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Seth Ponsford tries to shake a tackle after a catch downfield.

By Josh Lewis, Writer

It was a wet, but not a wild game between Corydon and Salem on Saturday. The game was moved thanks to the stormy weather coming into the area, and both teams squared off in the rain on Saturday afternoon. Both offenses struggled, but Salem struggled just a little more than the Panthers as they fell 10-6.

Head Coach Brian Glesing said he was proud of the effort from his squad despite the loss.

“I liked our fight. We executed the game plan defensively. I was happy with our defense. This is a team averaging a lot of points and we held them to 10. That was pretty good. I liked how we fought. We wanted to control the ball and we did in the second half. We got the ball back and gave ourselves a chance. We just aren’t a team that can line up and throw it like you see in a two minute drill,” said Glesing. “We just aren’t that team.”

After both teams traded punts in the first quarter Corydon finally got some offense going on the ground, converting a fourth and short to keep the drive going. They broke the stalemate early in the second stanza with a 30 yard field goal.

The Lions next drive looked promising after getting a first down with a penalty, but a fumble on their own 40 yard line allowed the Panthers to drive the field with some gashing runs and put in a 1 yard touchdown run to make a 10-0 game with 4:15 left in the half.

In the third quarter the Lions started to get some momentum with a long run from Noah Deaton to get out to the Corydon 46 yard line. But the drive stalled after a holding penalty.

Both teams traded punts again and the Lions again started to move the ball with a mixed ground and air attack. Caris Moore got a big run followed by a catch from Seth Ponsford. The Lions looked like they were about to punch in a score, but a fumble on the snap gave the ball back to Corydon at the two yard line.

After forcing another punt the Lions drive again stalled when they turned the ball over on downs at the Corydon 30 yard line. This time though the defense forced a fumble on the next play. To get the ball back. Two plays later Adam Mull found Deaton down the seam for a 27 yard score. The two point conversion was stuffed and Salem trailed 10-6 with 2:39 left in the game.

The onside kick was recovered by the Panthers but after forcing a quick three and out Salem was able to give themselves a chance, taking over at their own 26 with 1:28 to play. But the Lions offense couldn’t get going and an interception at the 42 yard line ended the game, extending their losing streak to five.

Salem has been short handed and fighting the injury bug the last couple weeks. Glesing remarked that getting those guys back will help them get on the right side of their losing streak.

“We have to get 14 guys healthy. It's tough when you have 50 on the team and 30% of them are out. We have to continue plugging away. When a guy gets hurt you have to switch positions and it can get discombobulated sometimes. We have to get guys healthy and fight," said Glesing.

With so many guys out Glesing said they moved some guys around and he was proud of them for making that sacrifice.

“C.J. Ward went to guard this week from fullback. He made a move for the team. It’s tough to go from being a ball carrier to the offensive line," acknowledged Glesing. "Braxton Dean had to play some running back. That’s tough to do but it’s team stuff with guys caring more about the team.”

Up next for the Lions is a trip to Eastern for a county showdown.

Caris Moore breaks a tackle on a long run.

Noah Deaton gets around the end for a big run.

By Dennis Dunn, Writer

The IHSAA just recently announced the boys and girls soccer sectional pairings on Sunday, September 29. Both of the sectionals will begin the week of Oct. 7-12. The boys will begin 2A Sectional play at Silver Creek while the girls will compete in the Class A Sectional at Providence.

The Lions are 6-7 on the year and are 3-2 against other sectional opponents. They have a 3-2 win over Corydon Central, 6-1 win over North Harrison and a 3-2 win over Scottsburg. Their losses came against Silver Creek and Charlestown.

The Lions will open sectional play against Silver Creek in Match 1. Charlestown and Corydon Central will play Match 2. The winner of Match 1 will play the winner of Match 2. In Match 4, Scottsburg will battle North Harrison.

The Lady Lions are 0-9-1 on the year and are 0-1 against other sectional opponents as they were defeated 2-1 by Trinity Lutheran. They will begin sectional play in Match 3 against Christian Academy of Indiana. In Match 1, Providence will battle Southwestern (Hanover), while Shawe Memorial will play Trinity Lutheran in Match 2.

Austin drew the bye and will play the Providence-SW Hanover winner. In Match 5, the winner of Match 2 will play the winner of Match 3.

Boys

Class 2A Sectional at Silver Creek

M1: Silver Creek vs. Salem

M2: Charlestown vs. Corydon Central

M3: M1 winner vs. M2 winner

M4: Scottsburg vs. North Harrison

Championship: M3 winner vs. M4 winner

Girls

Class A Sectional at Providence

M1: Providence vs. SW Hanover

M2: Shawe Memorial vs. Trinity Lutheran

M3: Christian Academy vs. Salem

M4: Austin vs. M1 winner

M5: M2 winner vs. M3 winner

Championship: M4 winner vs. M5 winner

The rough patch continues for the Salem Lions as they were unable to break their losing streak following the 63-12 loss against the Springs Valley Blackhawks. Outmatched by the Blackhawks, the score settled at 42-12 by the end of the first half.

Despite the loss Friday night, the Lions still had strong showings from Logan Dent and Noah Deaton who garnered 98 yards and a touchdown and 92 yards and a touchdown respectively.

This loss drops Salem’s standing to 1-4, and raises Springs Valley’s to 4-1.

This Friday, the Salem Lions will take on Corydon Central @ Corydon at 7 p.m., and Springs Valley will play Crawford County @ Crawford County at 7 p.m.

Braxton Dean climbs the ladder to come down with a catch.

By: Josh Lewis, Reporter

Salem had their homecoming festivities on Friday night, but the action on the field wasn’t nearly as festive. The Brownstown Braves came to town and brought with them a 54-12 loss that they handed the Lions.

The Braves moved the ball with ease, amassing almost 500 yards of total offense. Brownstown only took a few plays to get on the board with a 37 yard touchdown run to make it a quick 7-0 lead.

Salem put together a nice drive with a big pass play to Braxton Dean to get into Braves territory. But the drive ended with a turnover on down at the 33 yard line. The Brave put together two more quick scoring drives thanks to some big plays on the ground to make it 21-0 with 2:26 left in the opening quarter.

In the second quarter the Lions got their offense going again thanks to a turnover. The Braves tried some trickery and instead fumbled the ball at their own 23 yard line. But Salem had to overcome some adversity. Facing a fourth and 22 at the 37, the Lions were aided by a pass interference penalty to make the fourth down attempt easier. Adam Mull found Dean on a screen over the middle to get down to the nine yard line.

A few plays later they had to overcome yet another fourth down attempt at the eight yard line. But yet another pass interference penalty gave them a fourth and goal at the four. From there Mull found Seth Ponsford in the endzone for the score to make it 21-6 with 6:13 left in the half.

To close the half though the Braves put up three straight scoring drives including one with under a minute left to make it a 42-6 lead heading into the locker room.

DSC 0039 small Adam Mull looks for a receiver down field.

Salem put together one more scoring drive early in the third quarter when Mull found Dean deep for a 30 yard connection, but that was all the offense could muster for the night and they dropped to 1-3 on the season.

Salem will travel to Springs Valley on Friday to try and snap their three game skid.