By Gray Haynes

Friday night, the North Webster Knights traveled to Monroe for a district 1 3A matchup with the Richwood Rams, which ended in a 34-6 loss for the Knights.  The Rams hosted the Knights for their homecoming. 

The Knights won the opening coin toss and deferred their option to the second half.  Richwood took the kickoff out to their own 37 yard line where they faced first and ten.  On their first play from scrimmage, Richwood’s quarterback handed off to the running back who tossed to the receiver coming around, and he tossed it back to the quarterback for a reverse flea flicker.  The quarterback found another receiver streaking down the left sideline and hit him in stride.  The pitch and catch were good for 63 yards and a Richwood touchdown.  The two point conversion made the score 8-0 early in the first quarter. 

After fumbling the kickoff, the Knights managed to fall on the ball on their own 32 where the offense would take over.  After a couple of running plays for minimal yardage, a fumbled snap cost the Knights ten yards and forced them to punt.  A good return and a penalty gave Richwood the ball on the Knights’ 45 yard line.  It took the Rams 11 plays and a couple of defensive penalties to find the end zone.  The two point conversion made the score 16-0. 

A short kickoff gave the Knights the ball just shy of midfield.  A couple of incomplete passes and a costly penalty later, the Knights faced a 4th and 26 and were forced to punt again.  Richwood took over on their own 32 for their third drive of the evening.

After driving the ball down inside the Knights’ 15 yard line and eating up the rest of the first quarter, the Rams turned the ball over on downs at the 13 yard line where the Knights took over.  North Webster lost a yard on first down then Jameson Harden sprinted around the right side for an 88 yard rushing touchdown early in the second quarter.  The Knights elected to go for the two point conversion and were unsuccessful.  The score was 16-6 early in the second period. 

The ensuing kickoff bounced around on the turf for a while, but Richwood finally took control on their own 26 yard line.  The Rams drove the ball out to the Knights’ 40 but failed on a fourth down.  The Knights took over there.  A forty-five yard gain on first down was nullified by penalty, so the Knights would have to reset with a first and five.  The Knights picked up that first down but were unable to pick up another and turned the ball over on downs near midfield. 

Aided by a questionable facemask penalty and a questionable call declaring a receiver down in bounds, the Rams marched down to the three yard line.  From there, the quarterback called his own number and raced in for the touchdown.  The two point pass attempt was batted away and the score remained 22-6 late in the first half.  The Knights ran out of time in the half, and a desperation heave as time ran out resulted in an interception to end the half.

North Webster returned the opening kickoff of the second half out to the 42 yard line looking to decrease the deficit on the score board.  Two short runs and a completed pass left the Knights a few yards short of the first down, and they were forced to punt.  A 54 yard punt by Christian Whitlock rolled into the end zone for a touchback, so Richwood started their drive from the 20.  On the first play of the drive, the quarterback scrambled right and threw back across his body to a receiver streaking toward the middle of the field.  The receiver caught the ball and took off through the Knights’ defense down to the Knights’ 25 for a 55 yard gain.  On fourth and ten, the Rams again completed a pass for a touchdown to make the score 28-6.  The two point attempt was thwarted by the Knights’ defense. 

North Webster took the kickoff out to the 42 and drove the ball down to the 25 where they lost a fumble on the visitor’s sideline to end the drive.  Richwood drove down the field, aided by some costly penalties, where they scored with 4:46 left in the game.  The two point try was unsuccessful to make the score 34-6. 

The Knights were able to pick up a few first downs with the passing game before a fumble recovered by the Knights forced a third and 36.  The Knights were unable to pick up that first and were forced to punt.  The punt rolled into the end zone to give the Rams the ball at the 20.  They were able to move the ball down the field to Knights’ 40 before having to punt.  The ball was downed at the 19 yard line of the Knights.  The Knights ran a final play to run out the clock and end the game. 

North Webster is now 3-5 on the year with a big matchup with Many coming next Friday night.