Phone: 317-846-6601 Fax: 317-575-4244 Website: www.ihsaa.org
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November 27, 2004
ANDREAN FINALLY GETS OVER THE HUMP
After three
state runner-up finishes since 1997, Andrean finally
won the big trophy it had been seeking with a 21-14 victory over top-ranked and
previously unbeaten Heritage Hills in the 3A championship game at the RCA Dome
in
With the score tied at 14-14 late in the third quarter, Andrean scored the go-ahead touchdown when quarterback Tommy
Finn scored his second of the day on a keeper from 10 yards out on third and five
with :56 remaining. The game-winning drive was set up by a Heritage Hills field
goal that sailed wide left.
The Patriots (14-1) had three possessions in the fourth quarter but
couldn’t get past midfield until their last drive and a Hail Mary pass from the
Andrean 47 yard line fell incomplete to end the game.
The
Fighting 59ers (13-2), coached by Brett St. Germain,
had finished as the runner-up in their three previous appearances in the 3A final
game falling each time to Indianapolis Bishop Chatard
in 1997, 2001 and 2002. It was the second state championship for the school,
located in
Finn, who finished the game as the state’s leading passer, finished the
game 11 of 18 for 170 yards and one touchdown while also rushing 23 times for
95 yards and two scores. His passing yardage moved him into first place on this
year’s charts finishing with 3,380 yards. He entered the game averaging 229.2
yards through the air and 50.0 on the ground.
Heritage
Hills wasted no time in getting on the board first. After deciding to go on
defense following the coin toss, the Patriots’ Brandon Prior intercepted Finn
on the team’s second play from scrimmage. On the very next play, Heritage Hills running back Jacob Nichols’ 33 yard jaunt up
the middle and the point after made it 7-0.
Andrean came
right back on its next drive to tie the game. After a first and goal from the
10 and a pair of incompletions, Finn found Jake Kocal in the endzone for an apparent
touchdown but a 15 yard holding penalty wiped out the score. On the next play on
a third and goal from the 25, Finn found Ty Harangody behind the defense on the left side of the endzone. Harangody finished with
75 yards on five receptions.
The 59ers took the lead on their next possession going 53 yards in three
plays capped by a 19 yard keeper by Finn. The point after made it 14-7.
Heritage Hills knotted the game just before halftime when Nichols, who
finished with 88 yards in 17 carries, plunged in from one yard out on fourth
and goal with :24 left. That play capped an 11-play,
60 yard drive that ran
The longest drive of the day from a time perspective occurred at the
start of the third quarter when Heritage Hills took the kickoff and marched 48
yards in 13 plays and drained
Heritage Hills, the 3A state champs in 2000, were coached by Bob Clayton.
Heritage
Hills’ Bryce Pund Named Mental Attitude Award Winner
Bryce
Pund 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.
Academically,
Bryce ranks 36th in his class of 184, pursuing an
Academic Honors Diploma, and is a member of the National Honor
Society. He also is active in Natural
Helpers, Pep Club and Challenge Leadership Training. His volunteer activities include serving as a
Teacher Assistant, Literacy Week Elementary School Reader, Cafeteria Food
Service Assistant and School Bookstore Assistant Manager. His college choice remains undecided, but he
intends to major in Communications.
Athletically,
in addition to his efforts on the gridiron, he is a two-year captain of the Patriots
basketball team, where he has been named all-conference twice, and a member of
the school baseball team, also with all-conference honors coming his way.
Bryce
is the son of Sheryl and Ron Pund of Dale.
He
becomes the second player from Heritage Hills to claim the mental attitude
award in football. The
other being Adam Kress in 2000.
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 (
Game 3A Game Quotes
Andrean coach Brett St. Germain
“I’m just ecstatic
for our kids. Earlier in the season, in
weeks 6 and 8, we struggled but we fought back and to get to this point is just
truly incredible.”
“Heritage
Hills is a good football team. We took it
right at them but they just kept coming back.”
“We wanted
to run and pass the ball effectively today.
We noticed at times they would have only one or two linebackers in the
box. When we saw that we just tried to
play a little cat and mouse with our plays.
We had a couple of audibles that worked out
big. That draw play was one example.”
“We wanted
to run a lot of no-huddle. I think they
had eight players going both ways. We
thought by utilizing our no-huddle we could tire them out. That thinking seemed to work for us because
we were having a lot of success doing a multitude of things. But, you have to give Heritage Hills a lot of
credit, they just kept coming.”
“Every
second and every inch of this game was a microcosm of our entire season. Some times we looked great, at other times we
struggled. Throughout the whole process
our kids just learned how to fight and how to compete. Everything we went through this season seemed
to help us focus. If we don’t have those
two losses earlier in the season maybe we don’t get to this point. The way this game played out was a fitting
end to our entire season.”
(On quarterback
Tommy Finn) “He deserves every accolade thrown his way…he handles them with
class. He is a phenomenal young man and deserves
a lot of credit. If he
is not the best football player in the state of Indiana then I’m Peter Pan.”
Heritage Hills coach Bob Clayton
“If we
could have scored on that first drive of the third quarter, they might have had
to change their game plan. And it might have been a different game.”
(On Andrean’s winning drive) “They did a nice job. Give Andrean a lot of credit. It was a huge possession. Their
running game really hurt us. Finn is a good quarterback. He put a lot of
pressure on our defense. We thought we played with them pretty well.”
“Their
first touchdown was a matter of blown coverage on our part. We didn’t play well
to start the game.”
“The second
quarter was good for us. We played well and got some turnovers. Our score at
the end of the quarter gave us momentum going into halftime. We tried to
capitalize on that momentum in the third quarter. We had a nice drive but we
couldn’t score.”
“We have to
look on the bright side of things. We have a lot of kids back. We were glad to
be here but you never want to finish second.”
(On Eskew Mental Attitude Award winner Bryce Pund) “We tease Bryce about being an average athlete. But
his leadership got us this far and into the championship game.”