1st half dominance by Red Devils leads to victory.
The Good
In a game that highlighted 4 of Marion county's Game Changers Pike's David Kenney, Dominique Booth, and Brent Lyles and North Centrals Darius Latham I must say I was excited to see what was going to transpire. Well, it was obvious from the opening kickoff that Pike was ready to defend last years 21-14 defeat. The Red Devils dominated from the first snap statistically. The final score of 23-6 is not indicative of what it should of been. Through three quarters, Pike had 307 yards of offense led by junior quarterback Brent Lyles who completed 19 of 32 passes for 198 yards, junior receiver was equally impressive with 11 receptions for 136 yards and 2 touchdowns. The Red Devils did by air and ground as running back Derrick Wilkerson piled up 124 yards on 19 carries.
The Bad
North Central looked imposing both offensively and defensively with a gargantuan sized line that looked to average 6'4 and 280. But, the speed and quickness of the Red Devils wore the Panthers down. North Central didn't manage a 1st down until 7:28 remaining in the 1st half...not 1st quarter, but 1st half.The Panthers lone bright spot was James Mitchell who provided their only score on a 95 yard kickoff return. Mitchell returned three kicks for 156 yards in the 1st half alone.
From my perspective
I really thought that this would be a much more competitive game. On paper it looked as if North Central had the size to control both sides of the line, but it became quite obvious on Pike's 1st possession that they had the better athletes with speed and quickness. It was also obvious that the Red Devils were highly motivated to avenge last years 21-14 lost. Yes, this was the the 1st game of the season, but playing in the MIC Conference as North Central do you must always be prepared to play you best.
Key stats
Lyles was 14-22 for 150 yards in the 1st half, connecting with Booth 7 times for 100 yards.
Next week
Pike will host Ben Davis(1-0)
North Central will host Lawrence Central (1-0)
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