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Subscribe to our Newsletter1997 Paoli Rams
(Pictured Above)
First Row L-R: Cheerleaders: Shalyn Peters, Sidney Nicholson, April Moore, Tara Hutslar, Shannon Lowe, Ashley Stroud, Michelle Pate, Shaya Payton, Amanda Wininger, Sara Benefiel, Lyn Tucker, Lindsey Mosson, Amy Harper, Rochelle Scutt
Second Row L-R: Kyle Nichols, Eric Laws, Assistant Coach Matt Hinshaw, Assistant Coach Greg Couch, Assistant Couch John Hahn, Assistant Coach Mike Smith, Head Coach Steve Stirn, Assistant Coach Mike Black, Assistant Coach, Tom Stuckwisch, Assistant Coach Barry Sutherlin, Travis Sprinkle, Jon King
Third Row L-R: Aaron Florence, Michael Barley, Russell Lewellyn, Chance Ragains, Derek Laws, Mark Easterday, Jimmy Boswell, Jason Bowles, Tyler Manship, Jayson Chapman, Gavin Brown, Manager Rachael Florence
Fourth Row L-R: Manager Rachael Dooley, Manager Amber Parrott, Josh Stevens, Chad Gilliatt, Bryon Hinton, Derek Daugherty, Lucas Saltsgaver, Mark Sutherlin, Mike Pate, Russ Apple, Barry Walls, Darrin Patton, Manager Amanda Forbes, Manager Andi McIntosh
Fifth Row L-R: Dusty Cole, Brad Hawkins, Michael Harmon, Josh King, Josh Elliott, Nick Moon, Joby Stephenson, Derek VanEmon, Ryan Lowe, Josh Flick, Jason Latham, Luke Kimmel, Eric Burton, David McDonald
1997 Game Results:
Game 1 vs. Southridge: Paoli 13 Southridge 12
Game 2 at. Mitchell: Paoli 34 Mitchell 0
Game 3 vs. Springs Valley: Paoli 32 Springs Valley 0
Game 4 vs. North Harrison: Paoli 60 North Harrison 0
Game 5 at. West Washington: Paoli 21 West Washington 20
Game 6 vs. Corydon: Paoli 55 Corydon 0
Game 7 at. Salem: Paoli 21 Salem 16
Game 8 vs. Brownstown: Paoli 53 Brownstown 0
Game 9 at.. Perry Central: Paoli 39 Perry Central 14
Game 10 at. South Spencer: South Spencer 34 Paoli 8
Team Leaders:
In Passing: Michael Harmon: 289 yds. 1 TD
Rushing: Aaron Florence: 168 att. 1,633 yds. 22 TD
Receiving: Dusty Cole:
***Team Finished 10th in the State in Team Defense
**still to this day it's the last time a team has shutout the Brownstown Braves and only the second time since 1991 Brownstown has been shutout also the Rams and Braves played against a packed house at nearly 3,5000 people there to watch
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1997 GAME RECAPS
****PAOLI RUNS OVER AND DESTROYS BROWNSTOWN 53-0***
PAOLI - Streak that.
Second-ranked Brownstown came into Friday's showdown of Class 2A titans at Paoli talking, rightfully, about its state-best 27-game regular-season winning streak.
They left town talking about the streaks - those purple-pants, gone-in-a-glance, doing-an-end-zone-dance bolts of lightning. The 10th-ranked Rams rumbled past the bewildered, previously unbeaten Braves and blew the winning streak to bits, 53-0, in front
of an estimated 3,500 fans at Cook Field.
Paoli compiled 575 rushing yards on 40 carries, averaging 14.4 yards every time a running back touched the ball. The Rams' scoring plays averaged 66.4 yards, including 36- and 97-yarders from tailback Aaron Florence, 91- and 67-yarders from fullback Davi
d McDonald, a 98-yarder from quarterback Michael Harmon, a 53-yarder from tailback Kyle Nichols, and an 82-yarder from fullback Russell Lewellyn.
That's why they call them the streaks.
"I was never a real good math student, but I did tell the kids this week that shortest distance between two points is a straight line,'' said Paoli coach Steve Stirn. "When they put all those people up there (Brownstown frequently shifted 10 men to the d
efensive line), you have no pursuit angles on defense and if you bust that initial line you get a lot of green in front of you and that's what happens.
"I don't think they were prepared for our speed. I don't think they took us lightly, but one of the keys tonight was the decided they were going to take away our tailback (Florence), and we really anticipated that. People have tried to do that in the pas
t, and we put a lot of emphasis this week of not really using him as a decoy, but just getting the ball to some other people. That certainly panned out.''
