FLOYDS KNOBS — One word can describe the Jeffersonville football team’s offense in a nutshell — explosive.

The Red Devils pulled out to a 35-0 halftime lead and cruised to a 63-15 win over Floyd Central on Friday night at Ron Weigleb Stadium. Jeff racked up 659 total yards with 344 coming on the ground as it stayed in first place in the Hoosier Hills Conference.

“Anytime we line up, we can score from anywhere,” Red Devils’ coach Lonnie Oldham said. “When we speed up the offense, we are hard to hold down. Our running game really surprised them.”

Floyd Central coach Brian Glesing said his players simply got out-muscled by the Red Devils.

“Obviously, it was grown men against boys. They’ve got a good team,” Glesing said. “We had red-zone opportunities [in the first half] and then we got penalties to end those drives.”

The Red Devils (4-1, 4-0 HHC) got another stellar all-around performance from quarterback Tyler Fridley. The senior completed 15-of-24 passes for 315 yards, three touchdowns and one interception. Fridley also ran for 114 yards on six carries with a pair of scores.

“He is making our offense go,” Oldham said. “He makes good decision in both running and passing the ball.”

The Red Devils took command of the contest on their opening series. Dionte Allen capped off a 66-yard drive with a 10-yard touchdown reception from Fridley to give Jeff a 7-0 lead.

After Floyd Central (1-4, 1-2) failed to convert a fourth-and-3 at the Jeff 38-yard line, the Red Devils needed only three plays to reach the end zone again. Following back-to-back receptions of 14 and 15 yards by senior Ricky Embry, running back Austin Hines registered a 25-yard touchdown run to put Jeff up 14-0.

With 2.2 seconds left in the first half, Allen recorded the biggest play of the contest. Lining up in the slot, the 6-foot-4 received a short pass from Fridley and ran straight up the hash marks for a 98-yard TD catch, extending the Red Devils’ advantage to 21-0. It was longest reception in school history.

“I don’t know how you leave a guy that open,” Oldham said.

Jeff increased its lead to 28-0 with 3:41 left in the first half on a 1-yard TD run by Fridley. Fridley set up his own score with a 66-yard scamper on the first play of the drive.

After Jeff defensive back David Morales intercepted a pass by Floyd Central quarterback Bryce Smith in the end zone with 1:55 left in the half, the Red Devils needed seven plays on a 80-yard drive to score again. Fridley capped off the series with an 8-yard TD run to put Jeff by 35 points.

Along with lauding his offense, Oldham praised his defense for blanking the Highlanders in the first half.

“Defensively, I couldn’t be more prouder,” Oldham said. “With the score 35-0 at halftime, I was really happy with our defense. We were pursuing to the football. We handled them up front physically.”

The Red Devils’ advantage kept on growing in the early moments of the third quarter. At the 9:46 mark, wide receiver Jacquari Chandler snagged a 45-yard touchdown pass from Fridley to Jeff up 42-0.

Floyd Central finally got a positive result on a long drive with 4:07 remaining in the third. The Highlanders’ Gabriel Kennedy ended a 14-play, 72-yard drive with a 1-yard TD plunge to slice Jeff’s lead to 42-6.

But the Red Devils needed just one play to respond. On the first play of Jeff’s next drive, Hines made a 52-yard touchdown scamper to up the advantage to 49-6.

At the beginning of the final quarter, Floyd Central scored nine unanswered points on 31-yard field goal by Ryan Lenz and a 1-yard TD run by Garry Posey.

Glesing gave a simple answer for why his offense picked up in the second half.

“We put different players in the game — that’s why,” Glesing said. “If you can’t do the job, then you’ve got to make changes.”

Jeff ended the game with a pair of scores. Derek Hughes had a 5-yard touchdown run with 6:26 left in regulation and Allen made a 5-yard TD scamper of his own with 2:34 left.

Hines had a game-high 186 rushing yards on 11 carries. Allen caught four passes for 143 yards, while Embry had six receptions for 93 yards. Chandler had three catches for 56 yards.

Kennedy rushed for 94 yards on 17 carries, while Posey had 71 yards on 19 rushes. Smith was 10-of-21 passing for 135 yards and two interceptions. Floyd Central senior Collin Engle had four receptions for 64 yards.

Both teams will be back in action next Friday. Jeff will host Providence, while Floyd Central will entertain Class 4A No. 1 Columbus East.

 

JEFFERSONVILLE 63, FLOYD CENTRAL 15

Jeff                    21 14 14 14—63

Floyd Central     0    0   6   9—15

First Quarter

    J — Dionte Allen 10 pass from Tyler Fridley (Fahuwu Momoh kick), 10:16.

    J — Austin Hines 25 run (Momoh kick), 5:08.

    J — Allen 98 pass from Fridley (Momoh kick), :02.2.

Second Quarter

    J — Fridley 1 run (Momoh kick), 3:41.

    J — Fridley 8 run (Momoh kick), :44.6.

Third Quarter

    J — Jacquari Chandler 45 pass from Fridley (Momoh kick), 9:46.

    FC — Gabriel Kennedy 1 run (kick failed), 4:07.

    J — Hines 52 run (Momoh kick), 3:47.

Fourth Quarter

    FC — Ryan Lenz 31 FG, 10:19.

    FC — Garry Posey 1 run (pass failed), 9:01.

    J — Derek Hughes 5 run (Momoh kick), 6:26.

    J — Allen 5 run (Momoh kick), 2:34.

Statistics

Rushing

    Jeff (23-344): Hines 11-186, Fridley 6-114; Floyd Central (54-176): Kennedy 16-94, Posey 19-71.

Passing

    Jeff (15-24-315-1): Fridley 15-24-315-1; Floyd Central (10-21-135-2): Bryce Smith 10-21-135-2.

Receiving

    Jeff: Allen 4-143, Ricky Embry 6-93, Chandler 3-56; Floyd Central: Collin Engle 4-64.