Farmersburg, IN
Certain things in the human experience have a universal appeal. Among these is the irresistible desire to do an air drum solo on Phil Collins seminal ballad, “In the Air Tonight”. The intro builds for what seems like half an hour, before finally the beat drops. Regardless of your age, occupation or any other defining characteristic you must pantomime that drum solo. You may not know exactly what “it” is in the air tonight, but you are definitely feeling it.
Tonight, it was the Senators who felt it in the air tonight, as senior quarterback Holden Bowsman threw for 6 first half touchdowns and the Senators left North Central (Farmersburg) with a 65-0 victory.
The Senators received the football to start the game, and after a nice return from freshman running back Greyson McCoy, it took the Senators three plays before Bowsman found freshman wide receiver Kenton Chase on a four yard pass to paydirt.
The Senator defense forced a quick three and out, and the offense had another three play drive when Bowsman found senior tight end Jacob Strange in the corner of the endzone.
That would be a pattern for things to come the rest of the night.
The Senator defense forced another punt, and Bowsman went to the air again on the first play and found Strange for a sixty yard bomb. Senior defensive tackle Bryce Brown would then recover a Thunderbird fumble on the next drive, and Bowsman would toss his second touchdown to Chase, who was sprung free by a big block from sophomore running back Roper McPheeters.
Sophomore cornerback Braxton Sprouse would end the next Thunderbird drive with a big tackle on third down, and the Senator line would open a gaping hole for running back Bobby Stevens to score from forty five yards out, exploding down the sidelines and showing off his ever increasing speed.
Once again the Senator defense forced a three and out, and Bowsman found senior wide receiver Parker Green for a fifty five yard touchdown where Green shook off a tackle and out raced the Thunderbird defense to the endzone.
It was that play that ended up being Bowsman's favorite of the evening.
“I loved the play where we threw the comeback to Green,” said Bowsman. “Everybody gives him grief for being slow, so it was nice to see him break one out.”
“Everyone likes to give me a hard time,” said Green. “But I am actually pretty fast when I want to be.”
Strange would take matters into his own hands next, first on defense by ending the Thunderbird drive with a big hit and tackle for loss, and then again for the third time thru the air on a fifty seven yard catch and run were he used his big frame to stiff arm the hapless Thunderbird defender to the ground before jaunting into the endzone.
On the ensuing kickoff junior defensive tackle Clayton Holloway forced a fumble, and senior nose guard Andrew Lewis would recover. McCoy would follow a devastating Strange pancake block, reaching the end zone from 10 yards out to finish the scoring for the half. The Senator defense would again force a three and out, and in a show of sportsmanship, the Senators knelt on the ball to take the game to halftime.
“Teams have been sitting back in soft coverage, not wanting to give up the big play the past couple games,” said offensive coordinator Duane Nance. “It was actually nice to get a stacked box and to show that we can take advantage through the air to keep teams honest.”
The second half would see a running clock, but the Senators would be able to notch one more score when freshman quarterback Clark Nance drilled a slant to Sprouse from twelve yards out to cap the scoring at sixty five.
Of particular note tonight was the all freshman PAT circuit of Nance, holder Jaxson Cambron and place kicker Ian Rosenbaum. The trio had their best outing of the year going seven of seven on PAT kicks behind solid protection up front.
The win was extra sweet tonight as it was Coach Phillip Bowsman's one hundredth career victory.
“Most of our coaching staff had been with Coach Bowsman from the beginning of his tenure”, said offensive line coach Andrew Burks. “He always talked about how those were not his victories, but our victories. That was just the kind of man he was. It is a special feeling, and we are deeply honored, to get coach his hundredth win tonight.”
The Senators (5-0), (3-0) PLAC, will play host to the Perry Central Commodores next friday at Art Sanders Field for an outright PLAC conference title. Kickoff will be at 7:30pm.