Saturday afternoon at Enlow Field in Evansville, a 30-yard field goal by Nico Brougham as time expired gave Evansville Memorial its first lead of the game and the Class 4A Regional Championship. The eighth ranked Tigers erased a 14-0 halftime deficit to defeat No. 5 East Central 17-14.
The heart-breaking loss left East Central to wonder what might have been as the Trojans offense sputtered throughout the contest committing a season-high five turnovers.
EC got the first big break of the game when Louis Gray recovered a Memorial fumble in the end zone early in the first quarter. Although the home crowd and Tiger sideline thought quarterback Caleb Ellspermann had thrown an incomplete pass, the officials ruled it a fumble and Gray was alert enough to cover the ball in the end zone for the TD. Sophie Browndyke’s extra point put the Trojans on top 7-0.
The East Central defense played a solid first half, only allowing the home team a 33-yard field goal attempt early in the second period that went well wide of the uprights.
On the ensuing drive, the Trojans Josh Ringer capped off an 80-yard drive with a six-yard touchdown run. The score was set up by a double reverse, flea flicker pass completion from Caleb Burton to Eli Aston. The Browndyke point-after gave the St. Leon boys a 14-0 halftime advantage.
On East Central’s first drive of the second half, the Trojans looked poised to take a three-score lead, driving deep in Memorial territory. But Tiger safety Jackson Draper intercepted a pass on the 17-yard line to change the momentum of the game.
Memorial made the turnover count as the Tigers drove 83-yards for their first score of the game. It was a three-yard shovel pass from Ellspermann to running back Xavier Tyler. Brougham’s extra point made it a 14-7 game with 2:03 to play in the third quarter.
The Trojan offense continued to struggle against Class 4A’s second ranked defense and gave the ball back to Memorial again early in the fourth quarter.
Then with 5:55 to play in the game, Ellspermann found Dominic Norman on a five-yard slant in the end zone. Brougham tied the match at 14-14 with the PAT.
The teams traded punts on their next possessions and the game looked to be headed to overtime. However, that’s when Tiger linebacker Will Rogers picked off another East Central pass on the Trojan 39-yard line with only 52 seconds remaining.
The Tiger offense moved the ball all the way down to the 12 to set up the winning 30-yard field goal attempt with only three seconds showing. After a Trojan timeout, Brougham drilled the kick through the uprights and the celebration ensued as the clock hit all zeros.
With the victory, the 11-2 Evansville Memorial Tigers will host the semi-state matchup with Mt. Vernon (Fortville) at Enlow Field with a trip to Lucas Oil stadium on the line.
The Trojans end the season with a record of 10-3 and the first sectional championship of the Jake Meiners’ era.
We thank our own Rob Moorhead for this edited report.