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Subscribe to our Newsletter2001 Paoli Rams
Pictured Above:
First Row L-R: Cheerleaders: Brandi Goolsby, Brooke Condra, Jana Baechle, Natalie Manship, Brittany Young, Sarah Stevens, Victoria Easterday, Jennifer Patton, Lauren Oakley, Amber Cupp, Ashley Padgett, Dana Cook, Kelley Monroe, Whitney Kellams, Jordon Hopper, Amanda Couch.
Second Row L-R: Dominik Florianski, Joe Fullen, Rance Brown, Adam Thornton, Derek Calvert, Jeremy Hinton, Charlie Daugherty, Caleb Singleton, Chad Bowles, Derek Mauermann.
Third Row L-R: Alex Whiteman, Matt Frost, Joe Elliott, Chris Boone, Chase Kimmel, Seth Welty, Sam Hawkins, Tyler Phillips, Wes Whitfield, Bryan Blevins, Josh Rojahn.
Fourth Row L-R: Chris Wilson, Zach Moore, Tyler White, Casey Foye, Michael Nice, Ben Flick, Alex King, Jerrod Hammes, Matt Shadle, Danny Staggs.
Fifth Row L-R: Cody Ash, Travis Patton, Matt Burton, Shane Staggs, Dwight Cline, Cameron Andry, Branden Baker, Zeb Emerick, Justin Moon, J.T. Zapien.
Sixth Row L-R: Managers: Adrienne Hinshaw& Missy Gilliatt, Assistant Coaches: Bill Brechue, Darek Newkirk, Billy Vincent, Head Coach Jeff Scalf, Assistant Coaches: Mike Smith, Doug Horton, Travis Heavin, & Matt Hinshaw, Managers Sarah Hutson, Emme Whiteman, & Trainer Shannon Salmon
Team Leaders:
Passing: Wes Whitfield: 89/223 att. 1,328 yds. 5 TD
Rushing: Tyler White 133 att. 822 yds. 6 TD
Recieving: Joe Fullen 30 rec. 487 yds. 4 TD
2001 Game Results:
vs. Southridge: Southridge: 32 Paoli: 0
at. Mitchell : Paoli: 20 Mitchell: 13
vs. Springs Valley: Springs Valley: 14 Paoli: 7
vs. North Harrison: Paoli: 35 North Harrison: 0
at. West Washington: West Washington: 22 Paoli: 14
at. Corydon: Paoli 25 Corydon: 21
at. Salem: Salem 35 Paoli: 14
vs. Brownstown: Brownstown 52 Paoli: 8
at. Perry Central: Perry Central: 39 Paoli: 0
vs. Southridge: Southridge: 55 Paoli: 7
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2002 GAME RECAPS:
****RAMS "WHITE HOT" IN 25-21 WIN OVER CORYDON****
CORYDON — The Paoli Rams scored 15 unanswered points in the fourth quarter Friday night to earn a 25-21 victory and put a damper on Homecoming activities at Corydon.
Sophomore tailback Tyler White rambled for 215 yards on 35 carries and refused to be brought down in the second half as he helped the Rams erase an 11-point deficit in the final 10 minutes to even their record at 3-3.
Paoli coach Jeff Scalf was quick to credit his seniors for their leadership on the field when the Rams had their backs against the wall.
“I think the big thing is that enthusiasm is contagious, but importantly belief is contagious also,” said Scalf. “And I think as much as anything, a springboard for the success we had in the second half came from a regrouping and an example that our seniors showed for our underclassmen. I think tonight for the first time you can say truly there was character displayed in their performance.”
The Rams fell behind early when the Panthers mounted a 13-play drive that covered 58 yards on their initial possession of the game. Tailback Josh Spencer was the workhorse on the drive, carrying the ball seven times for 23 yards, including the final three-yard score.
The Rams had the ball for less than four minutes and failed to gain a first down until the final play of the opening period, then proceeded to reel off a 16-play drive that chewed up six minutes and resulted in a one-yard plunge by quarterback Wes Whitfield. Dominick Florianski added the PAT to knot the score at 7 with 6:00 left in the half.
