FORT BRANCH, Ind. — Nick Hart never wants to place too much importance on a single game.
That’s the head coach in him. The competitor broke through for a brief moment postgame, putting extra emphasis on the first words spoken to his team ― “How about them Titans!” ― following the Class 3A sectional semifinal on Friday, Oct. 31 at Jack Jewell Memorial Field. However, his tone quickly faded back to the former.
The reasoning was simple. Hart doesn’t want this result to be the summit of the season. Not with the state tournament only two weeks complete. But how his team won on this night spoke volumes.
No. 2 Gibson Southern defeated No. 1 Memorial 28-21 to advance to a Class 3A sectional championship next week. Although it wasn’t the Titans’ sharpest effort, it might have been their most impressive. The defense didn’t allow any points in the second half to reverse a 14-point deficit.
“You’ve got to beat teams like this to get there,” Hart said. “If you would have told me all those things happened in the first half, I would have thought we’d be down a lot more. We had to clean up what we were doing. I thought we got back to playing our football.”
The aggrievances from the opening quarters were numerous. Gibson Southern coughed up the ball twice (a fumble and a fourth-down stop) inside the Memorial five. It also allowed two special teams blunders ― a blocked field goal attempt and a punt return for a touchdown that felt huge in the moment ― to result in a 21-7 halftime lead to the Tigers.
The game turned out different for one significant reason. Gibson Southern (10-1) won by being the more physical team.
The evidence was laid bare in the second half. The Titans got back-to-back third down stops and later a blocked field goal to end the third quarter. The defense secured four takeaways including a pair of second-half interceptions. All of the momentum for Memorial (9-1) following JJ Lowery’s punt return down the sideline quickly disappeared.
Everything after the break pointed to Gibson Southern. It allowed only 33 rushing yards on 20 carries.
“Just keep playing physical,” senior Gunner Alexander said. “All four quarters and fight through adversity. (The final result) is what happens when you play. We stuck with one another and found a way.”
That side of the ball was a question at times. Too many big plays allowed, notably in a loss to Rochester (Ill.) in Week 2, to be specific. Those issues appeared again in the semifinal. Memorial’s Luke Dockery unofficially had 235 receiving yards, with most of his damage coming on deep balls down the sideline.
But the back seven came through when the moment called for it. Ian Maikranz and Alexander had fourth-down interceptions. Lloyd Sellers sealed the victory with a final-minute takeaway (his ninth of the season) in the end zone. Memorial got inside the five on a deep pass to Dockery, but an intentional grounding call pushed the Tigers back to the 20.
Gibson Southern got two defensive stops on its side of the field in the final six minutes. A repeatable formula when the games and opponents get tougher in the state tournament.
“We had stopped giving up big plays,” Hart said. “I think we continued to improve on the back end. We did a great job against the run and got pressure. Our front played really well. I thought (the defense) was huge the whole game.”
How Gibson Southern won the game offensively also matched its physical defense. Zach Foster led the Titans on three separate scoring drives in the second half with most of the damage coming on the ground. The senior quarterback’s second touchdown gave Gibson Southern a 28-21 lead. The brunt of the work came up front via an offensive line with nearly 150 career starts between them.
Foster and Colin Scherer combined for 171 rushing yards on 44 carries. The passing attack helped the Titans sustain drives. But the run game finished them. It was the most points Memorial allowed on defense all season.
“The whole team’s mindset was, ‘We’re not losing this game,'” Foster said. “Memorial was doing a little bit different stunts on defense than what we expected. We made the adjustments. (The offensive line) worked their butt off all week. They lead the way in the trenches.”
The winner of this game was always set to earn the favorite label moving forward. Gibson Southern and Memorial were ranked first and second, respectively, in the Sagarin Ratings. Four programs in this sectional field have won at least one state championship since 2017. Thus, the survivor had a potential path to Lucas Oil Stadium.
There’s still another hill to climb with the sectional championship. Gibson Southern faces Mater Dei (6-5) at Reitz Bowl next week. The Wildcats have won four of their last five and received a shot in the arm with the return of quarterback Tate Mallory. That matchup became ten times more interesting.
Gibson Southern still showed what type of team even when it doesn’t play its best.
“We probably played our worst football, and it was only a two-score game,” Foster said. “This is a huge win, but it’s not over. This isn’t the end goal. We need to come back Monday, get the game plan and execute.”
Kyle Sokeland is a sports reporter for the Courier & Press. Follow him on X (formerly Twitter) @kylesokeland or email at kyle.sokeland@courierpress.com.
This article originally appeared on Evansville Courier & Press: Gibson Southern football passes major state tournament test with win over No. 1 Memorial
Reporting by Kyle Sokeland, Evansville Courier & Press / Evansville Courier & Press
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