Brownstown coach Reed May was among the stunned.
"We gambled on defense a little bit and put a lot of people up there to stop the run, but we didn't wrap up a couple of times and all of a sudden, boom!, they're gone,'' he said. "They're quick. They remind me of the team speed we had last year. We don't
have the quickness we've had in years past and they just broke it on us and were gone.
"Plus, we didn't move the ball. We've always been able to move the ball offensively, but tonight we didn't. They just played a base 50 defense, nothing complicated or special. I just think they lined up and kicked out butts.''
Indeed, Paoli's Purple Pain defense, led by two sacks and an interception by Nick 'Bad' Moon, dominated, picking off three passes, recovering a fumble, and making three fourth-down stands in the first half, while limiting heralded quarterback Seth Zike t
o 59 total yards. The Braves suffered their first shutout since 1991.
"We tried to simplify our defense,'' said Stirn. "The one word you hear when you talk about Brownstown is deception. I'm not going to claim to have the formula, but we did sit down and really look at the offense and tried to give each position defensive
ly three or four keys on each play. The other thing is you have some pretty good athletes over there who really wanted to win tonight.''
Nothing hinted at the burgeoning blowout at the outset as the teams traded two possession each before the Rams finally wrangled free, keyed by a 20-yard pass - yes, pass - from Harmon to wideout Mark Easterday. Three plays later, Florence swept right and
flew in from 36 yards out. Luke Kimmel's kick made it 7-0 with 2:35 left in the first period.
Brownstown's offense was unable to move, but, following a punt and holding call, had Paoli pinned at its own 9. But on second down, Harmon drifted back, drew the over-eager defense in, and dropped a screen pass to McDonald in the right flat. He got a cou
ple of excellent blocks, made one would-be tackler look silly at midfield, and raced down the sideline for a 91-yard scoring play at 7:09.
McDonald credited his accomplices.
"That's a play we've really been working on the past five or six weeks,'' he said. "It was a great time to use it and Michael made a nice pass to me. Then I got a great block from Travis Sprinkle and I pretty much had open field.''
McDonald was back in the end zone just 1:14 later when, following a Brownstown punt and a timeout by Stirn, he snapped off the quick-hitter for a 67-yard scoring sprint that made it 20-0.
Then came Brownstown's back-breaker.
The Braves embarked on their best march of the game, pushing to the Paoli 3 with 2:35 left in the half. There, however, the Rams stiffened and forced fourth down and just under two yards for a first down. Joe Hines, who led Brownstown with 127 yards rush
ing, but the chains showed him inches short.
"That one really hurt,'' said May. "But give them credit. They stuffed us.''
On first down from the 2, Harmon appeared to fumble, but the whistle had signaled him down. On second down, he disappeared into the line, but popped out and turned on every jet his QB wheels could muster and streaked 98 yards for a touchdown. That left i
t 26-0 at halftime and sapped the life out of the Braves (7-1).
The Rams scored virtually at will in the second half and finished with 686 total yards. It was as close to perfect as it gets.
"I feel awfully good right now,'' said Stirn. "It's hard to anticipate things like this, but they didn't give it to us. You look at the early part of the game, it wasn't like there were a lot of mistakes where we ran back interceptions or fumbles. Our ki
ds just executed.
"The only thing that would've made this better is if we'd been on the astroturf with a roof over our heads.''
Florence finished with 239 yards on 20 carries for Paoli (8-0), which travels to Perry Central Friday with PLAC title on the line.
Brownstown 0 0 0 0- 0
Paoli 7 19 20 7-53
First Quarter
P - Aaron Florence, 36-yard run (Luke Kimmel kick), 2:35. Paoli 7, Brownsotwn 0.
Second Quarter
P - Michael Harmon 91 yard Touchdown Pass to David McDonald (Kimmel kick), 7:09. Paoli 14, Brownstown 0.
P - David McDonald, 67-yard Touchdown run (Run failed), 5:55. Paoli 20, Brownstown 0.
P - Michael Harmon, 98-yard Touchdown run (Pass failed), 2:06. Paoli 26, Brownstown 0.
Third Quarter
P - Russell Lewellyn, 82-yard Touchdown run (Kimmel kick), 9:47. Paoli 33, Brownstown 0.
P - Aaron Florence, 15-yard Touchdown run (Pass failed), 6:11. Paoli 39, Brownstown 0.
P - Kyle Nichols, 53-yard Touchdown run (Kimmel kick), 1:55. Paoli 46, Brownstown 0.
Fourth Quarter
P - Florence, 97-yard Touchdown run (Kimmel kick), 10:32. Paoli 53, Brownstown 0.
