Published: September 22, 2007 12:22 am            

Stunned Northview falls to Vincennes Lincoln

Vincennes rallies from 14-0 deficit

BRAZIL — It’s not like officials took a sure touchdown or field goal away from Northview.

But nobody knows what would have happened if …

In a high school football clash that will be remembered in Clay County for its mysterious ending, host Northview lost to stubborn Vincennes Lincoln 16-14 Friday night.

The Alices fought back from a 14-0 halftime deficit to take the lead on a 10-yard touchdown run by junior Justin Duncan with 4:21 remaining in the contest.

Northview’s next possession went backward in three plays, forcing a punt situation from its 18-yard line with less than two minutes to go. The Knights’ Kade Baker got off a boomer that caused the Vincennes Lincoln returner to signal for a fair catch at midfield.

One of the officials, most likely anticipating a clean catch, blew his whistle perhaps a split second before the ball made contact with the returner.

But there was one problem. The ball ricocheted off the chest of the returner and Northview recovered at midfield.

Feeling a sense of renewed hope that the Knights could march to the end zone or at least advance close enough for a field goal, Northview’s fans cheered wildly. But those cheers turned to looks of puzzlement as officials moved the ball back to the Northview 18.

A press box full of reporters, statistics keepers, the scoreboard operator and public-address announcer tried to figure out what happened because there was no apparent signal from officials.

Several verbal hints from the PA announcer still didn’t produce any signals, leading onlookers to believe officials were allowing a “do-over” — the kind of play that youngsters call in neighborhood pick-up games when they’re not sure about the correct call.

Soooooo, the Knights again lined up in punt formation with 1:33 showing on the scoreboard. This time, they tried a fake, with Dylan Kruse running the ball. But he fumbled after only a 1-yard gain, basically clinching the victory for Vincennes Lincoln.

“We felt like we were the better team,” a disappointed Northview coach George Gettle said afterward. “We controlled the ball early… There were some positives.”

As for the inadvertent whistle at the end, Gettle replied: “That’s youth football.”

“The ball never changed possession [on that play],” he continued. “He never had possession.”

The home team built its halftime advantage on a 5-yard TD run up the middle by Nate Williams in the first quarter and a 6-yard TD hookup between Caleb Whitman and a wide-open Tyler Coltharp in the second quarter.

The Alices ended the shutout with an untouched 36-yard touchdown burst by Duncan midway through the third period. Duncan, who didn’t receive his first carry until late in the second quarter, finished with a game-high 117 yards on 15 attempts.

Garrett Schirmacher added a 21-yard field goal early in the fourth frame to pull Vincennes Lincoln within 14-10.

After Duncan’s go-ahead TD run, the extra-point kick failed, leaving the Knights one field goal away from winning the game instead of tying.

But they never got in position to try for it.

“The kids played hard,” Gettle assessed. “We let one slip away. We’ve just got to get a little bit better.”

Defensively for Northview, Kruse intercepted a pass and pounced on a Vincennes Lincoln fumble and Jered Timm also recovered an Alices fumble.



Vincennes Lincoln 16,

Northview 14

Vincennes Lincoln 0 0 7 9 — 16

Northview 7 7 0 0 — 14

N — Williams 5 run (C.Crooks kick), 6:37 1Q

N — Coltharp 6 pass from Whitman (C.Crooks kick), 6:30 2Q

VL — Duncan 36 run (Schirmacher kick), 6:27 3Q

VL — FG Schirmacher 21, 11:10 4Q

VL — Duncan 10 run (kick failed), 4:21 4Q



VL N

First downs 11 12

Rushes-yards 28-111 43-160

Passing yds. 141 54

Comp-Att-Int 6-12-1 6-9-0

Return yards 0 12

Punts-avg. 2-26.0 1-36.0

Fumbles-lost 2-2 4-2

Individual statistics

Rushing — Vincennes Lincoln, Duncan 15-117, Bouchie 6-12, Small 1-6, Mott 1-0, Roberts 5-(-24). Northview, Baker 12-65, N.Lancaster 10-56, Williams 4-28, Stevenson 4-10, Whitman 11-8, Kruse 1-1, White 1-(-8).

Passing — Vincennes Lincoln, Roberts 6-12-1 141. Northview, Whitman 6-9-0 54.

Receiving — Vincennes Lincoln, Blue 3-75, Crismore 3-66. Northview, Timm 4-44, Coltharp 1-6, Kirby 1-4.

Next game — Northview (3-3) will take on South Vermillion at 7:15 p.m. next Saturday in Indianapolis’ RCA Dome. Vincennes Lincoln (2-4) will play host to Washington next Friday.

        

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