NEW ALBANY — New Albany had a couple of nice wins — over Providence in its opener and at Jennings County in Week 3 — prior to last Friday’s improbable 18-14 come-from-behind win over Bedford North Lawrence.

But from a confidence standpoint, neither compared to scoring 18 straight second-half points to beat the defending Class 5A Sectional 8 champion Stars.

“It was big in the fact that they were the defending sectional champs,” Bulldogs’ coach Charlie Fields said. “Last time we walked on the field with them, they completely embarrassed us. We learned from that loss and now we have the confidence to play with a quality program. It did a lot for our kids.”

Bedford was the second-best team New Albany had played. The Bulldogs lost to the other team, 26-0 to Castle. However, in that Week 2 loss, Fields said his team was a couple of miscues away from competing with the now-4-0 Knights.

Fields said against Bedford his team showed mental growth.

“Even in the Castle game, I felt like we played with them physically,” Fields said. “Once we shored those things up — and I think we did against Bedford — we feel like we can play with anyone on our schedule.”

And the next anyone on the Bulldog schedule is eight-time defending Hoosier Hills Conference champion Columbus East.

“I think Columbus East should apply as an expansion NFL team,” Fields said. “We know we’re going to have our hands full, but we’re excited about the challenge.”



HOLDING DOWN BURTON

While turnovers undid Clarksville’s chances to upset Class 3A No. 7 Corydon Central, the Generals were able to take a lot of good news away from the 31-14 loss.

Clarksville held the state’s leading passer — Chase Burton — to 141 yards through the air and they allowed just 245 total yards to the Panthers. Clarksville out-gained Corydon, 370-245.

“We played well,” Clarksville coach Steve Cooley said. “The only stat that hurt us was the turnovers.”

Cooley said it’s important that his 1-3 team takes away the positive from the defeat.

“I told the kids that we were close to one of the biggest wins at Clarksville in the last 10 years,” he said. “We learned that if we don’t make mistakes, we can play with anybody.”



TRANSFER HELPS JEFF ‘D’

Through the first three weeks, it was Jeffersonville’s offense — particularly its passing game — that propelled the Red Devils to a strong start.

While quarterback Tyler Fridley stayed hot with 344 yards passing, it was the defense that shined in Friday’s 36-7 win over Madison — Jeff’s 38th straight victory over the Cubs.

Madison was held to 44 yards on 36 carries and 150 total yards. The Cubs only managed a late touchdown to avoid a shutout.

“Basically, we played assignment football and did what we needed to do,” Jeff coach Lonnie Oldham said. “Our defensive line came off the ball. We played really well defensively.”

Transfer DeAdam Hall — 6-foot-6, 320-pound nose tackle from Cleveland — helped as well. Hall helped the Devils overcome the loss of safety Damin Smith.

“He’s making a difference,” Oldham said of Hall.



DRAGONS FINISH

After being thrashed for 70 points the week before against Corydon Central, Silver Creek’s mantra all week was “finish.”

So when weather interrupted last Friday’s game at Eastern with Creek leading 30-12 with 7 minutes and 34 seconds to play, the Dragons made it clear — they wanted to finish.

Silver Creek came back Saturday afternoon and scored the first 14 points en route to a 44-18 victory.

“They didn’t want to finish that way,” Silver Creek coach Mike Donahue said of the possibility of the game ending Friday night before the clock ran out. “They wanted to finish on the field and get the win that way.”



PIRATE OFFENSE CAN PLAY EVEN BETTER

After a school-record 72 points in Friday’s 72-8 win over North Harrison, Charlestown coach Jason Hawkins made a surprising statement on Monday.

“I think our offense is better than what it has played,” he said. “We’re not clicking on all cylinders. But we’re close. We’re very close.”

That is not a good sign for teams on the upcoming schedule of the Class 3A No. 4 Pirates. Charlestown is averaging a state-best 61.8 points per game, including performances of 67, 67 and 72 points.

The defense, on the other hand, has played beyond Hawkins’ expectations. The Pirates have surrendered just 43 points. Most of the points have come with the junior varsity on the field late in blowout wins.

“Defensively, it’s the best since I’ve been here,” he said. “Our front seven is great. We’ve got great defensive linemen.”



PIONEERS NEED BETTER STARTS

For the second time this season, Providence dug an early hole.

For the second time this year, the 2-2 Pioneers suffered a loss because of it.

On Friday, Indian Creek jumped out to a 28-0 halftime lead and beat Providence, 41-18.

“We just didn’t come out as sharp as we should have,” Providence coach Larry Denison said. “I told them I take the blame. Against a team like Indian Creek, you can’t dig that kind of hole and dig your way out very easily.”

Denison said one problem is his team may have taken the Braves lightly because of their 1-2 record.

“I tried to tell them all week that they were better than their record,” he said. “Unfortunately, it fell on deaf ears.”



STAYING POSITIVE

Floyd Central’s defense was gashed for 399 Seymour rushing yards in last Friday’s 42-27 loss.

That’s become a theme this season. The Highlanders have surrendered 1,146 ground yards and 1,644 yards in four games.

Still, Floyd coach Brian Glesing said his Highlanders aren’t getting down on themselves.

“We have some young players and some injuries,” Glesing said. “We’re staying positive. We just have to keep getting better. I think we will.”



EXCITING NEWS FOR COOLEY

Two-time Super Bowl champion Trai Essex played for Cooley at Harding High School in Fort Wayne.

On Monday, Cooley learned that his former pupil signed with the Indianapolis Colts.

“I think it’s exciting,” he said of the seven-year offensive linemen who was cut by the Steelers. “[When he played for Pittsburgh] I got to see him play once a year in Cincinnati. Now I’ll get a few more opportunities, so that’s exciting.

“I was very fortunate to get to coach him.”



HOOSIER HILLS UPDATE

Jeff stayed on top of the HHC standings with the win over Madison. The 3-0 Red Devils are a half-game ahead of Columbus East and surprising New Albany.

After that, things are murky. Floyd Central, Seymour and Bedford appear to be about even.



MID-SOUTHERN UPDATE

Charlestown and Corydon each stayed unbeaten overall and in the MSC. The two ranked teams appear to be on a collision course for a Sept. 28 showdown for the league title.



• Player of the Week: Aaron Daniel, Charlestown. Daniel threw for three touchdowns — to three different receivers — ran one in and returned a punt 33 yards for another.

• Team of the Week: Duh. It’s Silver Creek.

• Coach of the Week: Charlie Fields, New Albany. Fields and his staff made the right adjustments at the half and the result was an 18-0 second-half run. A gutsy onside kick call to start the second half got the ball rolling.

• Play of the Week: New Albany’s onside kick recovery. Without that, BNL likely leaves New Albany with its first victory.