Monroe Central built an 11-point lead at halftime in its Class A Sectional 45 football game at Eastern Hancock, then let it get away in the second half.
The Golden Bears went flat on offense and couldn’t stop the Royals on defense as they fell 35-18 in the second round.
Monroe Central fell behind 7-0 after the first quarter before rallying for three touchdowns in the second period to claim an 18-7 halftime lead.
Two of the touchdowns came on 1-yard runs by Wyatt Snyder.
The game got away from the Golden Bears (7-4) in the second half. They didn’t score in the final two quarters and Eastern Hancock (9-2) scored two touchdowns in the third quarter and two more in the fourth period to pull away.
The Royals rushed for 250 yards on 53 carries, including a game-high 225 yards on 44 carries by Cooper Henderson.
Austin Jones led the Golden Bears on the ground with 73 yards on nine carries.
The teams combined for only four pass attempts in the cold, blustery weather.
New Castle blanked
New Palestine scored 68 points in the first three quarters on the way to a 74-0 victory at New Castle in Class 4A Sectional 21 play.
Cody Werking rushed 22 times for 50 yards to lead the Trojans.
Eastern Hancock back Cooper Henderson runs against Monroe Central.