of the night, moving down to the Kokomo three-yard line in 13 plays on the ground.
Western quarterback Mitchell Knepley clawed down to the two-yard line on a keeper on first-and-goal, but from there, the Kokomo defense stiffened significantly.
Tracy Dowling and Dre Kirby combined to drop Knepley for a five-yard loss on second-and-goal, and on third-and-goal from the seven, Jaquan East burst through the line and sacked Knepley for a nine-yard loss on third-and-goal.
Facing a fourth-and-goal from the 16, Western, which entered the night completing just under 27 percent of its passes on the season, went to the air, but Knepley was unable to connect on a pass intended for Trey Stone. And the Kats, with their raucous crowd backing them, celebrated a turnover on downs after the Panthers milked over seven minutes off the clock but were left with nothing to show for it.
“Huge defensive stand inside our own 5,” Colby said. “That’s what we’ve been doing all year – playing defense. We shut the run down. I haven’t seen the stats because they didn’t let Terry (Downham, Kokomo’s statistician), in (the press box). I know he was upset. It’s bad mojo to not let Terry Downham in the press box. That’s all I am going to say.”
The sides traded punts again, and the Kats regained possession from their own 16-yard line with 3:20 to play in the first half.
Evan Barker took control of the tempo from under center, blasting through the Panthers defense on five QB keepers.
The final run, right through the heart of the Western defense between the hashmarks, allowed Barker to break free for a 36-yard touchdown run with 50 seconds to play in the first half, putting Kokomo in front 12-0 after the two-point conversion attempt failed.
The Kats took that 12-0 lead into the south endzone for the halftime break and capitalized on Western’s decision to take the ball first, taking the ball out of the break and blazing through the Panther defense with a 16-play drive that chewed up eight minutes off the clock.
Western stiffened inside the 10, but Kokomo kicker Jackson Siefert-Barnes snuck a 25-yard field goal inside the left upright to put the Kats ahead 15-0 with 4:00 to play in the third quarter.
The Kats’ lone major miscue came on Western’s ensuing drive.
Facing a third-and-seven from the Kokomo 40, Knepley was sacked for a six-yard loss, but Kokomo was whistled for a pair of personal fouls on the play, face mask and unsportsmanlike conduct, to give the Panthers a first down from the Kokomo 16.
Western took advantage from there with its lone touchdown on the night, as three plays later, Pleak plowed into the endzone from two yards out.
Knepley found Stone in the back corner of the endzone, after Stone had fallen down and rose back to his feet, for the two-point conversion, pulling Western within 15-8 with just under a minute to play in the third.
“(The field goal) put us up two scores there,” Colby said. “They came back and capitalized on a couple mistakes on our part -- the face mask and personal foul penalties. That 30-yard penalty was their biggest chunk play of the night. We kinda shot ourselves in the foot. We never really broke all night on defense. We gave them the ball on the 15, and they scored. We didn’t give them anything easy.”
Kokomo snatched the momentum right back, and this time for good, with a six-play drive which featured its leading rusher, Junior Story, a Western transfer.
Story took a power pitch to the right and rumbled 35 yards down to the 10-yard line with under 11 minutes to play in the game.
Story’s seven-yard burst on first-and-goal set up Evan Barker’s third TD plunge of the night, this one from three yards out with 9:54 to play, and Siefert-Barnes’ PAT gave the Kats a 22-8 lead.
“We get the ball back, the quarter runs out, and we made one adjustment on our sideline, Colby explained. “And we ran right power, right power, right power and then scored. That one adjustment was all we needed. It turned out to be the big one we needed, and we wound up scoring off of it. We put them away from there.”
Story added a five-yard touchdown run with 1:44 to play to put the game on ice. He was slung to the track after the play, drawing a personal foul penalty on Western, but bounced up and incited a loud celebration up the Kokomo sideline.
Evan Barker led the potent Kokomo Wing-T rushing attack with 149 yards and three TDs on 20 carries. Story added 75 yards and a score on 10 carries, While Keegan Name aided the victory effort with 12 carries for 59 yards.
The Kokomo defense put in a valiant effort Friday night, holding Western, which entered the game averaging 327 yards per game on the ground, to 78 yards rushing on 46 attempts.
The Kats had three defenders reach double digit tackles, with Dre Kirby leading the way with 13, and Name and Jaquan East adding 10 apiece.
Kokomo piled up eight tackles for loss in the victory.
Kyler Norman was Western’s leading rusher with 46 yards on 10 carries. Pleak added 28 yards and a touchdown on 12 carries.
Knepley, who entered the game with over 1,300 rushing yards on the season, was bottled up to the tune 24 yards on 20 carries.
Knepley led the defensive effort with 13 tackles, while Carter Jarvis added 12, giving Jarvis 156 tackles for the season.
Kokomo advances to the 4A Sectional 20 championship game Friday at Walter Cross Field, where the Kats will host Mississinewa (8-3), looking for their first sectional title since 2017, when Kokomo rattled off a run to the state finals under then-coach Brett Colby, Austin’s father.
Mississinewa dispatched Huntington North 62-35 Friday night to advance to the sectional final.
“The old adage is that ‘the teams to remember win in November,’” Austin Colby said. “I’ve never won a game in November in my head coaching career, so hopefully we can break that streak this week. I love our football team. I think 10-1 looks good on paper. We lost to a good (Lafayette) Jeff team where we kinda shot ourselves in the foot in the end. And teams don’t respect our schedule. I heard it all week: ‘They don’t play anybody … they don’t play anybody.’ But, yes we do. We play good teams that have done well this year. So, you better come ready to play – strap up and prepare to play big boy football against us.”
According to the Sagarin ratings, Kokomo plays the 10th weakest schedule in Class 4A, but, Mississinewa plays the fifth weakest schedule in the class.
Kokomo and Mississinewa shared one common opponent this season – Marion.
The Kats pounded Marion 49-3 in a matchup at Walter Cross Field on Sept. 16. The Indians played the Giants twice this season, routing them 35-3 in the regular season on Aug. 26, and cruising to a 41-17 victory in the opening round of sectional play on Oct. 21.