GREENFIELD — Led by a stellar performance from its defense, Greenfield-Central — after losing the first 28 meetings against Delta — won its third straight in the Hoosier Heritage Conference series against the Delaware County opponent.
Senior Jake Hinton had a touchdown, team-high 77 rushing yards and multiple tackles for loss from his linebacker spot to help lead the Cougars to a 28-9 victory over the Eagles at Clayton Myers Field Friday.
The Cougars (7-1, 5-1) appeared to be headed for their fourth shutout of the season, but Delta (5-3, 3-3) scored on a safety and added a touchdown — after getting good field position from a free kick — in the game’s final 2:28.
“They rose to the challenge. I challenged them this week that we were not going to give up big plays. The nine points are really on the offense,” Greenfield-Central head coach Travis Nolting said of his club’s defensive performance. “We should have shut them out. Giving up that safety at the end because of miscommunication, a turnover on the snap, those things have to be cleaned up. That’s sloppy football we have to address.”
As pleased as Nolting was with his defensive performance, he was equally displeased with how the Cougars finished the game.
They had a fumble and the safety in two of their final three offensive possessions.
“My point to the kids (after the game) was, we have to play 48 minutes of a game,” Nolting added. “We have to close out games. Yes, that’s a quality opponent we beat and, yes, we won the game, and those are great things. But, as a coaching staff, we have to be better of getting our kids in a position close out the game on a high note instead of getting a safety because we have a miscommunication in the backfield. Or, turning the ball over on fumbles because we don’t get a clear snap or mesh. That’s all me, I take 100 percent responsibility all the time for anything that doesn’t go well.”
On G-C’s opening series, Hinton scored on an 11-yard run with 9:20 left in the first quarter, but the Cougars were unable to return to the end zone until the second half.
Starting from the Cougar 35, junior quarterback Dallas Freeman took off for a 22-yard run and then found senior wide receiver Kirk Knecht for a 20-yard gain to get the ball from the G-C 45 to the Delta 13.
Hinton scored on a third-and-eight play. He also had an 8-yard run on the opening play of the drive.
G-C got deep into Eagle territory on its second possession but turned the ball over on downs at the Eagle 7. The Cougars were unable to overcome a holding penalty on first-and-goal from the 9. They gave the ball back to Delta on the Eagle 3.
Another Cougar first-half drive got into Delta territory, as far as the 21, but a pair of quarterback sacks pushed them back to the 33-yard line and a fourth-and-22 play. Freeman threw an interception that proved to be as good as a punt, as the Eagle defensive back picked off the pass and was brought down at the 7-yard line.
The Cougars didn’t struggle getting into the end zone early in the second half.
On their first play, after forcing a Delta punt, junior Cooper Hinton, Jake’s younger brother, scored on a 69-yard run.
The next G-C series ended with a Freeman to Knecht 20-yard touchdown pass, giving the Cougars a 21-0 lead with 2:38 remaining in the third quarter.
Early in the fourth, Freeman found senior tight end Lane Wadle for a 10-yard touchdown.
The next series, Delta got inside Cougar territory as deep as the 22. Jake Hinton had a sack for a 4-yard loss and then he and linebacker Payton Foley combined for a fourth-down stop.
The Cougars fumbled on their next possession and gave up a safety with 2:28 remaining.
“I’m proud of the defense tonight, I challenged them this week to not give up any big plays. We were going to play loose and tight on the run and I think we did a good job across the board, defensively,” Nolting said. “But, we have to do a better job of closing the game out than with a safety and turnover.
“I’m demanding, but I can be demanding with the team we have because the expectations are high with these guys. They can get the job done. We’re looking at something greater than what we had tonight. We want to have a deep run in the tournament. To do that, and beat the good teams, we have to play flawless. There are no gimme games (in the tournament). We have to play every week like it is the last game we could ever play.”
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Greenfield-Central 28, Delta 9
Delta (5-3, 3-3);0;0;0;9;-;9
Greenfield-Central (7-1, 5-1);8;0;13;7;-;28
Scoring Summary
1st Quarter
G-C – Jake Hinton 11 run (Kirk Knecht run) 9:20
3rd Quarter
G-C – Cooper Hinton 69 run (Aaron Lee kick) 8:35
G-C – Knecht 20 pass from Dallas Freeman (run failed) 2:38
4th Quarter
G-C – Lane Wadle 10 pass from Freeman (Lee kick) 10:48
D – Safety, Freeman tackled in end zone, 2:28
D – Bronson Edwards 2 run (Brayden Stanley kick) 1:05
