Photo by TRAVIS DAVID | Sullivan senior DJ Gaines makes a tackle in the backfield against Linton-Stockton Friday night.

FREE ACCESS TO THIS STORY COMPLIMENTS OF THE KEVIN ARNETT FAMILY & THE NATIONAL YOUTH ADVOCATE PROGRAM

BY TRAVIS DAVID

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LINTON — One of the oldest and best rivalries in southern Indiana met on the gridiron Friday night at Roy Williams Field.

And much like the previous six meetings, the 111th chapter between arch rival Sullivan and Linton-Stockton had the same story line and identical ending.

The Arrows stayed within striking distance of the Miners throughout but fell short for the seventh straight meeting, 42-20.

With 25 wins in the last 36 meetings in the storied series, Linton holds a 58-51-2 edge over the Arrows.

Trailing by eight and possession of the ball, the Sullivan offense stalled and the Miners put the game away with a pair of late touchdowns.

The loss dropped the Arrows to 1-3 on the season while the Class 2A No. 7 ranked Miners improved to 3-1.
“There’s not a whole lot to say about this one,” a dejected Arrows coach Mike Caton said following the loss. “We didn’t execute and we made too many mistakes … we showed that we are an undisciplined team tonight. But we just have to stick together and get this thing straightened out.”

The hosts grabbed a 28-12 lead in the closing seconds of the third period when Braylon McBride hit Jesse Voigtschild for a 7-yard score.

But the Arrows didn’t go away.

Paul Ridgway flipped a jet sweep to dynamic playmaker Zane Catlin for a 15-yard score on the Arrows’ next possession. Laytin Huff bullied his way into the end zone for the 2-point conversion, pulling Sullivan to within 28-20 with just under 10 minutes left in the game.

Momentum stayed on the Arrows’ side when the Miners dropped a pass on third down which would have resulted in a first down on the Sullivan side of midfield.

Sullivan senior DJ Gaines fielded the punt and broke free for a 24-yard return down to the Miners’ 38.

But the next two plays resulted in zero yards on the ground before the Miners’ defense sniffed out a pair of shot passes resulting in a turnover on downs.

“Just fundamental mistakes,” Caton said. “You have to be able to execute in that situation.”

And just like the fourth quarter in recent years, the Miners made their rivals pay. McBride scrambled for 11 yards on a 3rd-down-and-7 to move the chains. Cooper Smith then broke free for an 18-yard gain and 15 more yards was tacked on at the end of the play due to a person foul on the Arrows.

Voigtschild capped the 69-yard drive with a 12-yard score on third down. 

Sullivan fumbled away the ensuing kickoff before Voigtschild scored his third touchdown of the game for the final tally of the game with just over two minutes left on the clock.

Although the Miners’ senior put the game away with the two late scores, neither were his best of the night.

Sullivan grabbed a 12-6 lead late in the first half when Ridgway avoided pressure, stepped up in the pocket and found Carson Granby for a 76-yard score. 

Then came the play of the night.

Voigtschild fielded the kickoff just inside his own 5-yard line, lowered his shoulder to break free from a couple of would-be defenders in the middle of the field and then won a sprint to the end zone.

The score gave the Miners a 14-12 lead with 32.4 ticks left in the half.

“Oh man that was huge,” Caton said of the kickoff return for a score. “We tried to drop it down there deep in front of him, but we got it a little bit too high and he grabbed it and then we missed a couple tackles and away he went down the sideline.”

Sullivan grabbed a 6-0 lead in the first quarter when Ridgway stretched across the goal line on a 4-yard score. The sophomore finished with 52 yards on the ground in addition to completing 12 passes for 152 yards in the loss.

Huff led the Arrows’ rushing attack with 61 hard-nosed yards, while Lloyd Hauger added 33 yards on just three totes.

Granby finished with 78 receiving yards on two catches, while Gaines hauled in a pair of passes for 22 yards.

Sullivan (1-3) starts a 3-game home stand next Friday, hosting undefeated Cascaded (4-0).

“We just have to move on to the next,” Caton said. “We have had a tough schedule that is only going to make us better in the end. But we have to learn from this and limit the mistakes when you are playing teams of this caliber.”

Thank you you the KEVIN ARNETT FAMILY and the Indiana Chapter of the National Youth Advocate Program for the sponsorship of this story