Crawfordsville forced five turnovers and defeated Fountain Central 34-8 on Friday in the Athenians Senior Night home opener. The Athenians scored early and often while limiting the Mustangs to just one fourth quarter touchdown.
Crawfordsville got on the board with 4:26 left in the first quarter when sophomore A.J. Sempsrott scored his first of three touchdowns with a five-yard run into the end zone. A successful extra-point kick by Dario Huesca put the Athenians up 7-0 and the game would never get closer.
The Athenian defensive star in the first quarter was defensive tackle Hector Huesca who had back-to-back interceptions giving his team great field position. The turnovers resulted in quick scores by Crawfordsville putting the Athenians ahead 21-0 after one period.
The Athenian defense had four interceptions of Mustang freshman quarterback Drew Foxworthy. Crawfordsville also recovered one Fountain Central fumble.
Crawfordsville scored three more times in the second half.
Fountain Central’s offense started moving the ball in the second half. The Mustangs entered the red zone late in the third quarter but gave up the ball on downs.
The Mustangs next had an eight-play drive covering 69 yards and ended in a Dakoda Willoughby nine-yard run with 9:31 left to play.
The Athenian offense had 243 yards. The rushing attack was led by Sempsrott’s 21 carries for 90 yards.
Crawfordsville quarterback Braeden Schlote completed 6-of-11 passes for 115 yards and two touchdowns.
Junior wideout Johnovan Smith caught three passes for 94 yards and two scores.
Fountain Central ended the game with 225 yards. The Mustangs rushed 32 times for 137 yards. Foxworthy completed 10-0f-18 passes for 88 yards. Foxworthy added 87 yards on the ground on 17 rushing attempts.
“We talked about getting off to a good start and the team did just that,” Crawfordsville coach Brad Clark said. “We still have things we need to improve on, but our guys played well on both sides of the ball.”
Crawfordsville (2-0) will play Friday at home against Monon Athletic Conference foe Western Boone (0-2) in the MAC opener for both teams.
