It has been a tense week for Adair County schools. Closed Wednesday and Thursday due to a hoax threat of violence, and going into a hard lockdown on Friday after another false alarm, the school and community has been in need of good news.
The Adair County Indians were more than capable of fulfilling that need when they beat Franklin-Simpson on Friday night 42 to seven. Franklin-Simpson’s Wildcats were favored to win before the game. According to Head Coach Steve Stonebraker, this was only the fifth time in Adair County school history where they have won against a ranked opponent.
The Indians entered the field the underdogs and walked off of the turf having dominated their competition.
“I am so proud of the players. It’s always good to beat a ranked team but with all that went on this week and not having school for two days and the lockdown situation on Friday during school it was great to see them come out with the level of focus and resolve that they showed. We are proud to have given the community something positive at the end of a stressful week,” Coach Stonebraker said.
While the win was a decisive defeat of the Wildcats, the Indians put a lot of work in to achieve it. The first two quarters were played flawlessly. In the first quarter, Lane Grant made an 18-yard run with Blane Bardin kicking. After a four-yard run with a failed kick, the second quarter began. Here, Grant made a 48-yard run with Mattjew Mejean kicking. Bardin kicked the next 27-yard run, and there was a 58-yard fumble return with Solomon Stonebraker passing from Aidan Smith. Lane Alford made a five-yard run in the third quarter with Tyler Tucker kicking, and with Bardin kicking in the fourth quarter, Ryker Musselman scored a four-yard run.
“I thought we dominated them on both sides of the line of scrimmage. I can’t say enough about our line play. We switched some personnel around and may have found the right mix of guys offensively,” Coach Stonebraker said. “Our defense was outstanding we turned them over five times including the fumble we forced on the kickoff just before halftime.”
With this win under their belts, the Indians are now four-to-zero in their winning streak for the season. Securing a win such as the one against Franklin-Simpson has demonstrated that anything is possible with the right amount of hard work—something Coach Stonebraker has used Friday night to demonstrate to them.
“We challenged them this week to ensure that they write their own story and not to let anyone else have the pen to write their story. They came out and got the job done to create a great memory,” Coach Stonebraker said. “We can’t think that we have arrived. We have to stay hungry for what is next. I’ve talked to our players about leaving the jersey in a better place when they leave here. We have many more challenges right ahead of us.”
The Adair County Indians will be back at it already at seven p.m. on Friday night against Monroe County.
By Kenley Godby
kenley@adairvoice.com
