2001 IHSAA CLASS A FOOTBALL STATE FINALS

November 23, 2001

RCA Dome, Indianapolis

 

Southern Wells (14-1)

7

0

7

16

--

30

Perry Central (14-1)

0

7

0

0

--

7

 

Officials: Greg Harmon, Michael Payton, Jeff Schaeffer, Robert Exline, Nick Alcorn.

 

 

Scoring Summary

1st Quarter

Southern Wells – Tucker Benedict 1 run; (Derek Leas kick), 6:38.

2nd Quarter

Perry Central – D.J. Krieg 54 pass from Shon Hubert (Zeb Coultas kick), 0:48.

3rd Quarter

Southern Wells – Robert Carroll 11 run (Derek Leas kick), 5:52.

4th Quarter

Southern Wells – Derek Leas 32 FG, 9:45.

Southern Wells – Tucker Benedict 2 run (kick failed), 2:02.

Southern Wells – Jonathon Tucker 39 yard interception return (Derek Leas kick), 1:24.

Time of Game – 2:22.

 

 

Team Statistics

Southern Wells

 

Perry Central

14

First Downs

9

50/180

Rushes/Yards

25/80

22

Passing Yards

111

2/5/0

Passing Comp./Att./Int.

8/18/2

55/202

Plays/Total Net Yards

43/191

11

Kickoff/Punt Return Yards

43

3/40.3

Punts/Avg.

4/16.8

5/25

Penalties/Yards

3/35

3/1

Fumbles/Lost

1/0

32:20

Time of Possession

15:40

 

 

Individual Statistics

Rushing

Southern Wells – Tucker Benedict 28-131; Robert Carroll 9-31; Jonathon Tucker 3-15; Landon Story 10-29.

Perry Central – Greg Hubert 18-58; Wyatt Gayer 3-10; Clinton Bryant 2-10; Jonathon Howell 1-2; Shon Hubert 1-0.

Passing

Southern Wells – Landon Story 2-5-0-22.

Perry Central – Shon Hubert 8-18-2-111.

Receiving

Southern Wells -- Caleb Sleppy 1-11; Derek Leas 1-11.

Perry Central – D.J. Krieg 4-82; Greg Hubert 3-28; Clinton Bryant 1-1.

Tackles

Southern Wells – Colt Craig 9; Jonathon Tucker 6; Robert Carroll 5; Caleb Sleppy 4; Joshua Slusher 4; Andrew Russell 3; Ryan Hartley 3; Nicholas Thomas 3; Peter Wagner 2; Michael Reed 2; Ryan King 2; Tucker Benedict 1; Landon Story 1; Benjamin Herman 1; Jared Cripe 1; Derek Leas 1; Nicholas Thinnes 1.

Perry Central – Matt Aders 8; Jacob Tempel 6; Richard Butler 6; Brian Taylor 6; Matthew Ettienne 6; D.J. Krieg 5; Daniel Richard 5; Zeb Coultas 4; Margan Labhart 4; Phil Unser 4; Clinton Bryant 4; Wyatt Gayer 3; Robert Mitchell 1; Nathan Toothman 1.

Sacks

Southern Wells – None.

Perry Central – None.

Interceptions

Southern Wells – Jonathon Tucker 1-46; Caleb Sleppy 1-33.

Perry Central – None.

Fumble Recoveries

Southern Wells – None.

Perry Central – Richard Buckler 1-17.

 

 

Class A Game Notes

 

First State Title For Southern Wells, Wells County

Today’s state title for Southern Wells is the first in a team sport for the school and also represents the first state championship of any kind for a Wells County school. There are three current IHSAA member schools in Wells County – Southern Wells, Bluffton and Norwell.

 

Peter Wagner Named Mental Attitude Award Recipient

Peter Wagner of Southern Wells was selected by the IHSAA Executive Committee as the 2001 recipient of the Phil N. Eskew Award for Mental Attitude in Class A Football.

A two-way lineman for the Raiders, Wagner was a standout the past two seasons for the Raiders as they amassed a 25-2 record. At offensive tackle, Wagner anchored a unit that produced a combined 9,000+ yards in the 2000 and 2001 seasons.

In addition to his football achievements, Wagner has earned three varsity letters in wrestling and two in track.

Academically, he ranks in the top 25 percent of his senior class and is a member of the National Honor Society. He also has performed in the school’s swing choir and in the Wells County Community Theater.

Wagner is the first student-athlete in Southern Wells history in any sport to be honored with an IHSAA mental attitude award.

Farm Bureau Insurance, corporate partner of the IHSAA, presented a $1,000 scholarship to Southern Wells High School in the name of Wagner.

 

Class A Game Quotes

 

Southern Wells Coach Mark Lefebvre

"Defensively, the plan all week was we didn’t want them to run downhill. Their big, their physical. We wanted to make them run outside so that some some of our guys who aren’t the biggest guys could make some plays."

 

"The kicking game for us has been big all year. The field position thing is a big deal. There aren’t many 1A schools that have the luxury to run a guy on just to kick off."

 

"The punting game was equally important. Our punting and punt coverage was very good. I think our punting game has been overlooked because we didn’t have to use it very often."

 

"We made a mistake in coverage. The third quarter was big because of what we gave up right before the first half. We game up the big play we shouldn’t have. You’ve got to give credit to these guys (Southern Wells). We talked to them in the lockerroom at halftime about doing what we wanted to do. We were taking away the running game and wanted to make it harder for them. We felt like if we didn’t make mistakes defensively, we’d be OK."

 

"On offense, (assistant) coach (John) Fouts and the offensive line wanted to get away from running so much option and just hitch it up and block people. I took their advice and we gave it to the tailback a lot."

 

Southern Wells senior Jonathon Tucker

"Before the season, I was expecting to come out and have great things happen. (Tucker broke his collarbone in Week 1) Picking up that ball with a minute to go is a dream come true. To come back after being hurt was a great way to end my senior season."

 

Southern Wells senior Peter Wagner

(On winning the Eskew Mental Attitude Award) "That was a big surprise for me. When I think about mental attitude, I think about No. 11, I think about Jonathon Tucker. They get hurt in the beginning of the year, they comeback and play awesome and are there for the rest of the team day in and day out. I’m very proud to have received this award."

 

Perry Central Coach Mike Spencer

"Overall, I thought we played pretty well in the first half. We haven’t been denied too often in the red zone this year, but unfortunately we didn’t get as much accomplished down there as we would have like to."

 

"We came in here to win a state championship and that’s how we approached today’s game. With that goal in mind, when it came time for us to score, we weren’t going to play cautiously."

 

"Their (Southern Wells) kids really fought hard today. On offense, they got to our linebackers and secondary a little easier than we would have liked in the second half. We knew coming in that we had to stop (Landon) Story. And that was one of our main concerns on defense. Unfortunately, he got through the holes a little easier than we would’ve liked and therefore some of his runs resulted in big gains."

 

"Playing indoors is a little different after the whole state tournament being outside. The air is a little different in this dome and you have to do a lot to keep the kids in good shape to keep them from cramping up."