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Pictured Above:
First Row L-R: Cheerleaders: Natalie Manship, Kelley Monroe, Amber Cupp, Rebecca Cooper, Samantha Brinkworth, Morgan Oberle, Sara Benefiel, Elisa Woolridge, Lauren Oakley, Lori Shipman, Kylee Gilliatt, Tiffany Copeland.
Second Row L-R: Cheerleader Sarah Stevens, Jeremy Latham, Derek VanEmon, Chad Gilliatt, Josh Thomas, Bryon Hinton, Brent Blevins, Josh King, Travis Cole, Cheerleader Amanda Bullington.
Third Row L-R: Josh Stevens, Sam Hawkins, Derek Calvert, Adam Thornton, Sam Greenberg, Wes Whitfield, Darin Patton, Ricky Snelling, Charlie McIntosh.
Fourth Row L-R: Kenny Albertson, Charlie Daugherty, Seth Welty, Barry Walls, Chase Kimmel, Joe Fullen, Danny Staggs, Mark Sutherlin, Chris Boone.
Fifth Row L-R: Alex Irmscher, Kyle Brown, Caleb Singleton, Darrell Richardson, Bill Holland, Tyler Phillips, Bryan Blevins, Josh Rojahn, Alex King.
Sixth Row L-R: Brian Wolfe, Corey Dunn, Chad Bowles, Jerrod Hammes, Josh Flick, Derek Daugherty, Jeremy Hinton, Josh Elliott.
Seventh Row L-R: Managers Adrienne Hinshaw & Missy Gilliatt, Joe Brown, Derek Mauermann, Lucas Saltsgaver, David Pope, Managers Andi McIntosh & Shannon Lowe
Eighth Row L-R: Assistant Coaches Greg Couch, Matt Hinshaw, Mike Smith, Head Coach Tim Bless, Assistant Coaches Michael McBride, Billy Vincent & Scott Blankenbaker.
1999 Record: 5-5 PLAC Champions
Team Leaders:
Passing: Derek VanEmon 110/209 1,300 yds. 19 TD
Rushing: Charlie McIntosh 202 att. 1,281 yds. 7 TD
Receiving: Travis Cole 34 rec. 505 yds. 9 TD
1999 Game Results:
Game 1 vs. Southridge: Southridge 38 Paoli: 16
Game 2 at. Mitchell: Paoli: 13 Mitchell: 12
Game 3 at. Springs Valley: Springs Valley: 34 Paoli: 21
Game 4 at. North Harrison: North Harrison: 35 Paoli: 28
Game 5 vs. West Washington: Paoli: 29 West Washington: 16
Game 6 at. Corydon: Paoli 40 Corydon: 0
Game 7 at. Salem: Paoli: 20 Salem: 0
Game 8 vs. Brownstown: Brownstown: 22 Paoli: 18
Game 9 at. Perry Central: Paoli: 20 Perry Central: 14
Game 10 vs. Mitchell: Mitchell 20 Paoli: 18
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1999 GAME REVIEWS
****PAOLI WINS SHARE OF P.L.A.C TITLE WITH 20-14 WIN AT PERRY CENTRAL****
LEOPOLD - Usually the only thing worse than making the trek to Leopold is having to make the return trip home. Just the thought of traversing the winding roads of southern Indiana after dark is enough to make the boldest of men cringe.
Friday night the Paoli Rams found a way to make the whole experience a bit more enjoyable - they came home with a victory. Not just any victory, but a regular-season finale that clinched a co-PLAC championship. The Rams claimed a 20-14 victory over the C
lass A, 8th-ranked Perry Central Commodores, who were also hopeful of gaining a share of the conference championship on their home field, on senior night. The Commodores' hopes were dashed as a result of a splendid effort by a well-prepared team.
"Our kids came out and battled tonight," said an elated Paoli coach Tim Bless. "This game was huge for us because we wanted a piece of the PLAC and we want to take some momentum into the tournament. We achieved two huge goals and we feel great about it r
ight now.
"It's a credit to our kids and it's a credit to our coaching staff. We prepared our tails off this week. We regrouped after a tough loss (22-18 to Brownstown), we came together and we worked as hard as we could work. We came into this football game prepa
red in all facets and I feel like we outplayed them in all facets of the game."
