Obviously, the primary job of a defense in football is to stop the opponent. Boone Central’s defensive unit accomplished that task with aplomb Friday night.
Card defenders took their duties one step further, however, scoring two of Boone Central’s three touchdowns in a 20-6 victory over David City on Senior Night at the BC athletic field in Albion.
Senior Kalvin Zoucha recovered an errant David City shotgun-formation snap and raced 57 yards for a touchdown and 14-0 Boone Central lead with 8:19 remaining in the second period. Fifteen seconds later, junior Nathan Olson intercepted a Scout screen pass and rumbled 25 yards to paydirt, boosting the Card advantage to 20 points.
The win was Boone Central’s third in it’s last four games, improving the Cardinals’ overall record to 3-4 and likely securing a berth in the 2008 Class C-1 32-team playoff qualifying round next week.
Boone Central will conclude its regular season tomorrow (Thursday) with a C1 District 6 contest at Columbus Scotus (5-2). Kickoff is slated for 7 p.m.
On a night when the Cardinal offense was unable to get untracked consistently, Boone Central Coach Arnie Johnson was appreciative of the defensive effort by his charges Friday.
“Our defense did a really good job of making it tough for David City to move the ball,” Johnson praised. “It was sure nice to be able to score on defense as well.”
Boone Central forced five Scout turnovers overall, including three on consecutive possessions in the second quarter that, for all intents and purposes, decided the outcome. David City had an additional trio of three-and-out series and a long drive of just 27 yards before scoring against BC reserves in the waning seconds.
The Scouts totaled just 182 yards in the contest, including a meager 90 on 41 rush attempts. Boone Central was also less-than-profficient offensively, but did grind out 166 rushing yards on 44 carries. The Cards had a 14-play first-half drive and two 10-play forays in the second half that, despite producing no points, gave BC a decided edge in time-of-possession.
Boone Central finished with 199 total yards, 166 rushing, and 12 first downs. David City rushed for 90 yards, passed for 92 and gained 13 first downs.
Christo led the Boone Central defense with nine tackles (five assists) and two fumble recoveries. Olson made eight tackles (two assists), one tackle-for-loss and had the interception for a score. Kevin Krohn had seven stops (four assists), while Keir Dane Harner, Dustin Martin and Bryce Morgan all made six tackles. Zoucha had two sacks and the fumble recovery return for a TD. Hupp added an interception and Harner a fumble recovery.
Cody Baker topped the Cardinal rushing attack with 79 yards on 15 carries and Dusty Dozler ran for 55 yards on eight totes. Ryan Shotkoski completed 5-of-9 passes for 33 yards, two to Zoucha for eight yards.
Zoucha averaged 44 yards on four punts with a long of 65.
Complete Details in Print Edition of Albion News.
