ATTICA — Turnovers, loose balls and penalties robbed Fountain Central of a chance in a 20-0 Wabash River Conference loss to Attica.
The Mustangs only turned the ball over twice, on two fumbles, but they had to fall on six other offensive fumbles that took away all momentum.
In addition, the visitors were unable to take advantage of three interceptions by the defense.
Lastly, nine penalties either snuffed out drives or extended Red Rambler possessions.
Attica, who moves to 2-1 overall and 2-0 in the conference, put two scores on the board in the second quarter, including a back-breaking fourth down fake punt for 46 yards, and then added one last TD in the third quarter, dropping FC to 0-3 on the season and 0-2 in the WRC.
“Our defense really played well,” Mustangs coach Ryan Hall said. “It was our best defensive game of the season. “We’ve been in three games that I really thought we could win. That fake punt killed us, and we had too many plays come back on penalties or turnovers. We did have some more younger players really play well.”
The Mustangs were able to generate some solid second-half offense, all on the ground, but the loose balls and penalties kept them away from the end zone.
Austin Pickett finished with 95 rush yards on 19 carries, while Owen Acton added 57 yards on 12 attempts. The Mustangs ran for 168 yards.
“We like this two-headed ground attack,” Hall said. “Both guys run hard. We also got solid tight end play tonight from Dawson Blue, another freshman. He showed some real grit, as did another freshman, Eli Davis.”
Seth Gayler was 8-of-16 passing for 38 yards. He was harassed all night by the Red Rambler rush. Pickett had four catches.
The three picks of Attica quarterback John Britt came from three different defenders.
Layne Lynch had the first, coming in the first quarter. Luke Adams and Ely Thompson both had grabs in the third quarter.
“Luke Foxworthy leads us in tackles, and I’m sure did again tonight,” Hall said of the sophomore. “He’s good in the open field, is a leader and another good young player. A.J. Hall had never played a down of defense and had to be forced into service, and he even had to take some snaps at quarterback. He’s another sophomore.”
Britt was 10-of-16 passing for 173 yards, three TDs and the three picks. Two of the three touchdowns were better than 40 yards and he threw the fake punt pass, as he is also the Red Ramblers punter. Attica ran for 54 yards.
“Our guys never gave up,” Hall said. “It just came down to big and little mistakes at critical times. We are going to keep working at all the big an little things and get ready for next week. There is improvement – I just so want the guys to see a win to reward them for that.”
Both teams are back in WRC action next week.
The Red Ramblers travel to North Vermillion while the Mustangs head to Seeger.
ATTICA 20, FOUNTAIN CENTRAL 0
Score by Quarters
Fountain Central 0 0 0 0 - 0
Attica 0 14 0 0 - 20
Team Stats FC ATT
First Downs 12 9
Rush Yards 168 54
Pass Yards 38 173
Total Yards 216 227
Turnovers 4 2
Penalties 9/76 2/10
Individual Stats
Rushing
Fountain Central
Pickett 19-95, Acton 12-57, S.Gayler Hall 4-7, Chirinos 1-9. Totals 36-168
Attica
J.Britt 11-38, B. Britt 1-2, Black 9-20, Galloway 1 (-6). Totals 22-54
Passing
Fountain Central
S.Gayler 8-16-38.
Attica
J. Britt 10-16-173 2TD 3Int
Receiving
Fountain Central
Pickett 4-27, Barradas 2-8, Chirinos 2-3. Totals 8-38.
Attica
Shonkwiler 1-7 TD, B. Britt 4-46, Black 3-76 TD, Davis 2-45 TD. Totals 10-173 3TD
Scoring Summary
2nd Qtr
ATT J. Britt 7 yd pass to Shonkwiler (J.Britt pass to Black)
ATT J.Britt 46 yd pass to Black (run fail) 2:04
3rd Qtr
ATT J/Britt 43 yd pass to Davis (run fail) 5:07
