CLARKSVILLE — Two teams fighting for their first win of the season almost always makes for a good game. That was just the case Friday night at Murphy Stadium as the Providence outran the Floyd Central, 27-19.

“It felt good, especially in a rivalry game against Floyd Central,” Providence head coach Larry Dension said. “We marked this game on our schedule before the season.”

With a loud, flannel-clad student section behind them, the Pioneers wasted no time taking it to the house. Providence capped the steady, all-ground drive, with a 27-yard run from Owen Mattingly with 9:25 to go in the opening frame. The point-after attempt from Andrew Wimp sailed wide right, leaving Providence with an early 6-0 lead.

The intense pace was short lived as the two squads exchanged stalled drives for the remainder of the opening period. Floyd Central managed to get to the Providence 11 before losing the ball on downs. The Pioneers did not make much progress from that spot, stalling out and punting from their own 16-yard line with 35 seconds to go in the first quarter.

The Highlanders took advantage of the possession to open the second quarter. In a drive dominated and ended by the running of Gabriel Kennedy. Kennedy and the Highlanders evened the score with a 9-yard scamper. The ensuing PAT from Ryan Lenz was wide left and it was tied at six with 9:27 remaining in the first half.

On the following drive, Providence started off on the right foot. A 65-yard kickoff return from Ben Hauber gave the Pioneers a start from the Highlander 30. Just 120 seconds later, it was advantage Providence after a 21-yard run from Matt Bell, followed by another failed PAT attempt. The scoring play gave Providence a 12-6 lead with 7:05 remaining in the second quarter.

Floyd Central took the remaining seven minutes of the half driving to the Providence 12 before turning it over on downs. The Pioneers ran one play before taking a knee to go into the half with the lead.

On the opening drive of the third quarter, Floyd Central rode the running power of Kennedy and Garry Posey to the end zone. Posey capped of the drive with a 14-yard run, followed by a perfect PAT kick from Lenz giving the Highlanders their first lead of the night, a narrow 13-12 advantage with 9:32 remaining in the third quarter.

In their first hole of the night, Providence started a methodic drive down the field. The 65-yard drive ended with a 1-yard run from Mattingly and a lob from Nathan Banet to Mattingly on the 2-point conversion to put the Pioneers back on top, 20-13 with 9:30 remaining in the third quarter.

Facing their largest deficit of the night, Floyd Central looked to even it up against a fired up Pioneer defense. After burning off the remaining two minutes of the third quarter, Posey opened up the fourth quarter with a bang.

He put Floyd Central back in the end zone with a 62-yard sprint. The Highlanders passed on the opportunity to tie with the kick, but failed to get back across the goal line for the two-point conversion. The failed conversion shifted the momentum and set the score at 20-19 with just under 12 minutes remaining in the game.

“It doesn’t surprise me [that they went for it],” Denison said, downplaying the momentum shift.

Floyd Central head coach Brian Glesing had a different point of view.

“It didn’t matter,” he said. “We just didn’t stop their defense except for one time.”

Providence did not wait long to open the lead up again. On the first play of the drive, Mattingly went 80 yards. After a successful PAT from Wimp, Providence led 27-19 with 11:30 remaining in the game.

“We’re not very good at defense,” Glesing admitted.

Riding on their wave of momentum, the Pioneer defense made a stand, shutting down Floyd Central’s ensuing drive with 4:17 remaining in the game. The Pioneers took possession on their own 20 with an 8-point lead and four minutes to burn. The drive and time burn ended with a punt with 1:34 remaining, pinning Floyd Central on the 5 with 85 seconds in regulation.

The Highlanders managed to get one first down on their final drive of the night, falling 81 yards short of a potentially game-tying score.

The Pioneers were led in rushing by Mattingly, who had 201 yards on 17 carries. He had help from Bell, who had 103 yards on 16 runs.

The Highlanders were led in rushing by Posey with 177 yards on 20 carries. Kennedy finished with 138 yards on 19 attempts.

The aerial game was negligible as both teams, which combined for a total of 16 yards in the air, nine for Providence and seven for Floyd Central.

Providence will hit the road next week, heading to Louisville to face Holy Cross (Ky.), while Floyd Central will be at home against Madison, which beat South Dearborn 32-12 on Friday.



PROVIDENCE 27, FLOYD CENTRAL 19

Floyd Central (0-2)    0   6    7    6—19

Providence (1-1)        6   6    8    7—27

First Quarter

    P — Owen Mattingly 27 run (kick failed)

Second Quarter

    FC — Gabriel Kennedy 9 run (kick failed)

    P — Matt Bell 21 run (kick failed)

Third Quarter

    FC — Garry Posey 14 run (Ryan Lenz kick)

    P — Mattingly 1 run (Mattingly pass from Nathan Banet)

Fourth Quarter

    FC — Posey 62 run (run failed)

    P — Mattingly 80 run (Wimp kick)