LINDEN — Senior night was a night to remember for not only the 10 Chargers seniors honored before the game, but all fans, in a 54-26 football win.
It was a unique game, as four kickoffs were lost by the receiving team, but it came down to North scoring at least one touchdown in each quarter, going 7-for-7 in the red zone and adding two-point conversions on six of those seven touchdowns, as they move to 3-5 on the season and 3-3 in the Sagamore Conference. It was also the final Sagamore game played at North.
The Hot Dogs fall to 0-8 and 0-6.
“It was a good senior night,” Chargers coach Josh Thompson said. “We were able to send them out on a good note, and several of those seniors came up with good plays.”
One of those seniors was Jayden Thompson, who happens to be related to the head coach.
Thompson had three rushing touchdowns, giving him five for the season. He had 75 rushing yards on a dozen carries. He also caught two passes and was in on more than a few defensive stops.
Another senior, Kelby Harwood, caught four passes for 65 yards and two scores, giving the Wabash-bound tight end nine touchdowns for the season. He also picked off a pass in the third quarter and caught his second TD seven plays later.
Senior Cameron Enlow had two grabs for 15 yards and the last TD of the night, his first of the season. Connor Koopman caught three passes for 28 yards, ran twice for 18 yards, caught a two-point conversion and ran for another two pointer. Kingston Runyon had a two-point catch.
“We overcame some adversity in both halves,” Coach Thompson said. “We had the onside kick to start the game, and we finished the first half well. Frankfort got another kick in the second half, and scored twice, but we adjusted.”
The Hot Dogs went for an onside kick to start the game, and recovered the loose ball. They went on to score on that drive, but the Chargers came back to score on their first drive, and then their next three, to take a 32-6 halftime lead.
The visitors jumped back into it to start the second half, scoring, recovering another onside kick and scoring again.
It was 32-20, but again, North got on track offensively, scoring on three straight possessions in the third and early in the fourth quarters to extend the lead back to a comfortable margin.
The Chargers spread the load out offensively.
Jack Warren threw for 108 yards and three touchdowns. The junior was 11-of-15.
Warren also ran for 37 yards and to the credit of the offensive line, was not sacked. Dakota Glasson came on the rushing scene for North, as the sophomore ran for a team-best 84 yards on eight carries and had a TD on his first carry, his first score of the season. He had four carries of 12 yards or better.
“We made positive things happen with multiple guys,” Thompson said. “We made good decisions running the ball, and shared the load. When you spread it out, the defense can’t single out one guy.”
That was just the opposite situation for Frankfort, who had one guy carrying all the water.
Lalo Castillo had 138 rush yards on 33 carries and scored twice. He also caught three of the four completed passes by Hot Dogs QB Dennis Barkley, going for 69 yards. He had a 56-yard catch, run and score on a fourth-down play in the third quarter.
It is the senior’s seventh game of the season rushing for 100-plus yards, including four against Sagamore Conference foes. He also passed the 1,000-yard mark for the season. “He got a lot of good yards after first contact,” Thompson said.
The win gives the Chargers some momentum heading into the regular-season finale next Friday at Danville. The seniors go out winning the county title at home and senior night. The other five seniors honored were Mikeal Kincaid, Nick Hurliman, Collin Tyo, Andy Veselji and David Sanchez.
The Hot Dogs finish at home, and the final Sagamore Conference games will be played, next Friday. They will play host to Crawfordsville.
