MIDDLETOWN, Ind. – There’s nothing like football playoff experience.
Shenandoah’s Raiders, four-time Class 2A sectional champions before Friday’s game, took command early and never lost it in the IHSAA Sectional 38 championship game against Winchester.
The hosts scored on the first possession of the game at Dale Green Field and went on to a 27-7 win over the Golden Falcons in a battle of state-ranked teams.
With the win, Shenandoah (10-2) advances to play host to Monrovia next Friday in the regional finals, as eight teams now remain in each class of Indiana prep football.
A big reason for the outcome was that the Raiders did something no other team had been able to do all season.
Contain Kiante Enis.
The junior standout scored a touchdown, but it was on a 58-yard pass reception from quarterback Austin Lawrence. The TD came midway through the fourth quarter, after the Raiders already led by 27 points, and had the game well in hand.
Enis managed just 57 yards on 26 carries. His previous low this season was 196 against the Noblesville Lions home-school team, and he was averaging 284 yards a game.
The junior ended the season with 3,182 yards, third on the all-time Indiana single-season rushing list, behind only Otis Shannon of Cathedral (3,252 in 1999) and Cory Jacquay of New Haven (3,366 in 2001).
Quite a season, as Winchester, as a team, matched a school record with 10 wins in a final 10-2 season record.
But Shenandoah’s defense was too much on this crisp, late fall night, for the Golden Falcon offense.
“Our team did a good job defensively of being accountable, reading the keys (of the Winchester offense) and taking angles to stop Enis. He is a great back,” Shenandoah coach Scott Widner said. “Winchester is a heck of a team, coach (Mike) Jones is doing a great job. Our schedule really prepared us for tonight, we had some really tough games, been in some fights, and I think that really helped us tonight.”
The Raiders had great balance on offense, as four backs had between six and 17 carries, all for effective yardage in a ball-control offense. Winchester had just seven offensive possessions in the game.
“We knew that, from film, Shenandoah was a really good team, but defensively, they did some things to us that nobody did to us,” Jones said. “That made us change some things to try to attack them in a different way, and we could not put a long drive together tonight.
“We hadn’t had to do that all year, and I was concerned all year that if we got into a game where we had to do that, were we disciplined enough, and good enough, to do that against a defensive team as good as Shenandoah.”
Unfortunately for Winchester, which still has not won a sectional title in football, the answer this year was no.
“This is not a slight to my kids, we played hard, we have had a great year, and have improved as a program,” Jones added. “We aspire to have a football program like Shenandoah already has, which is what happened on that field tonight.”
A historic season ends for the Golden Falcons.
“We have to get even better, like this Shenandoah team, so that we can come out in a game like this, on a field like this, against a team like them, and win the game,” Jones said. “We have to figure it out, work and get that job done.”
One of the Winchester seniors that witnessed a four-year turnaround is Dustyn Hangen, who played on a one-win team in 2011 that became a 10-win, state-ranked team in 2014.
“It’s an honor to be here (in the sectional finals),” a tearful Hangen said after the game. “I wish we were still playing next week, but the program has improved tons and tons since my freshman year, it has been great.”
Sophomore Dalton Hatcher had two touchdowns for Shenandoah, while seniors Hunter Hess and Adam Lovan each had one.
For Winchester, Jacob Reynolds intercepted a pass after it was tipped by Enis.
The Raiders had lost only to state power Sheridan and Eastern Hancock during the season.