The 30th Annual
IHSAA Football State Finals
November 29-30,
2002, RCA Dome, Indianapolis
Late Field Goal
Lands Southwood Its First State Title
Senior
Nick Ehret drilled a 45-yard field goal with 1:55
left in the game and helped Southwood capture a 17-14
victory over South Putnam in the IHSAA Class A state championship game.
Ehret’s third field goal of the year set a Class A state record (37
yards was the previous best) and capped a second half rally to give Southwood its first state title in school history. The
Knights were the 1990 Class A runner-up.
Bryant
Paul gained 119 yards in 17 carries for Southwood.
Adam Flora carried for 102 yards in 19 attempts for South Putnam.
The
Knights trailed 14-0 at the half as three first half turnovers kept them from
getting anything going offensively. South Putnam picked off Jarrod McKee twice
and recovered a fumble.
The
Knights got on the board on a pair of three-play, third quarter scoring drives.
McKee’s 22 yard end around the right side with 7:32 left got Southwood on the board before tying the game on their next
possession. After forcing South Putnam to punt the ball away, Ehret dashed through the defense on his way to a 45-yard
score at the 3:50 mark.
Kole Ames, who finished 6-11 for 101 yards through the air, scored
on a one-yard carry with 8:35 left in the first quarter and Flora added an
eight yard run with 1:07 left in the first for South Putnam’s pair of
touchdowns.
Third
year coach Terry Siddall
guided the 13-1 Knights in this campaign. Mark Wildman, in his 18th
year at South Putnam, led the Eagles to a 12-3 mark. South Putnam was the 1986
Class A state champion.
Kole Ames of South Putnam Named Eskew
Award Winner
The
2002 Phil N. Eskew Mental Attitude Award, presented
to an outstanding senior participant in football, was awarded to Kole Ames of South Putnam High School.
Kole, the school’s all-time leader in passing yardage and touchdown
passes, became its first player to be named All-West Central Conference and
All-Putnam County for three consecutive years.
A Mr. Football finalist, he was a four-year starter on defense and a
three-year starter on the offensive side of the ball. He has lettered in three sports and will end
his high school career having earned 12 varsity letters.
Academically,
Kole, who will attend Purdue University to major in
Agriculture Economics, ranks ninth in his class of 91 and is a member of the
National Honor Society and an Academic Honors Diploma candidate. He is also a member of the Student Council
and Spanish Club at South Putnam. He is
a volunteer with the Little League Football program and works closely with the
Elementary Basketball Programs in the area.
Kole is the son of Corliss and Kerry Ames
of Fillmore.
Farm
Bureau Insurance, the IHSAA corporate sponsor, presented a check for $1,000.00
to South Putnam High School in the name of Kole Ames.
Game Notes
Southwood captured the first IHSAA state championship in a
team sport (football, soccer, volleyball, basketball, softball or baseball) in
school history with the victory. The Knights had previously finished as Class A
runner-up in 1990.
Ehret’s FG Sets Class A Record
Nick
Ehret’s third field goal of the year set a Class A
record for distance. His 45 yarder bested the 37 yarder by Todd Rehrer of
Churubusco in 1983.
Paul Moves Up Season State
Leaders Chart
Southwood senior Bryant Paul finished the game with 119
yards on 17 carries to give him a season total of 1,723 yards in 250 carries in
14 games, good for 15th place among the state’s leaders this season.
Flora Adds To Season
Scoring, Rushing Totals
South
Putnam senior Adam Flora scored a first quarter touchdown, his 34th
of the season, to finish the year with 210 points, good for fourth place among
the state’s leaders at this time. He also converted three two-point conversions
during the season. He moved up to ninth on the state season rushing list with
1,955 yards on 257 carries via today’s 19 rushes and 102 yards.
Ames Moves Up Passing List
South
Putnam senior quarterback Kole Ames passed for 101
yards, completing six of 11 passes in the game. His 2,135 yards for the season
moves him to ninth among this season’s passing leaders this year.
Quotes
Southwood Coach Terry Siddall
“I thought at halftime we were lucky to only be
down 14 points. We just didn’t seem to be in synch. We put the ball on the
carpet a couple of times and had some silly penalties. It’s so hot and dry in
here (Dome) that it gave us some trouble. We practiced inside all week and I
don’t know if it helped us or hurt us but we sure were flat in the first half.”
“I thought when we settled down I thought our
defense really played great and moved to the ball. After I challenged them at
halftime, I thought we really controlled the line of scrimmage. We had good
pressure on the quarterback. We were really worried about him (Kole Ames) scrambling and we did a good job bottling him
up. You gotta understand these guys (South Putnam)
were averaging 45 points a game. They score about every fifth or sixth play so
I was really pleased with the defensive effort.”
“Offensively, (South Putnam) was very quick. They
were running us down from the backside and that hasn’t happened all year. We
spread them out in trips and tried to move some people out of the box a little
bit and go from there.”
Southwood’s Jarrod McKee
“I was really disappointed in my play in the first
half. I didn’t want to let the team down. I knew I could bounce back after
halftime and the coaches didn’t put too much pressure on me.”
(On the late interception that sealed the game)
“Coaches just tell us to stay back and not to let anyone get behind us in that
situation and that’s all I did. Because you don’t want to be the one that lets
the guy go behind you and lose the game.”
Southwood’s Nick Ehret
(On game-winning field goal) “A 35 yard field goal
is the longest kick I’ve made in a game. Coach asked me if I could make it if I
kept my head down. I’d hit a couple of those from 50 (yards) in practice this
week. It’s always a dream of a kicker to be in a situation to win a state
championship. I got a great snap, a great hold and I just did my job.”
South Putnam Coach Mark
Wildman
“We
didn’t have any big plays on offense and didn’t get any turnovers on defense in
the second half like we did in the first half.”
“We
knew they would come back. I just think they started getting their momentum
when they were giving the ball to Bryant Paul. The longer it went in the game,
the tougher they got. They didn’t panic on offense, they kept their composure and
they kept to their game plan.”
“We
couldn’t get any momentum in the second half. Not being able to score in the
second half was the key. They did a good job of pressuring our quarterback and
they had good pursuit on defense to stop our run. We’ve never been shut out in
a half.”
(On
Kole Ames winning the Eskew
Award) “He’s a captain and he’s not just been a leader this year. He’s been a
leader all four years.”
South Putnam’s Kole Ames
(On
winning the Eskew Award) “This is a great honor. I
didn’t know they had an award like this but we’ve got a lot of guys on this team that are just as deserving.”
Team Posters And Individual Action
Photographs Available
Visit
20-20 Photographic, the IHSAA’s photographer and the Midwest’s Leader in Sports
Action Photography, for images captured during this weekend’s state
championship games! Action photos and team photos as well as the 20-20’s
Ultimate Sports Poster will be available for purchase later in the week
following the state finals.
State Finals Programs Available
Couldn’t be there for the football state finals
weekend? You can still purchase a copy of the official souvenir program while
supplies last! Programs are $3.00 if you purchase in person at the IHSAA Office
(9150 N. Meridian Street in Indianapolis) or $5.00 by mail (postage included).
To order, send a check for $5.00 made payable to the IHSAA, a note with your
return address and brief description of your request and mail to: IHSAA
Programs, PO Box 40650, Indianapolis, IN 46240-0650. Sorry, no credit cards. To
further inquire, e-mail Assistant Sports Information Director