GREENFIELD — Of the three Hancock County teams in Class 4A IHSAA Sectional 22, it was Greenfield-Central who drew the toughest quarterfinal opponent.
The Cougars, who came into the night ranked No. 4 in Class 4A, didn’t let that throw a wrench in their best season in over 30 years. They defeated Hoosier Heritage Conference rival Pendleton Heights, at home, 27-17.
The win was the Cougars second over the Arabians this season and the second straight year they’ve come out on top in the sectional matchup.
“It speaks volumes to what kind of kids we have. They’re smart, don’t give up, and fight to the end,” Greenfield-Central head coach Travis Nolting said. “When you have kids that are willing to fight, that’s something we hang our hat on.”
Nolting and the Cougars offense are no strangers to running the ball, but this year have incorporated more of the passing game from week to week.
On Friday, they went back to their roots.
Of the Cougars 68 offensive plays, 62 were runs.
Braylen Benavente, Dallas Freeman, Cooper Hinton, and Jacob Hinton each ran for over 50 yards, and all four of Greenfield-Central’s touchdowns came on the ground.
“We felt like we had an advantage with our line. We’ve got four senior linemen and three multi-year starters,” Nolting said. “We thought if we could establish our run game and eat the clock we could keep their high-powered offense off the field. They’ve got some athletic, quick guys so we felt like we needed to control the clock.”
The Cougars ability to control the clock was shown on a momentum-flipping drive to close out the first half.
Down 10-7, Greenfield-Central ran off nearly the final eight minutes of the second quarter on a 19-play scoring drive. On the drive, the Cougars were successful on three fourth-down runs en route to going 63 yards for the go-ahead score.
Jacob Hinton punched in the 1-yard touchdown with just 17 seconds left on the first-half clock to give the Cougars a 13-10 halftime lead.
The score was Jacob Hinton’s second of the night after he broke off a 50-yard touchdown on the Cougars first drive for the early lead.
In the second half, it was his brother, Cooper, who made the big plays.
A 22-yard Cooper Hinton kick return to open the half set up the Cougars with good starting field position, and two plays later he took the handoff from quarterback Dallas Freeman 40 yards to push the G-C lead to 19-10.
After the Cougars forced a safety on the Arabians later in the quarter, Cooper Hinton struck again. He broke through the left side of the line for a 38-yard touchdown run to put the Cougars ahead 27-10 entering the fourth quarter.
The Arabians added a late 35-yard touchdown pass, but for the most part, the Cougars defense stood strong all night, especially in the second half.
Pendleton Heights was limited to just 93 yards of total offense in the second half and along with the safety, turned the ball over on downs, punted once, and threw two interceptions.
On the night, the Cougars held the Arabians offense to 207 yards and just two scores.
“It was just not giving up the big play, which is something we have struggled with at times this year. We really pressured the kids to play as hard as they could the whole time,” Nolting said. “We had to pressure their playmakers and do whatever we could to limit long passes and runs. Hats off to our defense for really stepping up.”
Offensively, the Cougars ran for 362 yards. Jacob Hinton led the way with 110 yards and two touchdowns, his brother Cooper added 107 yards and two scores, Benavente went for 77 yards, and Freeman finished with 68 yards.
The Cougars will face off against county rival No. 3 New Palestine in next week’s semifinal. Kickoff is set for 7 p.m. at New Palestine.
–
Greenfield-Central 27, Pendleton Heights 17
Pendleton Heights;7;3;0;7; —;17
Greenfield-Central;7;6;14;0; — 27
Scoring Summary
1st Quarter
G-C – Jacob Hinton 50 run (Aaron Lee kick), 9:12
PH – Caden Sims 11 pass from Isaac Wilson (Dominic Apo kick), 3:44
2nd Quarter
PH – Apo 28 FG, 8:00
G-C – Jacob Hinton 1 run (kick blocked), :17
3rd Quarter
G-C – Cooper Hinton 40 run (conversion failed), 11:32
G-C – safety, 3:42
G-C – Cooper Hinton 38 run (conversion failed), :36
4th Quarter
PH – Sims 35 pass from Wilson (Apo kick), 5:14