Paoli's line set the tone for the game by winning the battle up front on both sides of the ball against a much larger opponent. Josh Flick, Corey Dunn, Bill Holland, Bryon Hinton and Josh King moved the Commodores off the ball and gave sophomore Charlie
McIntosh room to run. The 170 pound tailback, who was suffering from the flu, carried the ball 25 times for 146 yards to spur the Rams' offense.
"We didn't open up huge holes because they're huge up front," Bless said. "But we moved people and we stayed on blocks until the whistle and we earned the hard yards when we needed to and scored three touchdowns to win the football game."
The Rams got on the board with 3:10 to play in the first quarter when Derek VanEmon hit Travis Cole on a 15-yard scoring pass. Cole ran a five-yard rout, made three Commodores miss and weaved his way into the end zone to give the Rams the early lead.
Paoli's defense gave up just two first downs in the first quarter and held the high-powered Commodore offense at bay until late in the third.
"Our defensive line really bottled up their inside running game," said Bless. "Anytime they tried to trap, dive or isolate there was no running room. They had a little bit of success running the option around the corners, but when you hold that potent of
fense to just two touchdowns in a full game you're doing a whale of a job."
Brent Blevins recovered a Zach Wagner fumble midway through the second quarter and McIntosh covered 28 yards on three carries to give the Rams a 14-0 halftime lead.
Wagner, who ranks among the state leaders with 21 touchdowns, got the home team going with six carries for 50 yards on Perry's second possession of the third quarter. Senior quarterback Josh Etienne capped the 12-play drive with a one-yard plunge to cut
the lead in half, 14-7.
The Rams' defense stepped up again in the fourth quarter and held the surging Commodores to just two first downs. The front four of Jeremey Hinton, Blevins, King and Bryon Hinton, along with linebackers Chad Gilliatt, Mark Sutherlin and Holland withstood
the potent Perry attack, despite all the hype.
"This game was as big to them as it was to us," Bless noted. "It was on their home field and it was their senior night. But that just makes this victory that much more special for us.
"I'm proud of our seniors. It's a small group, but they really hung tight together and led us to the PLAC co-championship. So I couldn't be more proud of them."
McIntosh capped the Rams' scoring after taking a swing pass from VanEmon and darting 10 yards with 3:41 to play, and the Commodores added a late score as Etienne hit D.J. Krieg on an 11-yard pass play with 2:06 remaining.
VanEmon completed 9 of 17 passes for 49 yards, while Sutherlin carried the ball five times for 46 yards from his fullback spot.
The Rams (5-4) entertain Mitchell (5-4) in the sectional opener Friday.
First Quarter
P - Derek VanEmon 15 yard Touchdown Pass to Travis Cole (kick failed), 3:10. Paoli 6, Perry Central 0.
Second Quarter
P - Charlie McIntosh, 3-yard Touchdown run (VanEmon run), 6:10. Paoli 14, Perry Central 0.
Third Quarter
PC - Josh Etienne, 1-yard run (Eddie Cronin kick), 2:46. Paoli 14, Perry Central 7.
Fourth Quarter
P - Derek VanEmon 10 yard Touchdown pass to Charlie McIntosh (kick failed), 3:41. Paoli 20, Perry Central 7.
PC - D.J. Krieg, 11-yard pass from Etienne (Cronin kick), 2:06. Paoli 20, Perry Central 14.
Team Statistics
P - First Downs 11 (8 by run, 3 by pass), Rushing 39-171, Passing 9-17-0-49, Total Yards 220, Fumbles 1 (lost 1), Penalties 4-40.
PC - First Downs 12 (7 by run, 5 by pass), Rushing 28-148, Passing 10-20-2-124, Total Yards 272, Fumbles 2 (lost 2), Penalties 7-65.
Individual Statistics
Rushing - (P) Charlie McIntosh 25-146, Mark Sutherlin 5-46, Derek VanEmon 5-(-13); (PC) Z. Wagner 17-91, James 6-6, Etienne 3-36, Aders 1-4, N. Wagner 1-1.