On the Panthers next possession quarterback Justin McPherson hooked up with Nevin Dunaway on a 47-yard pass play that moved the ball inside the Paoli 20, but Sam Hawkins stepped in front of the next pass attempt to give the Rams the ball back at their own 14 with 4:29 to play in the first half.
Paoli’s offense, which had been stagnant in the first quarter, held the ball for all but four plays of the second period and behind their powerful offensive line and the running of White, moved the ball to the 24 with less than a minute to play. Florianski calmly stepped onto the field and drilled a 37-yard field goal to give the Rams a 10-7 lead at the half.
The lead was short-lived however, as Spencer ran the second-half kickoff back 85 yards for a touchdown.
After going three and out on their initial possession, the Rams gave up a 48-yard touchdown pass from McPherson to Michael Emily and found themselves down 21-10 with 8:21 left in the third.
With 3:47 left in the period, White took over. The talented sophomore racked up 64 yards on his next six carries and scored from a yard out with 10:49 left in the contest to pull the Rams to within three.
“In the second half and in the fourth quarter especially, we out-physicalled them and that’s the nature of the game of football,” said Scalf. “And of course you can’t help but compliment the effort we saw in Tyler White the last three quarters of the game. He played tremendously inspired. Then you come to Wes calling our check with me’s at the line of scrimmage, so it was a total team effort.”
Jerrod Hammes came up with a pair of sacks in the final period, while Jeremy Hinton and Alex King also pounded McPherson as the Rams took control.
After getting the ball on the Corydon 25-yard line with 5:56 to play, White added runs of 13 and 12 yards as he carried it in for the final score.
“There’s no secret to this game,” said Scalf. “The secret that you find is, do you have mental toughness and do you have character, and that’s what our kids found tonight.”
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****PAOLI DEFEATS MITCHELL 20-14***
MITCHELL - A puzzling, perplexing purple plague has cast a pall over Mitchell football. Paoli powered its way to PLAC pleasure for the fifth consecutive season at the Bluejackets' expense as the Rams roared back in the second half for a 20-14 triumph Friday night at Terry Cole Field.
Mitchell's last victory in the series came in 1996. For all the success he's enjoyed with the Bluejackets, coach Darrin Russell has yet to sample a win over Paoli.
"I don't know what it is about them, but they kind of bring out the worst in us," said Russell, whose team had five turnovers and 60 yards in penalties. "Their kids played hard and made the plays, but we hurt ourselves with mistakes.
"We had spells where we were effective doing what we were doing, but you've got to be able to do that continuously. When you shoot yourself in the foot with penalties then you're not going to be effective. It was just a lot of silly mistakes, but we also got manhandled up front.
"We came into the season thinking our strength was going to be our line, but this is the second week in a row they haven't shown up. But it's not just the line's fault. We've got a lot of work to do as a team."
Paoli coach Jeff Scalf earned his first win with the Rams, and they got it done by shifting to a passing attack in the second half after the Bluejackets stuffed the run in the first half. Paoli managed just 34 total yards in the opening two quarters, but its defense kept it in the game, surrendering only 87 total yards. Mitchell shifted to a power-I offense and snapped the scoreless stalemate when Matt Miller squirted in from a yard out with 27 seconds showing. David Bentley's PAT kick made it 7-0 at the break.
The Rams turned it around on their second possession of the second half, taking over at their own 22 after Adam Thornton's second interception of the game. Scalf shifted into a spread offense and junior quarterback Wes Whitfield hit three passes, the last one a 33-yard play-action strike to tight end Joe Fullen down to the Mitchell 11. Following an illegal procedure penalty, halfback Tyler White motored off left tackle for a 16-yard touchdown run. Dominick Florianski's kick tied it, 7-7, at 2:14 of the third period.
Mitchell failed to move on its next possession, and the Whitfield-Fullen fling worked even better the second time around. On first down from the Paoli 31, Whitfield faked a handoff and Fullen streaked out on a flag pattern. Bentley had it covered, but he went for the ball and mistimed his leap, while Fullen kept his focus and snagged it. He set sail and barely beat Bentley to the end zone for a 69-yard scoring play that put Paoli ahead for good. Florianski's kick made it 14-7 with 10:41 remaining.
