Elias Gates
WINCHESTER, Ind. – The Winchester football team claimed a share of the Tri-Eastern Conference title on Friday as the Golden Falcons beat Centerville 27-7.
“We came in this week hungry,” senior Elias Gates added. “Our team has been growing. We wanted this title. We got that chance tonight and we put it away.”
It was the second TEC crown for Winchester’s senior class as the Golden Falcons tied with Northeastern for first in the league.
“A huge deal for this program,” Winchester coach Mike Jones said. “It’s two conference championships in the last four years.”
“I have 17 seniors and they don’t miss many opportunities,” Jones continued. “We felt like tonight we had some places that we could take advantage of some things. That played out exactly like we thought it would.”
Gates finished the night with a school record 38 carries for 178 yards and two touchdowns.
“We know Elias has to carry the ball,” Jones said. “We do a really nice job for him on the offensive line.”
The action in the trenches was the difference for Centerville coach Kyle Padgett.
“They won the game up front on both sides of the line on offense and defense,” the first-year Bulldog mentor said. “We played tough, we played hard. We’re a little banged up and we just couldn’t hang. They wore us down and the scoreboard reflects it.”
The Golden Falcons scored on their first two possessions to take a 14-0 lead in the opening period.
Winchester quarterback Austin Lawrence found the end zone on a 58-yard and then on a 1-yard plunge.
The Bulldogs were able to answer in the second frame when Chris Pritchett scored on a 9-yard run to close the gap to 14-7 by the intermission.
In the second half, Gates scored on a 5-yard run in the third period before adding the final touchdown on a 34-yard jaunt in the fourth quarter.
In addition to the yards by Gates, Lawrence added 51 yards on the ground, while completing 5-of-9 passes for 91 yards. Gates also had a pair of receptions for 30 yards.
Kody Witham led the Bulldogs with 75 yards rushing to go with 62 yards from Pritchett. Dylan Benedict was 3-of-12 for 25 yards. Peyton VanWinkle had all three grabs for the Bulldogs.
Both teams return to action next Friday as the sectional gets underway. Winchester (7-2, 6-1) entertains Madison-Grant (4-5), while the Bulldogs (3-6, 3-4) get a visit from Eastern Hancock (4-5).