Passing - (P) Derek VanEmon 9-17-0-49; (PC) Etienne 9-19-2-98, Wagner 1-1-0-26.
Receiving - (P) Travis Cole 3-28, Charlie McIntosh 3-25, Mark Sutherlin 1-6, Josh Thomas 1-4, Josh Stevens 1-(-10); (PC) Peter 5-41, Etienne 1-26, Krieg 3-53, N. Wagner 1-4.
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****PAOLI'S MCINTOSH HAS A BIG GAME AS PAOLI DEFEATS SALEM 20-0****
SALEM - Paoli's coaches don't pretend to be Plato or Einstein. Then again, neither of those guys could probably pick a film apart and find a gaping hole in a 5-3 defense.
Tim Bless and his clipboard buddies were sharp enough to spot Salem's flaws and smart enough to keep it simple in guiding the Rams to a 20-0 football victory over the Lions Friday night at Paul A. Graves Field. Paoli stretched its winning streak to three
, while Salem suffered its second consecutive shutout and third straight loss.
Bless and his staff saw that Salem's run-conscious defense was susceptible to receivers out of the backfield, virtually daring offenses to throw. The Rams obliged by unleashing sophomore Charlie McIntosh as a primary target. He turned two of Derek VanEmo
n's passes into back-breaking, breakaway touchdowns. McIntosh cut wide open over the middle for a 48-yarder on the second play from scrimmage, and turned a toss into the flat into a 76-yard score - thanks largely to a tremendous block by wide receiver Tr
avis Cole that sealed cornerback Luke Dean and gave McIntosh clear sailing down the left sideline - just prior to the halftime break, making it 14-0 at the intermission. The final score came on a 10-yard toss from VanEmon to Cole with 4:05 to play.
McIntosh, who had rushed for 425 yards the previous two weeks, caught four passes for 134 and ran for 110 on 23 carries. VanEmon completed 13 of 20 passes for 200 yards and three TDs as Paoli piled up 352 total yards.
"We game-planned some things after watching films,'' said Bless. "Not all of it panned out, but some of it did in a big way. It was a case where we thought against their 5-3 defense, with the linebackers up in the box and their secondary in man-to-man, w
e could hit Charlie out of the backfield.
"We thought the flat area was something we could exploit, and it turned out that way. Charlie made two good catches, Derek made nice throws, we got great blocks from our wide receivers, and Charlie made two runs that really kind of broke their backs.''
Salem's offense was far more effective than it was in last week's lackluster loss to Mitchell as senior tailback Jared Hammack ran for 139 yards on 21 carries, including a 53-yarder midway through the second stanza. Freshman quarterback Ben Motsinger pas
sed for 114 yards, with Dean latching onto 4 of them 87 yards (including a 45-yarder off a beautifully thrown ball by Motsinger late in the third period).
The Lions clawed inside the Paoli 10 once - with Cole batting down a fourth-down pass to stymie the threat - and inside the 30 two more times. They were damaged, however, by a couple a key interceptions, some untimely sacks, and a crushing clipping penal
ty that wiped out a first down on their final serious threat to score midway through the fourth quarter.
"I'm not upset about how our kids played, but I just want to give Paoli the credit because they played well and deserved to win,'' said Salem coach Brian Motsinger. "We don't have anything to be ashamed of tonight. Our effort was better, my kids played h
ard, and I'm proud of them, but the other team played better.''
It was indeed a very tidy win for the Rams, who displayed excellent offensive balance (six first downs rushing, five passing) and registered their second consecutive shutout. Five sacks helped Paoli maintain field position advantage.
"I told the kids that they played well in every facet of the game tonight,'' said Bless. "We had smart special teams play (highlighted by VanEmon's pooch punt that pinned Salem at its own 5 midway through the third stanza), we had big plays on offense, a
nd what can you say about our defense? Salem came out and changed things on us.
"They had been in the wing-T all year, then came out in the pro I tonight, but our defense didn't bat an eye and just adjusted to it. Then they came up with big plays when they had to. The Hammack kid is a good, hard runner, but we kept them out of the e
nd zone.''
First Quarter
P - Derek VanEmon 48 yard Touchdown pass to Charlie McIntosh (Alex Irmscher kick), 9:47. Paoli 7, Salem 0.
