SEYMOUR — Trinity Lutheran prepared for a hard-running South Decatur team, but there was little they could do to contain two rushers.
As a result, South Decatur won 31-7 in the battle of the Cougars. The game was called with five minutes left because of lightning.
South Decatur ran the ball 53 times, passing only twice, and mostly used Kenny Meadows and Jacobi Shook to capture the win. Meadows ran for 212 yards on 29 carries with a touchdown, and Shook scored three touchdowns.
Trinity’s Trent Shoemaker caught four passes for 153 yards and the team’s only touchdown.
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It was something Trinity coach Mike Wilson prepared for, but South Decatur’s size and speed was too much for Trinity.
“Their front line was just something that gave us problems,” Wilson said. “Their running game is difficult because you can’t bring them down with one player.”
South Decatur (1-2) scored on its first drive, going 65 yards on nine plays, all on the ground. Meadows got five touches, but it was quarterback Wyatt Gatewood that kept the ball to score on second-and-goal with 7:39 remaining in the first quarter.
Trinity (0-3) couldn’t do much on its first possession and punted the ball. South Decatur then charged six plays for 52 yards on to score its second touchdown in as many possessions with 4:21 left in the first quarter. Meadows carried five times for three first downs on the drive.
Trinity looked to have a big play when Tyler Goecker threw a 56-yard pass that would have put the team inside the 5-yard line. The pass was called back on a holding penalty, and Trinity punted four plays later.
South Decatur started with the ball on its own 15, but used nine plays — all rushes — and three first downs to set up its third score when Shook ran for a 5-yard touchdown with 9:29 left in the second quarter for an 18-0 lead.
Trinity drove down the field, but Goecker was picked off by Meadows at the South Decatur 24-yard line. South Decatur and forced a punt, and Trinity took over on its own 40. Goecker connected with Shoemaker on the first play from scrimmage for a 60-yard score with 4:59 left in the half.
Neither team scored again in the first half, but the Trinity was knocking on the door with six seconds left. Goecker, however, was sacked as the first half came to a close.
“We had momentum there, and I think if we score there, we would do well,” Wilson said.
The second half was much like the first — more running and scoring for South Decatur. After Trinity went three-and-out on its first possession, South Decatur ran the ball six times, and Shook scored on a 25-yard run to make it 25-7.
Trinity marched from its own 25 down to the South Decatur 30 before Jack Marksberry’s pass to Shoemaker was incomplete on fourth down. South Decatur drove downfield on 11 plays, and on fourth-and-short, Shook ran 11 yards for the score to put South Decatur ahead 31-7.