Scalf felt the mixing of run and pass made the big play possible.
"You have to establish the running game, I don't care what level you're playing, and off you're running game comes your play-action," he said. "I heard a long time ago that yards come off drop-back, and touchdowns come off play-action. That same play gave us problems in the first half when they hit the tight end for a big first down on that drive where they scored. That comes down to discipline. Our kid knew what he was supposed to do, but they come with play-action and he gets sucked up in the ball flow. Play-action is tough to defend when you execute it well.
"Wes did a really good job with the play-action, and Joe made a nice catch. He hadn't practiced all week, or just minimally. He's got a hip pointer, but he made some big catches, and it comes back to great protection, great throw, and great catch. It's just execution.
"They were coming up there and stuffing us hard on the run. They're a physical group of people with some good-looking athletes, so we looked at some things at halftime and the biggest thing is we were able to execute what they gave us."
Gave it away is precisely how Russell would describe it.
"We did a real good job shutting the run down until late in the game when we were going for the ball, but we got burned by the pass," he said. "The thing is we had told them and told them to watch the tight end, and they knew when they were going to pass, but Paoli still made the plays.
"You've got to be disciplined and play your responsibilities. It's a simple game. You do what you're supposed to do, and it takes care of it. But right now we've got some kids who think they know more than we know, and that's not going to last."
Paoli's defense, led by linebacker Bryan Blevins, defensive end Jeremy Hinton, and defensive tackle Alex King, kept Mitchell from responding on offense. A fumble ended the ensuing possession, a dropped pass stymied the following one, and four straight incompletions stalled the next one.
Then, with Mitchell's defense worried about the pass, and generally wearing down, White began to run wild. He carried for 60 yards in the fourth quarter, with his 10-yard scoring burst with 2:57 remaining capping a 14-carry, 103-yard effort.
"We're at a point where I think we're in pretty good shape," said Scalf. "We always want to put ourselves in a position to win the game in the fourth quarter, and the biggest thing is we played hard all the way again."
The Bluejackets bounced back with a 26-yard scoring strike from Cody Pickens to David Smith, but only :32.5 showed on the clock. Bentley's ensuing onside kick failed to go the required 10 yards, and the Rams were able to run out the clock.
Whitfield wound up with 124 passing yards - all in the second half - for Paoli (1-1)
Paoli 0 0 7 13-20
Mitchell 0 7 0 7-14
Second Quarter
M - Matt Miller, 1-yard touchdown run (David Bentley kick), :27.9. Mitchell 7, Paoli 0.
Third Quarter
P - Tyler White, 16-yard touchdown run (Dominick Florianski kick), 2:14. Paoli 7, Mitchell 7.
Fourth Quarter
P - Wes Whitfield , 69 yard touchdown pass to Joe Fullen (Dominik Florianski kick), 10:41. Paoli 14, Mitchell 7.
P - Tyler White, 10 yard touchdown run (Kick failed), 2:57. Paoli 20, Mitchell 7.
M - David Smith, 26-yard pass from Cody Pickens (Bentley kick), :32.5. Paoli 20, Mitchell 14.
Team Statistics
P - First Downs 6 (4 by run, 2 by pass); Rushing 33-130; Passing 4-11-0-124; Total Yards 254; Fumbles 3 (Lost 1); Penalties 14-83.
M - First Downs 13 (5 by run, 5 by pass, 3 by penalty); Rushing 39-92; Passing 17-31-2-147; Total Yards 239; Fumbles 5 (Lost 3); Penalties 6-60.
Individual Statistics
Rushing - (P) Tyler White 14-103, Charlie Daugherty 7-26, Caleb Singleton 4-14, Wes Whitfield 8-(-23); (M) Neff 15-62, Miller 14-20, Thompson 8-10, Pickens 2-0.
Passing - (P) Wes Whitfield 4-11-0-124; (M) Pickens 17-31-2-147.
Receiving - (P) Joe Fullen 2-102, Chase Kimmel 1-14, Seth Welty 1-8; (M) Smith 8-89, Miller 5-29, Brown 3-22, Dorsett 1-8.