Team Statistics
B - First Downs 14 (10 by run, 3 by pass, 1 by penalty); Rushing 50-269; Passing 4-20-3-58; Total Yards 327; Fumbles 2 (Lost 1); Penalties 2-10.
P - First Downs 6 (5 by run, 1 by pass); Rushing 40-575; Passing 2-2-0-111; Total Yards 686; Fumbles 0; Penalties 7-60.
Rushing: Paoli: Aaron Florence 20 att. 239 yards, David
McDonald 3 att. 68 yards , Kyle Nichols 5 att. 64 yards , Russell Lewellyn 4 att. 87 yards, Michael Harmon 3 att. 98 yards
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****FLORENCE POWERS PAOLI PAST SALEM IN FINAL SECONDS****
SALEM - Paoli developed a couple of untimely vices - a penchant for penalties, displaced pigskins, and passive pass defense - but another horrible habit died hard, as bad habits tend to do.
But die it did as the Rams finally halted an eight-year proclivity of failure against Salem Friday night with a 21-16 victory in a struggle that should have business hopping for manicurists. Nails were bitten.
Paoli, unbeaten and ranked 12th in Class 2A, summoned up every bit of its courage and drove for the winning touchdown with just 28.7 seconds remaining as senior tailback Aaron Florence darted in from five yards out, capping a 222-yard, two-TD performance
. It allowed the Rams to overcome three lost fumbles, nine penalties for 85 yards, and a gallant effort from the winless, luckless Lions, who lost to Paoli for the first time since 1988.
"I don't want to talk about a lot of negative things,'' said Paoli coach Steve Stirn. "Yes, we had a lot of penalties and put the ball on the ground - stopped ourselves way too many times. That put us in the position we were in, but we'll walk away a bet
ter football team after this. If we had to play bad one week I'd much rather it be this week than next week (when the 7-0 Rams host Class 2A's third-ranked, unbeaten Brownstown).
"Our kids have guts and they believe in themselves. I don't think there was any doubting whether we could win it or not, but we just put ourselves in a heckuva position that we had to overcome, and we did. We found against West Washington when we had to
answer every one of their scores; we found against Southridge being 12 points down that we can come back; we found out tonight that our mistakes, on any night, can put us in a tough position, and we're very fortunate to come out the winner. But I think t
hey proved something to themselves.''
Salem played well for the third consecutive week against standout competition. The Lions played Brownstown tough three weeks ago, nearly knocked off Mitchell last week, and had the Rams on the ropes before succumbing.
"Every week we're playing strong opponents and we're doing as well as we can, playing has hard as we can, and taking them right down to the end,'' said Salem coach Brian Motsinger. "We came into this game wanting to be better on special teams and we acco
mplished that, and we wanted to jump out on top, and we accomplished that. Each week we pinpoint one area and we improve on that. We're getting closer, getting a lot better.
"My kids play so hard that you want them to win so bad. It hurts and I'm bleeding inside about it, but we're coming on.''
Salem sent a shockwave across Paul A. Graves Field by finding the end zone late in the fourth quarter. Trailing, 15-8, the Lions got a break when Blair Huff's punt took a high bounce and glanced off Dusty Cole's fingers, with Salem recovering at the Paol
i 45-yard line. Following fullback Adam Humphrey's 16-yard run off right tackle, Huff connected with Brent Strong for a 22-yard touchdown. The Lions got the two-point conversion when Huff's pass was tipped but fell into the arms of Jared Hammack at the
back of the end zone, making it 16-15 with 4:27 left and sending the victory-starved Salem side into delirium.
Paoli now faced a declining clock and a suddenly-vicious defense, which was flying to the ball and delivering damage. But the Rams gathered themselves in championship fashion and embarked on the game-winning drive. Starting from the Paoli 31, Florence ra
n four consecutive times, converting on 4th-and-1. Quarterback Michael Harmon then tossed an apparent interception, but the Lions were nailed for pass interference. On second down from the Salem 43, Florence took a pitch, but pulled up this time and laun
ched a halfback to Cole for 16 yards to the 27. Four plays later, Paoli faced its second 4th-and-1 situation of the drive, but Florence flew off left tackle for 13 yards and scored the game winner on the next play, capping a 12-play, 69-yard march to vic
tory.
"Aaron has done things on his own a lot this year, and tonight there were times he couldn't, which was the difference in the game at times,'' Stirn said. "We were either stopping ourselves, or Aaron couldn't beat three guys at once. They had pretty much
decided in their package that they were going to take away our outside, and what that did was bring everybody one or two steps closer to Aaron, so I can't say enough about him. We wouldn't be standing here talking about a victory if it weren't for him.''
