TERRE HAUTE — Terre Haute South’s football team had four possessions that started and ended in the first quarter.
Each of the series resulted in turnovers. Each of them were cashed in by Carmel for touchdowns. It all spelled doom for a Braves team that didn’t need to give the Class 5A No. 2 Greyhounds any gifts.
Carmel is too good to look a gift horse in the mouth and the Greyhounds used the 28 points off turnovers to roll to eventual 55-7 Metropolitan Interscholastic Conference rout at Bob Clements Field.
“Carmel is a good team and we were going to have to play mistake-free football to beat them. Obviously, we didn’t do that,” South coach Mark Raetz said. “I felt like we were able to move the ball in the first half, but when we had those turnovers, the kids just lost confidence.”
Carmel (3-1, 2-0 MIC) received its first gift on the fourth play of the game. Cornerback Matt Seward picked off a Bryn Schwartz pass at the South 25 on the right sideline and brushed off Braves’ tacklers for a pick-six touchdown.
The Braves (1-3, 0-2) seemed poised to respond quickly as Schwartz broke off a 42-yard run to start South’s next drive.
The Braves got to the Carmel 28, but disaster struck again. Schwartz tried to go to the right sideline again, but his intended receiver fell down. Seward waited for an easy interception and raced untouched for a 78-yard interception return to make it 14-0.
It was Matt Seward 12, South 0 -- and the Greyhounds’ offense hadn’t even touched the ball yet. South fumbles would change that.
With the Braves moving the ball again, Tre Stephens lost the ball while stacked up near midfield. Carmel’s Blair Trapkus recovered, and on the sixth play of the Greyhound drive, Devin Brinson scored a 2-yard touchdown to make it 21-0.
South fumbled again just three plays into its next drive. This time, Carmel needed just two plays to cash in as Jesse Hollander caught a 7-yard touchdown pass from Adam Shaffer to make it 28-0 with 2:14 left in the first quarter.
For Carmel coach Mo Moriarty, the turnovers were the culmination of a week’s worth of planning.
“We had five turnovers coming into this game and had only taken away once. All week in practice our focus was takeaways and not turn the ball over. That’s what we were able to do,” Moriarty said. “We shocked them early and it’s hard to come back from that.”
The second quarter offered no respite for the Braves. On the first play of the period, Carmel’s Paul Conway blocked a South punt and the Greyhounds recovered at the South 21. A Shaffer-to-Jon Schmidt 21-yard TD connection quickly made it 35-0. Carmel scored again just before halftime to make it 41-0.
Carmel added two more touchdowns early in the third quarter before they began to put reserves in the game. South scored its lone touchdown with 5:13 left when Schwartz plunged in for a 1-yard touchdown.
“They’re young and they have to hang in there. This is the toughest league out there. I’m telling you, there’s no league like the MIC,” Moriarty said.
“People can say what they want, but it ain’t even close what we play every Friday night. It’s totally different,” he continued. “It’ll be different [for South] in the sectional. They won’t see anyone near what they see every week. Coach Raetz has done a helluva job.”
It doesn’t get any easier for the Braves as they host defending state champion Center Grove next Friday
“Part of playing football is learning how to deal with adversity. Tonight we had a lot of things go wrong. We need to use this as a way for our team to come together stronger. When you get down, get up and fight back more,” Raetz said.
Carmel 55, TH South 7
Carmel 28 13 14 0 — 55
Terre Haute South 0 0 0 7 — 7
C — Matt Seward 25 interception return (Jordan Babcock kick), 10:20 1Q.
C — Seward 78 interception return (Babcock kick), 9:06 1Q.
C — Devin Brinson 2 run (Babcock kick), 4:25 1Q.
C — Jesse Hollander 7 pass from Adam Shaffer (Babcock kick), 2:14 1Q.
C — Jon Schmidt 21 pass from Shaffer (Babcock kick), 11:46 2Q.
C — Shaffer 6 run (kick failed), 2:55 2Q.
C — Brinson 44 run (Babcock kick), 11:15 3Q.
C — Mike Hartfield 33 run (Babcock kick), 8:24 3Q.
THS — Bryn Schwartz 1 run (Tyler King kick), 5:13 4Q.
C THS
First downs 15 10
Rushes-yards 28-218 36-106
Passing yards 96 56
Comp-Att-Int 6-11-0 5-9-2
Fumbles-lost 0-0 2-2
Punts-avg 3-35.7 4-25.3
Penalties-yards 4-35 1-5
Individual statistics
Rushing: Carmel — Brinson 5-60, Hartfield 5-47, Hollander 6-32, Mitch Merritt 4-25, Nick Logan 4-25, Shaffer 3-16, Drew Robertson 2-7, Scott Stilson 1-4, Harry Jin 1-2. Terre Haute South — Schwartz 14-53, PJ Montgomery 8-23, Tyler Evans 6-15, Tre Stephens 3-8, Warren Bryant 2-5, Enreque Brown 3-2.
