BAINBRIDGE — Crawfordsville football hit the road on Friday looking to bounce back after a tough loss in its Monon Athletic Conference opener to Western Boone. The Athenians took on North Putnam and for a half it looked as if the game would be a four-quarter affair. However, Crawfordsville struggled to get out of their own way and was shut out in the second half as the Cougars rolled to a 42-14 win.
Entering halftime the two teams were deadlocked at 14-14, but a combination of untimely penalties, special teams miscues and the inability to contain the North Putnam ground game resulted in the lopsided score.
“We made mistakes in all three phases tonight and it just killed us,” Crawfordsville coach Brad Clark said. “We had some plays where we weren’t lined up correctly and that’s a sign of a poorly coached team which falls on me. I have to do a better job to make sure we’re squared away throughout the week for big situations.”
While Crawfordsville (2-2, 0-1 MAC) only had 55 yards of penalties, it was the number (8) of them that cost them chances to extend drives. The second play of the game, Athenian signal caller Braeden Schlote looked as if he secured a big run just passed midfield but a holding call brought the play back. Later in the quarter, another holding penalty wiped a Landon Gerold touchdown. On multiple fourth and shorts, the Athenians would also be called for a false start which forced Clark’s hand in sending the punting unit onto the field.
The final Athenian miscue came when the game was still in the balance. Crawfordsville forced a North Putnam punt trailing 21-14 but it was muffed and the punt and the Cougars got the ball back and promptly doubled up the Athenians on the scoreboard.
Both Crawfordsville touchdowns came in the second quarter as Schlote connected with Johnovan Smith on a 81-yard touchdown. Schlote also found Gerold on a 17-yard score with 1:24 left in the half to even the score.
Schlote finished the game 12-23 for 275 yards and those two touchdowns. Smith only caught three passes but still managed 163 yards as he hauled in a 75-yard pass to go along with his 81-yard score. Gerold also caught six passes for 77 yards and a score.
The task for the Athenians doesn’t get easier but extra motivation won’t be needed this week as they’ll host county rival Southmont (3-1, 2-0 MAC).
“We know our kids will be excited for this game,” Clark said. “In county games you kind of throw the records out the window. Desson always does an amazing job with his teams. We know they’re going to run the football and it’s up to us to stop it better than we did tonight (247 yards by North Putnam). It comes down to learning from our mistakes by watching film and then going out and fixing them on the practice field.”