Motsinger agreed.
"The Florence kid is just a tough nut to crack,'' he said. "He's a heckuva player and I love watching him. If you're a high school football fan you can come out and watch him and really enjoy yourself.''
The Lions gave one last gasp, taking advantage of an unsportsmanlike call against Paoli, and a hook-and-ladder play that Jared Hammack carried to the Paoli 30 with 14 seconds showing. But three heaves from Huff were fruitless.
The first half featured a flurry of Paoli mistakes (five penalties in the first period alone) and the Lions latched onto the lead after Harmon was sandwiched on a sack and coughed it up to linebacker Eric Mills at the Paoli 35. Humphrey's 14-yard run ke
yed the mini-march, and he closed it from three yards out at 3:28 of the first period. J.B. Collier ran the conversion to make it 8-0.
The Rams countered with Florence's bouncing, spinning TD sprint from 23 yards out, and fullback David McDonald's six-yard scoring run to take a 15-8 lead at intermission.
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****PAOLI BURIES CORYDON 55-0****
PAOLI - The only team that could stop the Paoli Rams on Friday night was the Paoli Rams. Unfortunately for the visiting Corydon Panthers, it didn't happen often enough, as the Rams rolled to a 55-0 victory at Cook Field.
Twice in the second quarter, the Rams had long scoring plays brought back by holding penalties. The first was a 44-yard strike from junior quarterback Michael Harmon to wide receiver Dusty Cole. Two plays later, on a 45-yard burst up the middle by senior
running back Kyle Nichols, the Rams were again flagged. At the time the Rams had a 21-0 lead, but the game was still in doubt.
Just four minutes into the second half, however, it was not. Thanks to two one-play drives, the Rams opened a commanding 42-0 lead.
As was the case a week ago, it was the Aaron Florence and Kyle Nichols show. Florence opened the show just 20 seconds into the second half when, on the first play from scrimmage, he shook off a defender at the line and raced 57 yards for the score. Then
it was Nichols' turn. Four minutes later, and on the Rams' very next offensive play, the senior running back took the handoff, cut off tackle and set sail on a 56-yard touchdown dash.
Paoli coach Steve Stirn was glad to have Florence and Nichols on his side.
"I'm glad we have them and someone else doesn't," Stirn said. "They sure help one another, it keeps the focus off the other. It's much more difficult to go into a game defensively when there are two or three guys you've got to stop. We've got two or thre
e kids that come into every game with a bull's-eye on them, everybody's shooting at them."
For those who thought the Rams would take the Panthers lightly, that question was answered just a minute into the game when senior defensive end Tyler Manship met Corydon senior standout Coy Stepro behind the line and drove him to the turf. The stage wa
s set for the total domination, both offensively and defensively, that would follow.
Stirn was more impressed with the zero on the Corydon side of the scoreboard than with his team's 55.
"That's pride," Stirn said of the defensive effort. "Two years ago we didn't talk a lot about pride, that's something that's special to the kids. They think that represents a lot and I believe in that also."
Paoli, now 6-0 and ranked 14th in the latest poll, took control of the game early on, when Corydon's initial possession ended with a punt after only three plays. The Rams embarked on a nine-play, 71-yard drive which culminated with Florence's 21-yard rum
ble around right end. The Rams' next chance came just two minutes later, as they set out on a five-play drive, spurred by Manship's 23-yard sweep around left end. The drive ended with the first passing touchdown of the year for the Rams, when Harmon foun
d Dusty Cole in the end zone for the score. The Luke Kimmel kick made it 14-0.
While the Rams were rolling, the Panthers were doing a little dance, as their first four possessions went: 1,2,3, kick, 1,2,3, kick. With :29 remaining in the first quarter, Nichols broke free around right end and went 76 yards for his first score of the
night.
Much to the dismay of the Corydon crowd, the second quarter went much the same as the first. With nearly five minutes left in the half, the Panthers managed their first, of only three, first-half first downs. With only 34 rushing yards at the half, thing
s could only get better for the Panthers. Right?
But the second half, largely played by second- and third-string players for the Rams, proved to be even worse, as the Corydon attack was virtually nonexistent. The Panthers managed only two first downs in the half.
The final statistics showed just how bad it was. Paoli accumulated 506 yards on the ground and 15 through the air, while the Panthers could only manage 31 yards rushing and 53 passing. Kyle Nichols led the Ram attack with 193 yards on just 10 carries. Aa
ron Florence had another big game as he carried 17 times for 177 yards.
Stepro had 41 yards on 12 carries to lead the Panthers, now 1-5.