Passing: Carmel — Shaffer 5-10-0, 75, Stilson 1-1-0, 21; Terre Haute South — Schwartz 5-9-2, 56.
Receiving: Carmel — Schmidt 3-62, Evan Butz 1-21, Hollander 1-7, Billy Davis 1-6. Terre Haute South — Montgomery 2-16, Logan Buske 1-24, Mitchell Dagnon 1-13, Kevin Bracken 1-3.
Next games — Terre Haute South (1-3, 0-2) will play host to Center Grove next Friday. Carmel (3-1, 2-0) will play host to Lawrence North next Friday.
High School
Turnovers doom South vs. No 2 Carmel
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Freshman Hambrock, THS seek semistate tennis title
Having already claimed Terre Haute North Sectional and Greencastle Regional championships in girls high school tennis, Terre Haute South will try to add a semistate title to its 2013 list of accomplishments today as the Braves battle No. 25-ranked Greenwood.
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Prep roundup: South Vermillion reaches baseball sectional final
South Vermillion built an early 7-0 lead late Thursday night, then held off Owen Valley by a 10-4 score to advance to the championship game of the Class 3A West Vigo Sectional for high school baseball.
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West Vigo advances to sectional championship with walk-off win in ninth
High school baseball sectional games between West Vigo and Edgewood have had a tendency to be unpredictable over the years, but the Vikings and Mustangs outdid themselves in that area Thursday evening — and Thursday night.
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BOYS TRACK REGIONAL: North gets three winners, South two at Evansville
Terre Haute North had three winners, Terre Haute South two, and the Patriots and Braves finished second and third respectively at the Evansville Regional for boys track on Thursday at Evansville Central.
Hurdlers Cam Stewart and Cole Seward and discus thrower Lee Davis were the winners for North, enabling the Patriots to finish with 60 points to 59 for the Braves. -
PREP ROUNDUP: Martinsville adavances in Class 4A THS Sectional
Martinsville slipped past Mooresville 4-2 in the only game played Thursday in the Class 4A Terre Haute South Sectional for high school baseball.
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South Vermillion pitches team to sectional title, wins for her dad
South Vermillion snapped one streak and extended another Thursday night to win Class 3A Sectional 28 8-5 over Brown County at Edgewood High School.
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Green's grand slam helps Shakamak to sectional win
Patrick Green pitched the first four innings for his seventh win of the year and made things easier for himself with a second-inning grand slam as Shakamak opened the Class A Shakamak Sectional with a 9-1 win over Clay City on Thursday.
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Rockville, Attica winners in Class A sectional baseball action
Host Rockville defeated North Vermillion and Attica came from behind to overhaul defending champion Turkey Run on Thursday in the first round of the Class A Rockville Sectional for high school baseball.
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North baseball pulls away from South in sectional opener
In high school baseball little things mean a lot, and the crack in the door doesn’t have to be open very wide.
Terre Haute North burst through that crack in the bottom of the second inning Wednesday evening at Terre Haute South, scoring seven two-out runs and going on to a surprisingly easy 12-2 victory over the host Braves. -
Blank, Mundy named McMillan Award winners
Posing side-by-side for photos following Terre Haute North High School’s Senior Awards ceremony, seniors Calvin Blank and Chanli Mundy couldn’t look more different.
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West Vigo baseball advances with 10-0 win behind Stewart's two-hitter
West Vigo got off to a good start in Class 3A high school sectional baseball action Wednesday evening at Dick Ballinger Field.
The Vikings scored four runs in the first inning of the first sectional game and went on to defeat Brown County 10-0 in five innings with Kevin Stewart hurling a two-hitter. -
Terre Haute South tennis claims regional crown
It was a lot tougher than some thought it would be, but the Terre Haute South girls tennis team won the Greencastle regional for the second year in a row Wednesday evening at DePauw University Tennis and Track Center.
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Big group of Wabash Valley boys head to Evansville looking for state berths
The top four finishers in each event from last week’s Terre Haute North, Evansville Central, Jasper and Princeton boys high school track and field sectionals will converge on Evansville Central today for regional competition.
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West Vigo comes up short against 19-9 Brown County softball
West Vigo got off to a good start but Brown County finished better in Class 3A high school softball sectional semifinal action Tuesday night at Edgewood.
