Cougars’ comeback falls short against Eagles

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MUNCIE — Greenfield-Central didn’t travel over an hour to just give up. Neither did its senior running back Michael Sosnowski. It’s not a part of their new culture under head coach Adam Sherman.

After gaining just 26 yards in the first half, Sosnowski ripped off two huge runs in the second to pull the Cougars within a touchdown, 27-20, after trailing 27-6 early in the fourth quarter. Despite the effort, though, Greenfield-Central fell 27-20 on the road.

The Cougars had a chance to tie or win the game with the ball at their own 6-yard line with 2:29 left on the clock but could not find make the long trek to the other end of the field for a touchdown. On fourth-and-4 from the 16-yard line, a pass fell incomplete to stop the comeback.

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Sosnowski finished with 197 yards on 15 carries. He scored his second touchdown of the game with 6:28 remaining in the game. He added a 58-yard score in the fourth quarter.

“We didn’t come out the way we were supposed to,” Sherman said, who is in his first season with the team. “I was really proud of our efforts. The kids are believing in who we are. It’s turning, and the kids play hard.”

The Cougars (4-4, 2-4 Hoosier Heritage Conference) look to complete their ninth winning season in school history next week at home against New Castle. Leading rusher, senior back Skylar Gary, did not play on Friday for Greenfield-Central.

With a win, it would also be the team’s first regular-season finish above .500 since 2011.

“It’s coming around,” Sherman. “It would have been nice to beat Delta for the first time in school history. We can make a run here and see what happens.”

Junior wide receiver Orlando Mojica had a big first half and finished 94 receiving yards. Classmate, quarterback Andrew Leslie, finished with a touchdown pass and two interceptions.

In an odd first half which saw 27 points in the first quarter and none in the second, Delta’s offense used nine first downs to take a 21-6 lead into the break.

The Eagles’ Tanner Lambert intercepted Leslie at Greenfield-Central’s 45-yard line on the Cougars’ first possession of the game and turned it into a scoring drive with 8:25 to go in the quarter. Lambert, also a senior quarterback, found 6-foot-5 senior wide receiver Adam Haynes for a 20-yard touchdown reception in the back-left corner of the end zone.

Lambert finished 9-of-16 in the first half for 127 yards.

Freshman running back Charlie Spegal finished with 14 carries for 87 yards and two scores in the opening half. His rushing touchdowns of 3-and-29-yards were sandwiched between a Mojica 32-yard touchdown reception for Greenfield-Central, which totaled just three first downs in the first half.

A below average punt by Delta on its ensuing possession set up the Mojica score. He finished with 94 reception yards off four catches through two quarter. Leslie was 4-of-15 at the break for 94 yards.

Mojica pulled in a 44-yard catch from Leslie to the Eagles’ 9-yard line but after three failed attempts at a score, the Cougars would miss a field goal to keep the second quarter scoreless for both teams. Chase Ratliff intercepted Lambert in Delta’s end zone just before halftime.

Sophomore Grant Hinton recorded a sack in first quarter while senior Lee Dullaghan added one in second. Junior running back and punter Braden Brown had a 38-yard boot in the first half, as well, which was finally downed at the Eagles’ 4-yard line.

Spegal finished with 28 carries for 192 yards.