Class 5A Regional Championship
Date: Friday November 12, 2010
Location: Spuller Stadium
Published: November 14, 2010 3:00 a.m.
HIGH SCHOOL FOOTBALL NOTEBOOK - Journal Gazette
Snider shows fight
Snider turned a blowout into a night of respectability Friday, even though it lost 47-34 to Fishers in the Class 5A regional at Spuller Stadium.
Fishers led the Panthers 44-14 going into the final quarter, but Snider got three touchdowns in the final quarter on two touchdown passes of 5 and 9 yards to senior Akeim Kelsaw and a 60-yarder to junior Reggie Blackmon to get within reach.
“That’s led by our senior class,” Snider coach Kurt Tippmann said. “If they don’t come out to practice every Monday, Tuesday, Wednesday, Thursday with the mindset that we’re going to work to get better, then the other guys aren’t going to do it.”
FORT WAYNE – There was one team at Spuller Stadium on Friday night that possessed football tradition as deep as a Friedrich Nietzsche thought.
The game, it seemed, was made for the school, and the school took to the game the way an eagle takes to air. An 18-year-old state championship trophy remains encased in glass, and even the greatest player in Fort Wayne history, Rod Woodson, played for this team on this very field long before he was welcomed into the Pro Football Hall of Fame.
As a stark contrast, Friday night’s opponent just turned 5 years old – a babe in the IHSAA woods, and has never been here before; never been anywhere, until this year, when Fishers went beyond its final regular season game for the first time to win three times in the sectional to get here.
It’s not as though the Tigers from near Indianapolis didn’t respect Snider’s long tradition; they just didn’t fear it. As a result, No. 9-ranked Fishers (12-1) put it on the Panthers 47-34 to win the Class 5A regional and advance to next week’s semistate.
Simply add Snider (9-3) to the list, because Fishers whacked No. 2 Carmel and No. 6 Hamilton Southeastern in successive weeks.
Until Fishers got so far ahead after a 44-14 third-quarter lead and eased off the throttle, so much so that Snider scored 20 fourth-quarter points, Tigers senior quarterback Koby Orris dominated the game. He finished with 168 yards rushing, 140 yards passing and threw for four touchdowns. He even had an interception – that he caught on defense.
His coach, Rick Wimmer, calls him a Mr. Football candidate. Snider coach Kurt Tippmann called Orris a challenge.
“We knew going into it that we had to stop him; we just didn’t do a very good job of it,” Tippmann said. “He’s a tough kid. He’s on the field a lot. He is, by far, what makes them click, and we didn’t do a very good job of stopping him.”
It was the first play from scrimmage when Orris let his presence be known. After Fishers ran the opening kickoff to the Snider 42, Orris threw a touchdown pass to R.C. Hauser as three Snider defenders, standing in the shape of the Bermuda Triangle, stood looking at one another.
“That was our first plan, too, was to hit ’em with something deep on the play action,” Tippmann said. “Theirs went for a touch(down), and ours got knocked out of bounds.”
The final outcome seemed certain going into the final period, but the Panthers revved up some old-time spirit when they got three touchdowns. Akeim Kelsaw, who finished with 132 yards receiving and three touchdowns, got two scores – a 5-yarder and 9-yarder from Riley Jordan. Sandwiched between was a 60-yard touchdown pass from Darin Barbour to Reggie Blackmon.
“I’m extremely proud of our guys, especially our seniors,” Tippmann said. “They fought hard and they led us all season, getting better every week and should be proud of their efforts and continued the tradition of championship football here at Snider.”
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First Quarter
F - Hauser 42 pass from Orris (Larreur kick)
S - Nelson 5 run (Williams kick)
F - Allen 8 pass from Orris (Larreur kick)
F - Davis 16 run (Larreur kick)
Second Quarter
F-FG Larreur 31
S - Kelsaw 61 pass from Jordan (Williams kick)
F - Hines 11 pass from Orris (Larreur kick)
Third Quarter
F - Slaughter 19 pass from Orris (Larreur kick)
F - Sliga 2 run (Larreur kick)
Fourth Quarter
S - Kelsaw 5 pass from Jordan (Williams kick)
F – FG Larreur 38
S - Blackmon 59 pass from Barbour (kick blocked)
S - Kelsaw 9 pass from Jordan (Willaims kick)
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| First downs | | |
| Rushes-yards | 48-301 | 20-40 |
| Passing yards | 140 | 302 |
| Comp-Att-Int | 11-16-0 | 18-27-1 |
| Sacked-Yards Lost | --- | --- |
| Punts | 1-26 | 3-34.7 |
| Fumbles-lost | 1-0 | 4-0 |
| Penalties-yards | 4-55 | 3-30 |
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RUSHING - Fishers: Koby Orris 14-168, Eric Davis 11-46, Mitch Sliga 9-20, Brian Sutton 8-33, Mark Madden 6-34. Fort Wayne Snider: John Nelson 10-56, Darin Barbour 7-(-4), Riley Jordan 3-(-12).
PASSING - Fishers: Koby Orris 11-16-0 140. Fort Wayne Snider: Riley Jordan 12-18-1 198, Darin Barbour 6-9-0 104.
RECEIVING - Fishers: Alphonso Hines 5-41, Dakota Slaughter 2-37, R.C. Hauser 1-42, Eric Davis 1-11, Cameron Allen 1-8, Max Leamer 1-1. Fort Wayne Snider: Akeim Kelsaw 6-132, Reginald Blackmon 4-95, Damani Edwards 4-55, Eric Godfrey 2-19, John Nelson 1-1.
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