GREENFIELD — In the end, the only thing that could stop the Greenfield-Central Cougars was a lightning delay.
Mother Nature’s light show eventually extended into a forfeit as the host Cougars improved to 1-1 on the season with a win over Phalen Leadership Academy, 14-0, after a quarter of play.
While he was pleased with the win, Greenfield-Central head coach Travis Nolting was not pleased with the fashion his team earned it in.
“A win is a win, but I feel bad for the kids. You prepare all week for an opponent and get ready for the game, and it’s just rough. I thought our guys executed well and played hard. Our defense did a good job and we came out fired up and full of energy and vigor,” Nolting said.
Greenfield-Central wasted little time imposing its will on the visiting Falcons, who only dressed 29 players. The Cougars scored on two of their first three drives in the first quarter, while their defense kept Phalen at bay.
Quarterback Brodie Mayberry got the scoring started for the Cougars, finding pay dirt from five yards out, and Logan Masters connected on the point-after-attempt to put Greenfield-Central ahead 7-0.
Mayberry would finish the game with 51 yards on the ground, while Zellers added 27.
The Cougars would extend the lead to 14-0 midway through the first quarter following an 8-yard scamper from Owen Anderson.
At the start of the second quarter, Phalen would catch a break as officials stopped the game for a lightning delay. However, after multiple restarts of the mandatory half-hour wait, Phalen Academy opted to forfeit.
With the game behind them, Greenfield-Central now turns its attention to county and Hoosier Heritage Conference foe Mt. Vernon. A season ago, the Cougars were coming off quarantine from COVID-19 issues and had a short period to get ready for the Marauders.
“They are a good team and return a lot of dudes. Our guys always approach the game against Mt. Vernon with a little extra pep in our step because of them being a county and conference rival. We are going to take it one day at a time and get ready for Mt. Vernon,” Nolting said.
