VEEDERSBURG — Fountain Central’s offensive line took a long ride on a sled, and that paid off with a 42-13 Homecoming win over Attica.
The win also got Mustangs coach Ryan Hall a soaking after the win, his first over the Red Ramblers.
“They spent the week on the (blocking) sled,” Hall said of the five guys up front. “We challenged them to get us some holes to run through, and they did it. We couldn’t run last week (in a loss to Covington) and tonight we balanced the run and the pass, got a lot of guys touches and got after Attica defensively. It was a good win all around.”
The win moves the Mustangs to 3-2 on the season and 2-1 in the WRC, while the Red Ramblers, who have been idle for the last three weeks, drop to 0-2 in both the season and league standings.
The numbers were all FC until the mercy rule limits were reached in the second half, when Attica got both of their touchdowns and nearly all of their yards.
The Mustangs threw a pick on their first possession, but scored touchdowns on the next five and added one more before halftime to lead 42-0 and the halftime show of floats and crowning of the Homecoming royalty Jerzi Hershberger-Simmons and Gilbert Olivera Barradas.
“We threw the ball early to open the run game,” Hall said of the early throwing, which had junior quarterback A.J. Hall utilizing four receivers for a dozen completions and four touchdowns. “A.J. Is making better decisions, and like the run game, the o-line gave him time.”
The run game averaged nine yards a carry, going 179 yards on 19 attempts. Nine different guys had at least one haul.
“These guys just love the fact that everyone gets their hands on the ball,” Hall said. “The running backs rotate in - I call for a play and it doesn’t matter who is in.”
The run game gobbled up chunks of turf, with three carries over 40 yards.
Austin Pickett had two of them, and the senior finished with 97 yards on four carries. Sophomore Owen Acton, the leading ground-gainer coming in to the game, had 74 yards on eight attempts. Both had a rushing TD and all but two carries and 13 yards were in the first half.
QB Hall was 12-of-19 for 161 yards, the four TDs and two INTs. Brian Chirinos and Layne Lynch each had four receptions and a pair of touchdowns. Lynch eclipsed the 100-yard mark by one with his first catches of the season.
The FC defense allowed nothing until the running clock and reserves took over the second half. The Red Ramblers had 43 yards of offense in the first half and quarterback Bradley Britt was sacked three times and harassed repeatedly.
“Luke Foxworthy really had a great game at linebacker,” Hall said of the junior. “Our pressure up front also gave the DBs time to make plays.”
The defense did turn Attica over three times, all fumble recoveries, and scored after the two first-half takeaways.
The Red Ramblers finished with 225 rush yards, 150 coming in the fourth quarter. Zach Black had 84 yards and one TD on 22 carries. Boden Rice had 78 rush yards, all in the second half. Bradley Britt was 2-of-5 passing for 16 yards.
Attica, showing 21 names on the program, had only 15 players in uniform. They are back in action next Friday when they play host to North Vermillion.
The Mustangs are also back at home next Friday, with Seeger coming in.