Second Quarter
P - Derek VanEmon 76 yard Touchdown Pass to Charlie McIntosh (Irmscher kick), 1:42. Paoli 14, Salem 0.
Fourth Quarter
P - Derek VanEmon 10 yard Touchdown Pass to Travis Cole (Kick failed), 4:05. Paoli 20, Salem 0.
Team Statistics
P - First Downs 11 (6 by run, 5 by pass); Rushing 31-152; Passing 13-20-2-200; Total Yards 352; Fumbles 0; Penalties 7-60.
S - First Downs 9 (5 by run, 3 by pass, 1 by penalty); Rushing 33-114; Passing 6-16-2-114; Total Yards 228; Fumbles 0; Penalties 3-25.
Individual Statistics
Rushing - (P) Charlie McIntosh 23-110, Mark Sutherlin 4-30, Derek VanEmon 1-12, Caleb Singleton 2-2, Darin Patton 1-(-2); (S) Hammack 21-139, Sember 5-8, B. Motsinger 7-(-33).
Passing - (P) Derek VanEmon 13-20-2-200; (S) B. Motsinger 6-16-2-114.
Receiving - (P) Charlie McIntosh 4-134, Travis Cole 3-36, Josh Stevens 3-15, Josh Thomas 1-2, Joe Fullen 1-7, Mark Sutherlin 1-6; (S) Dean 4-87, Sember 1-15, C. Motsinger 1-12
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****BROWNSTOWN ESCAPES PAOLI 22-18***
PAOLI - The old cliche says it's the little things that kill. Those words rang painfully true at Paoli Friday night as the Rams, with undefeated Brownstown on the ropes for one half of play, discovered the importance of converting on extra points as the
Braves bounced back from first-half disaster to ruin Paoli's upset bid, 22-18.
Tim Bless' squad dominated the first 24 minutes of play with what seemed to be relative ease before poor second-half decision making and the awakening of Brownstown's running game turned the tide.
When all was said and done, Paoli managed to put up more total yards than the Braves and match Reed May's club blow-for-blow in touchdowns. Each team had three. The difference came on the point-after, however, as Brownstown put two kicks through the upri
ghts and connected on one two-point conversion. The Rams, in comparison, missed a kick and failed twice for the two-pointer.
"They always have a great kicking game and we struggle," Bless said. "This is the first year our kid has ever kicked a football in his life. I'm sure he was nervous on that first PAT and we had to go for two from there. Our offense can score touchdowns -
we need to be able to score two-point plays. We got shut down on our two-point plays and that came up big against us."
Paoli took control early by opening the game with a 14-play drive that consumed 7:43. The balance was nearly perfect as the Rams ran the ball eight times and went to the air six. Joe Fullen capped the drive with a seven yard touchdown reception from Dere
k VanEmon.
Brownstown's first possession summed up the team's first half. After holding and illegal procedure penalties pushed the Braves back to no-man's land, May's club was forced to punt after just three plays.
After a Paoli punt Brownstown was once again forced to go three-and-out. Four minutes later Travis Cole made a wonderful leaping grab - despite blanket coverage - on a VanEmon bomb to put the Rams up 12-0.
The Paoli defense remained solid after that, forcing Brownstown to once again punt after just three plays.
Brownstown ran a total of 12 first-half plays for 11 yards (the Braves had 45 penalty yards). The Rams, meanwhile, had already gotten 90 ground yards (82 by Charlie McIntosh) and 97 through the air.
"I'm so proud of the way our kids played," said Bless. "The first half we played great football. They have more speed, they have more size and they have more strength and we put it to them on both sides of the football. Our defense played valiantly."
Unfortunately for Bless, Brownstown's offense could not slumber all night. The Braves finally moved the ball on their first possession of the second half, but the end result was a punt after Paoli's defense stiffened around midfield. The Rams gave the ba
ll right back, however, as VanEmon rushed an errant throw under pressure that ended up in the hands of Brownstown's Josh McCrary. McCrary returned the interception to the Paoli 30 yard-line and the momentum switch kicked the Braves offense into overdrive
.
Matt Sterling broke the silence just over a minute later with an 11-yard run. Chris Lambring chipped in the all-important extra point to pull his club within five, 12-7.
