Varsity Football at Shenandoah 9/28/12

Written By Andy Thorpe for the Muncie Star Press-- It took almost an entire quarter for the Shenandoah Raiders to shake the senior night celebration and focus on football, but when they did — they did it in grand fashion — running wild in the second half for a 49-0 victory over Monroe Central.

The Golden Bears came out with a chip on their shoulders and smacked the Raiders in the mouth for much of the first quarter, especially on defense, where they did not allow Shenandoah’s high powered attack a first down until less than a minute to go.

“They have some good players,” Shenandoah Coach Scott Widner said of the Bears. “And they are a very well coached team, and I give them credit for coming to play. We had to get some big plays to get a spark tonight.”

The first of the big plays and the main ignition for the Raider attack came with less than a minute in the first quarter when senior defensive back Zach Vetor picked off Monroe Central quarterback Kisaac Rhoades’ pass. From that point on, the Raiders took over. After the pick, the Raiders scored in four plays, covering 69 yards for a 6-0 lead.

The next big play occurred with less than a minute left in the second quarter. After getting the ball on a Golden Bear punt, the Raiders marched downfield and capitalized on a big 48-yard touchdown pass from TJ Nethery to Clint Nation to post a 20-0 lead before halftime.

“That was a big play,” Monroe Central Coach John Hochstetler said. “We thought we were going in at the half down only 12-0 and with a little confidence. That one hurt.”

Shenandoah continued the scoring in the second half on the ground as the Raiders posted four more touchdowns in the final two periods to cap the scoring.

For the game, the Raiders tallied 326 yards on the ground, while holding the Bears to just 37.