Monroe Central’s Jansen Blevins rushed for 53 yards in a 28-12 loss to Adams Central.
MONROE, Ind. — At times, Class 1A No. 12 Monroe Central moved the ball downfield against No. 8 Adams Central seemingly at ease.
But when the Golden Bears entered the Jets’ 10-yard line, it was as if a brick wall went up.
Monroe Central’s season came to an end Friday in a 28-12 loss to Adams Central in the sectional championship.
“Getting into the end zone was not easy to come by, nothing was easy to come by,” Monroe Central coach John Hochstetler said. “First downs weren’t easy, early we had a shot and turned it over and you can’t do that.”
Facing a second and goal on the opening drive, Monroe Central quarterback Wyatt Snyder faked a handoff and bootlegged left, instantly seeing a defender in his face, and threw a pass right to an Adams Central defensive back, intercepted, ending the threat.
That’s red zone mistake No. 1.
After Adam Central’s Hunter Bates and Andrew Hammond pounded in a pair of touchdowns in the second quarter, Monroe Central worked its way downfield again, this time lining up on the 10-yard line before a holding penalty and sack ended the drive: another missed opportunity.
Make that red zone mistake No. 2.
Not scoring after working the ball downfield was spirit-killing for the Golden Bears, as their offensive line struggled to open holes against a superior Adams Central defensive line. Hochstetler noted that the big plays his offense was accustomed to having didn’t occur.
Jansen Blevins finished with 15 carries on the day, more than double what Tyler Writtenhouse had (7). Hochstetler said he wanted to use Writtenhouse more, but the speedy back needs the edge to be set and it wasn’t happening against the Jets line. Blevins had a team-high 53 yards rushing.
The Golden Bears moved inside the red zone for a third time, but again failed to score.
“Adams Central’s line was excellent,” Blevins said. “They were big, they were tough, they got off the ball fast and pushed, did a good job of clogging up the holes.”
Late in the third quarter, Snyder scored on a 10-yard touchdown run to cut the score to 14-6, but Adams Central quickly added two touchdowns to extend its lead. Snyder found Logan Conklin for a 35-yard touchdown on the game’s final play.
“We never had an explosive play, and momentum never swung for us,” Hochstetler said.
Contact prep sports reporter David Polaski at dpolaski@muncie.gannett.com. Follow him on Twitter @DavidPolaskiTSP.