East wins battle of Nelson brothers

BY BEN SHUPE

SPORTS CORRESPONDENT

BLUFF CITY — Sullivan East defeated visiting Sullivan Central 23-7 Friday in a battle between brothers and coaches Scott and Ralph Nelson. In a game in which both offenses made similar gains on the field, turnovers were the deciding factor.

"The kids came out and played hard. They [Central] played hard and it was a good game," said East head coach Ralph Nelson. "I was proud of the way our guys came out and played in the second half, especially the third quarter."

The Cougars had five turnovers, while the Pats had none. Arguably the most damaging turnover came late in the third quarter when Central fumbled the snap while preparing to punt after a strong defensive series from the Patriots, giving East the ball deep in Central territory. The turnover setup an 11-yard touchdown pass from East running back Caleb Looney to Kody Dowell, which put the Patriots on top 23-0. After nearly turning the ball over during a handoff, Looney spotted a wide-open Dowell and threw for the Patriots’ final score.

Central began to show signs of a life late, however. The Cougars (1-9, 1-6) drove steadily down the field, leading to a 1-yard rushing TD from quarterback Carl Roberts. With the score 23-7 in favor of the Patriots (7-3, 4-3), Central recovered an onside kick with under four minutes remaining. The Cougars were finally stopped by an interception from Sullivan East’s A.J. Roberts with 3:28 left.

"It was a wild night. They seemed to put things together and get things going their way," said Central coach Scott Nelson said. "Our guys hung in there. We’re still a growing, young team. I’m proud of those seniors who kept it together. I can’t thank them enough."

Sullivan East 6 3 14 0-23

Sullivan Central 0 0 0 7-7

Scoring Summary

SE-Looney 2 run (failed kick)

SE-Crowder 30 field goal

SE-Depew 36 pass from Gaby (Crowder kick)

SE-Dowell 11 pass from Looney (Crowder kick)

SC-Roberts 1 run (Culbertson kick)

Team stats

First Downs: SE 7, SC 12; Rushes-Yards: SE 34-162, SC 34-158; Passing Yards: SE 112, SC 78; Comp-Att-Int: SE 6-18-1, SC 10-26-2; Fumbles-Lost: SE 0-0, SC 3-3; Penalties-Yards: SE 9-81, SC 4-27; Punts-Average: SE 4-25.8, SC 4-28.5