Phone: 317-846-6601 Fax: 317-575-4244 Website: www.ihsaa.org
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November 26, 2004
TRI-WEST HENDRICKS DEFENDS CLASS 2A
CROWN
Tri-West
Hendricks jumped out of the gate with three first quarter touchdowns and went
on to successfully defend its 2A state championship with a 62-21 victory over Eastbrook in the RCA Dome in
The Bruins
(15-0), making their fifth trip to the state football finals, scored three
times in their first 13 plays of the game, including a 70 yard pass from
sophomore quarterback Tyler Bruce to Matt Alexander that made it 13-0 before
the point after attempt.
It was the
third state football title for Tri-West to go along with the Class A
championship it won in 1996 which also finished unbeaten at 14-0. Each has come
with coach Mark Haste at the reigns.
Bruce
carved up the Eastbrook defense which entered the
contest allowing only 8.5 points per game. The sophomore quarterback rushed for
101 yards and two touchdowns and passed for another 302 completing 16 of 25 and
three scores. The Bruins set the Class 2A record with 516 yards of offense.
Alexander would finish with 101 receiving yards and three touchdowns in the
game, including two on the ground.
Bruce’s 21
yard touchdown run on 4th and 8 early in the second quarter which
made it 27-0 put serious doubts in the minds of the Eastbrook
faithful, but the Panthers got on the board on their next possession. On their
third play of the drive, Kyle Kirkpatrick sprinted 46 yards past the Tri-West
defenders for the touchdown. The point after made it 28-7. Kirkpatrick finished
with 117 yards on 16 carries to lead the Panthers.
The Bruins
would go on another 21-0 run and take a 48-7 lead into the halftime lockerroom after totaling 379 yards of offense in the first
24 minutes.
Eastbrook
showed heart, however, as the Panthers mustered up a touchdown on their first
drive of the second half as Jason Poe hauled in a 65 yard pass from quarterback
Zachary Tuterow. The Panthers also crossed the line
on the first play of the fourth quarter when Poe carried from three yards away.
The point after made it 48-21.
Tri-West
added two more touchdowns in the fourth quarter as Tylan
Thompson caught a 38 yard pass from Bruce with
Under the
guidance of coach Jeff Adamson, Eastbrook
suffered its first loss of the season to finish 14-1 in its first trip to the
state finals.
Eastbrook’s Rob Bragg Named Eskew Mental
Attitude Award Winner
Rob
Bragg of
At
the conclusion of each state championship game, the IHSAA Executive Committee presents
the award to an outstanding senior participant in the football state
tournament. The recipient of the award,
who was nominated by his principal and coach, must excel in mental attitude,
scholarship, leadership and athletic ability. The award is named in honor of
the third commissioner of the IHSAA who served from 1962 to 1976 and oversaw
the beginning of the state football tournament.
Rob
ranks 11th in his senior class of 135 and is a member of the
National Honor Society. He also is
Senior Class President and has served as a member of the Student Council,
International Club, Art Club and E-Club.
He will attend
His
volunteer work includes giving his time as a Salvation Army Bell Ringer and a
Mission Soup Kitchen Helper. His honors
include Marion Exchange Club Youth of the Month, Most Outstanding English
Student and Eastbrook Academic Excellence.
Rob
is the all-time leading tackler in school history and has received numerous
area scholastic honors, including All-Conference Defensive Line, All-Conference
Linebacker, AP Honorable Mention All-State and Academic All-State. He was also
a member of the Panthers track squad.
Rob
is the son of Kari and Dan Bragg of
Farm
Bureau Insurance, the IHSAA corporate partner, presented a $1,000.00
scholarship to
Team Posters And
Individual Action Photographs Available
Visit 20-20 Photographic, the IHSAA’s photographer and the
For
t-shirts and other merchandise commemorating this year’s tournament or for any
of our events, visit our friends at Morris, Inc.
State Finals Programs Available
Couldn’t be
in Indy for the state finals? 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 (
Class 2A Game Quotes
Tri-West Hendricks coach Mark Haste
“Nobody
expected us to be here. Even I had some
doubts. When you graduate 13 seniors who
play on both sides of the football from a (2003) championship team you tend to
be a little realistic. These kids never
bought into that thinking.”
(On scoring
62 points) “We coach hard and love ‘em hard and they play hard. All we want to do is win. We play to win and if we play hard we will
look up there after the game is over and it will take care of itself. When we are on it, we are capable of scoring
like that. We have some playmakers and
given the opportunity they are going to make plays. Tonight, they made a bunch of them.”
(On
quarterback Tyler Bruce) “He is not a sophomore, it is week 15, he is a junior. Those
guys who have played last year really took a lot of pressure off him and
allowed him to mature. The offensive
line kept him clean. And, we were lucky
enough that we didn’t have to run it.”
(On winning
the championship) “Every year is different.
Every team is different. Every
team has their opportunity to make a statement.
This team made a pretty good one tonight!”
Tri-West Hendricks quarterback Tyler
Bruce
“It was a
great atmosphere. We knew what we had to
do and executed it perfectly in the first half.
The offensive line was terrific.
All the receivers went up in the air and made some plays. I don’t think my speed was a huge factor but
it was another weapon that helped us to make plays.”
Eastbrook coach Jeff Adamson
“It was
frustrating that bad things had to happen tonight. It was disappointing but not
devastating. We graduate a lot of seniors and to get here was an amazing feat.”
“I think it
was big advantage that Tri-West was here before. We came out flat, but not
intimidated, but definitely didn’t come out with the kind of emotion you need
for a state championship game.”
“They throw
the ball so well and we’ve not defended the pass well all year. We wanted to
get them to run the ball more but they are smarter than that. They took
advantage of our pass defense.”
“At
halftime, we talked about wanting to play for personal pride. We tried to get
our tackles to get a better rush on their passer in the second half. We needed
to get more pressure on their quarterback. We didn’t have enough players in
pass coverage in the first half because we couldn’t put pressure on their
quarterback.”
(On Rob
Bragg winning the Eskew Mental Attitude Award) “Bragg
is very deserving. As good as a football player, he is a better person. He
represents himself, the school and the community.”