After a shutout loss to Western Boone last week, the tough competition continued for the Crawfordsville football team. The Athenians traveled to Danville on Friday, attempting to grab a Sagamore Conference victory over the Warriors. But Danville remained perfect in conference play, defeating Crawfordsville 49-6.
Danville got the ball first and began marching down the field. Crawfordsville did stand tall multiple times defensively, but a multitude of third and forth-down conversions found the Warriors within striking distance. Danville’s Derin Sharp found the end zone on an 11-yard run, and the Warriors jumped out to a 7-0 lead.
Just moments later, Crawfordsville could not generate a first down on its opening drive. The ensuing fourth-down punt was blocked into the end zone and recovered by Danville’s Wyatt Gentry to give the Warriors a 14-0 lead.
Crawfordsville senior quarterback AJ Hall threw an interception on the Athenians’ next drive, and Danville capitalized. Sharp again found the end zone for the Warriors on a 25-yard burst through the defense. With 7:13 remaining in the first quarter, the Warriors increased the lead to 21-0. And to close out the first quarter, Danville’s Trey Thompson found Evan Lawrence for a two-yard touchdown reception. At the end of one quarter, Crawfordsville trailed 28-0.
Another touchdown from Danville in the opening minute of the second quarter built the lead to 35-0. Crawfordsville’s offense, though, found life on the next drive. The Athenians created multiple positive plays behind Hall and senior fullback Zeke Cardenas. Then, from 26 yards out, Hall floated a pass to junior wide-out Ethan McLemore. McLemore nabbed the ball out of the air one-handed while falling into the end zone for Crawfordsville’s first points of the contest. A missed Ryan Miller extra point kept the score at 35-6 with 8:20 left in the second quarter.
There were multiple bright spots for Crawfordsville despite the final score. Hall and Cardenas created multiple positive plays, with McLemore’s one-hander the highlight of the night. Backup quarterback Kaden Patton showed electric capabilities through the air and on the ground. And overall, the Athenians’ intensity was on full display throughout the game.
“There are certainly things that don’t go right when you lose 49-6,” Crawfordsville Head Coach Brad Clark said. “But I continued to be impressed by our kids. I thought they battled. They don’t hang their heads, they keep a positive attitude. We’ll take care of the football stuff when we watch it on film and get better next week. But I’m really proud of our kids for their attitude and their effort.”
Crawfordsville looked to start 3-1 for the first time since 2007, but the Danville team brought a tough matchup for the Athenians in all facets of the game.
“Danville is a great program,” Clark said. “You have to play at a high level when you play them. We didn’t do some things early and that put us in a hole. We just have to continue to work and get better.”
The Athenians move forward with a county rivalry matchup against undefeated Southmont next week.
“Our kids will be excited,” Clark said. “It’s a county game. I think our kids will be fired up. It’ll really just be about executing next week and giving ourselves a chance to compete against a really good program.”
Crawfordsville (2-2, 0-2 SAC) hosts Southmont (4-0, 2-0 SAC) on Friday at 7:00 p.m.