VanEmon once again misfired on Paoli's next possession to give Brownstown the ball back in Ram territory. The Braves again cashed in on the miscue when Levi Nehrt hit the end zone from three-yards out. Nehrt then caught a two-point conversion pass from N
ate Berry to put Brownstown ahead, 15-12.
"I'll have to look at the film, I don't know exactly what happened," Bless said of the turnovers. "But obviously some poor reads were made and in the third quarter when they got momentum we just kind of fueled the fire for them. It really put our defense
in a bad situation."
Each team traded strong defensive stands before the Braves extended their lead with just 1:48 remaining when Corey Blevins cashed in on a three-yard run. Lambring again hit on the extra point kick to give Brownstown a 22-12 advantage.
"It's not a matter of us playing any less hard in the second half, we ran out of gas and their physical strength paid off in the second half," Bless said. "We knew we had to score. We were up 12-0 and that's a good spot to be in at halftime, but I knew w
e were going to have to score more than 12. It's not that I expected our defense to break down, I just knew how powerful Brownstown was.
"And our defense didn't break down. Brownstown's offense earned those scores."
Paoli still had some fight left and pushed the ball up field via a 29-yard pass from VanEmon to Cole. The senior quarterback capped the drive with a one-yard quarterback sneak to keep his club within striking distance, 22-18.
The ensuing onside kick failed to travel 10 yards, however, allowing Brownstown to run out the clock and hang on to the win.
"They played a great football game," Bless said. "We fought the entire football game, and even though we lost on the scoreboard this is going to make us better for the sectional."
May thinks Brownstown's strength proved to be the difference.
"They played a heck of a first half against us," the Braves coach said. "Offensively we just stunk up the place. I told the kids at halftime a lot of people didn't think we could play four quarters. I challenged the kids and they came through. Overall we
played a good second half. I think we just wore them down physically in the second half."
McIntosh finished the evening with 131 yards on 23 carries. VanEmon was 10-for-23 with 133 yards. Cole recorded five receptions for a total of 89 yards.
Brownstown was led by Corey Blevins' 17 carry, 81-yard performance.
Paoli (4-4) will travel to Perry Central next Friday.
Brownstown 0 0 15 7 - 22
Paoli 6 6 0 6 - 18
First Quarter
P - Derek VanEmon 7 yard touchdown pass to Joe Fullen (kick failed), 4:17; Paoli 6, Brownstown 0.
Second Quarter
P - Derek VanEmon 30 yard touchdown pass to Travis Cole (pass failed), 4:05; Paoli 12, Brownstown 0.
Third Quarter
B - Matt Sterling 11-yard run (Chris Lambring kick) 6:38; Paoli 12, Brownstown 7.
B - Levi Nehrt 3-yard run (Nate Berry pass to Nehrt) :51.7; Brownstown 15, Paoli 12.
Fourth Quarter
B - Corey Blevins 3-yard run (Lambring kick) 1:48; Brownstown 22, Paoli 12.
P - Derek VanEmon 1 yard touchdown run (pass failed) 1:16; Brownstown 22, Paoli 18.
Team Statistics
B - First Downs 11 (10 by run, 1 by pass), Rushing 49-221, Passing 1-7-0-11, Total Yards 232, Fumbles 0 (Lost 0), Penalties 8-65.
P - First Downs 14 (8 by run, 2 by pass, 2 by penalty), Rushing 31-154, Passing 10-23-2-133, Total Yards 287, Fumbles 1 (Lost 0), Penalties 4-25.
Individual Statistics
Rushing - (B) Nehrt 11-59, Blevins 17-81, Berry 2-(-7), Wischmeir 3-24, Prince 1-3, Sterling 10-32, Wayt 1-2, Fish 4-27; (P) Charlie McIntosh 23-131, Mark Sutherlin 5-15, Derek VanEmon 3-8.
Passing - (B) Berry 1-7-0-11; (P) Derek VanEmon 10-23-2-133.
Receiving - (B) Nehrt 1-11; (P) Travis Cole 5-89, Josh Thomas 2-30, Joe Fullen 2-12, Mark Sutherlin 1-2