The Eagles bested the Vikings 7-5 and will meet South Vermillion, a 12-7 winner over Owen Valley, for the sectional championship on Thursday starting at 6 p.m.
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Valley baseball teams have been keeping busy heading into sectionals
When high school baseball sectionals begin around the Wabash Valley today, one complaint that’s not expected to be heard from any coach is that his team has had too much time off.
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Northview powers way past Terre Haute South in sectional semifinal
Northview unleashed power rarely seen in high school girls softball Tuesday night to eliminate Terre Haute South 8-1 in the Class 4A Sectional at Martinsville High School.
The Knights hit three home runs in an eight-run third inning to reach the championship game. -
Terre Haute North dominates field at regional
Keirra Porter took first place in two individual events and helped Terre Haute North win one of its relays as the Patriots captured the Evansville Central Regional team championship in girls high school track and field Tuesday night.
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PREP ROUNDUP: South tennis cruises into regional final
Terre Haute South didn’t lose a game en route to blanking Seeger 5-0 in girls high school tennis Tuesday to advance to today’s championship match against Crawfordsville in the Greencastle Regional.
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Terry enjoys strong year with Wildcats, and still enjoying suiting up to play
South Vermillion’s Tim Terry is the longest tenured coach in Wabash Valley high school baseball as his Wildcats are set to begin sectional play Thursday against Owen Valley.
But on the Yankees, a 35-and-over team in the Terre Haute Men’s Senior Baseball League, Terry is “just a youngster” if you ask Larry Roesch, his 68-year-old teammate on the Volkers Group Yankees. -
West Vigo softball holds off nemesis Edgewood in softball sectional
Ice cream was enough of a reward Monday night after the West Vigo Vikings beat eight-time defending champion Edgewood 6-2 in extra innings in the opening game of the Class 3A softball sectional at Edgewood High School. But that’s not what Vikings want.
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PREP ROUNDUP: Shakamak's Green hits two homers in win over West Vigo
Shakamak improved to 22-3 on the season behind a complete-game effort from Brett Yeryar, and Patrick Green hit two solo home runs in a high school baseball game Monday.
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Terre Haute North offense unable to get going in loss to Mooresville
Jack Kirchner chose to give credit Monday night to Mooresville pitcher Taylor Chitwood, not to the Greg Maddux-size strike zone she seemed to enjoy.
But if there were no excuses forthcoming from Kirchner and his Terre Haute North High School softball team, it wouldn’t have been hard to find a spectator or two to come up with extenuating circumstances about the Patriots’ 4-1 loss at the Class 4A Martinsville Sectional. -
Terre Haute North looking strong going into girls track regional
Terre Haute North might need an off night for anyone to catch them in the girls track regional at Evansville Central.
The Patriots are as well-rounded as they’ve ever been, and two relay teams are state contenders with times ranking No. 2 in Indiana among times recorded all spring.
Terre Haute South, Northview and Sullivan have athletes among the contenders in multiple events as well. -
South tennis ready for potential challenge in regional
Terre Haute South and Northview take respective records of 10-5 and 11-5 into the Greencastle Regional today.
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Softball sectionals up for grabs
All three Vigo County high schools and Northview appear to have a realistic chance of winning sectional championships in softball this week.
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Terre Haute South, Northview vie for tennis regional title
Terre Haute South and Northview take respective records of 10-5 and 11-5 into the Greencastle Regional today.
Coach Bill Blankenbaker’s Braves will play Seeger at 4:30 p.m., while coach Emily Goff’s Knights will take on Crawfordsville about 6 p.m. -
Vikings win in extra innings at Rockville
West Vigo scored six runs in its first two innings Saturday, then needed a ninth-inning single by Lucas Fagg to escape with a 7-6 extra-inning win in nonconference high school baseball at Rockville.
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TH South beats Northview in Big Four makeup baseball game
Terre Haute South wrapped up a share of the MIC baseball title and finished up the Big Four Classic with an 8-1 victory over Northview in less than 24 hours on Saturday morning.
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Olds pitches South to share of MIC baseball title
Friday night, winning the second game 5-0 and earning a share of the Metropolitan Interscholastic Conference high school baseball title.
Damon Olds was dominant on the mound for the Braves, striking out 14 and walking just one while pitching a three-hit shutout. -
South wins first half of doubleheader against Lawrence North
Host Terre Haute South kept its Metropolitan Interscholastic Conference high school baseball title hopes alive — and clinched no worse than second place in the process — by downing Lawrence North 4-1 in the first game of a doubleheader Friday night.
The second game, which started after Senior Night festivities between games, ended past the Tribune-Star deadline. - More High School Headlines
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