Lawrenceburg was late arriving but early in securing the victory.
Delayed by highway issues, the Tigers took three hours to get to Indian Creek High School, but they took less than 15 minutes to secure what became a 42-21 win against the host Braves.
Lawrenceburg not only spoiled opening night for Indian Creek, but also denied Braves head coach Mike Gillin a chance for career win No. 300.
Instead, the veteran coach and the Braves will have to wait until next week’s game against Greenwood for another try.
The loss was one of the worst of Gillin’s career at Indian Creek.
Lawrenceburg atoned for its tardiness by stopping the Braves’ opening possession and then made a statement on its first play from scrimmage. Senior fullback Austin Bowling had a 65-yard run to the 11-yard line and scored four plays later.
From there on out, Bowling bowled over the Braves, as the Tigers scored on their first three possessions to put the game away and make the ride back to Lawrenceburg seem shorter.
Bowling rushed for 339 yards and five touchdowns, including a startling 273 yards in the first half.
If that wasn’t enough, the Tigers were pretty adept in the air, too, as quarterback Reid Strobl threw for 91 yards and a touchdown.
Defensively, Lawrenceburg was just as stellar, stopping the Braves cold for the first three quarters before ultimately easing off. The visitors limited the Braves to 69 yards rushing, 235 total yards and a big zero on the scoreboard before the Tigers’ reserves entered the game.
The inability to run around the Tiger defense put the Braves at a disadvantage, allowing Lawrenceburg to play the pass on third and long.
But it was on offense where the Tigers were the most impressive.
After his big first carry, Bowling scored on runs of 1, 17, 68, and 1 yard. He also had two additional runs of 15 and 25 yards.
And it didn’t matter when he wasn’t carrying the ball, Indian Creek couldn’t stop the other Tiger runners, either. The team totaled 440 yards rushing.
If Lawrenceburg had a weakness, it was penalties. The Tigers were flagged 10 times for 100 yards.
The flags didn’t matter, as Indian Creek could not get anything put together for a long stretch.
Indian Creek did show a brief glimpse of promise in the first half as they were able to penetrate to the Tiger 7-yard line; however, three straight incompletions left the Braves with nothing to show.
It wouldn’t be until the fourth quarter, when Lawrenceburg pulled its starters, that the Braves would be able to gain anything.
On the opening drive of the fourth, junior Taylor Voris, who was harassed all evening, connected with junior wide receiver Brad Trietsch for a 24-yard touchdown that kept the Braves from getting shut out in their home opener.
Two more scores happened late in the fourth when Voris hit senior receiver Bryce Hogue for a 14-yard touchdown pass, and junior defensive lineman Zeke Davidson recovered a fumble and raced in 14 yards for the score.
