Indians stay hot with win over Panthers

ROCKFORD - The Fort Recovery Indians felt pretty good about themselves entering Friday's contest against Parkway, after being ranked eighth in the Division VII state poll and top team in the Region 26 computer rankings.

The Indians left Rockford feeling even better about themselves.

Fort Recovery scored off of two early turnovers and found the end zone twice late in the first half en route to a 42-8 Midwest Athletic Conference victory on Parkway's Homecoming night.

It's the first time since 2011 the Fort Recovery football program has reached four wins in a season. After last night's win, the Indians are 4-1 overall and 2-1 in league play.

"It's exciting," Fort Recovery coach Brent Niekamp said. "It's fun. The kids see all that and I think it really makes them hungrier. They've all worked really, really hard to have a successful season and to have a chance at possibly advancing into the postseason. I think every step of the way is making them a little hungrier and that makes it fun."

Fort Recovery quarterback Caleb Martin had his arm working all game long, completing 17-of-24 passes for 203 yards and three touchdowns. After throwing an interception on the first play of the game, Martin completed his next eight out of nine passes for 108 yards and two touchdowns.

Kevin Flaugher intercepted Martin's opening pass attempt and gave the Panthers a first-and-10 at their own 29. But three plays later, Parkway QB Hayden Abromavich was intercepted by Mitch Stammen to set the Indians up at the Panther 33. Martin connected with receiver Wes Wenning on a fourth-and-three and later found Wenning for a four-yard touchdown on another fourth down for a 7-0 lead.

On the ensuing Parkway drive, running back Sage Dugan fumbled on the first play and the Indians took over 34 yards away from the end zone. Tailback Cole Hull ran for a first down on a fourth-and-one to set up another Martin TD pass - this one a 21-yard strike to Stammen.

"(Martin) is really exciting because he gets a little bit better every week," Niekamp said. "You can see him developing. He's not very old. He's still learning things but he's a lot of fun to coach right now, because he learns from his mistakes and he learns from his successes.

"You've got to credit our receivers, too," he added.

Martin hit six different receivers for the game, with Stammen (four catches, 66 yards) and Wenning (six for 41 yards) leading the corps. Darien Sheffer, who was a perfect 6-for-6 on extra point attempts, had a 21-yard touchdown with 18 seconds left in the first half and Hull hauled in a 41-yard gain.

"(Martin) did a great job," Parkway coach Dan Cairns said. "They threw the ball well. We didn't do a good job of getting pressure. They caught us in some man situations that he was just too comfortable in and had too much time to throw. He took advantage of it. He did a great job of making the throws he had to make."   

After falling in a 14-0 hole, Parkway (0-5, 0-3 MAC) got its ground game going, courtesy of some good play up front and Cody Coffman, who ran for 36 yards on the next series before crossing the goal plane from six yards out. Abromavich's two-point conversion pass to Kris Gangwer was good to make the deficit 14-8.

Fort Recovery drove the ball down the field on its next series but the drive stalled inside the 10-yard line. The Indians opted to go for it on fourth-and-four from the six but Coffman chased down Martin for the sack. Their next drive, however, would not be denied. Wenning caught a 32-yard pass from Martin to set up a four-yard touchdown run by Hull with 3:55 left in the half.

Fort got the ball with time winding down in the half and faced a third-and-21 near midfield. But Martin hooked up with Stammen for a gain of 28 and then found Sheffer to send the Indians to the locker room with a 28-8 lead.

Nate Lochtefeld's interception inside Parkway territory set up the Indians' first score of the second half, with Kyle Schroer taking it to the house from one yard out. Schroer, who scored on a 14-yard run with 5:38 left in the fourth quarter, led the team with 82 yards on 18 carries. Brandon Schoen later had another interception in the third quarter. The Panthers had six turnovers in the game.

"Turnovers were definitely a killer for us," Cairns said. "There were times when we were moving the ball well and the turnovers were big momentum killers for us."

"I do think they're better than their record," Niekamp said. "They played really hard. They've got some big guys up front who gave us some trouble and we kind of expected that. We've had some trouble coming in here and playing well. They were able to make some plays and gain some confidence. We figured it was going to be tough."   

Coffman had 14 carries for 69 yards to lead Parkway, which plays at defending Division V state champion Coldwater next Friday.

The Indians will try to reach the five-win mark for the first time since 2007 next week at home against New Bremen.