Hartford Indian Football 2011

Varsity Indians Score Hard Fought 47-28 New Buffalo Win in "Casino Royale 1"

By Web Staff
September 2, 2011

Hartford	14	13	7	13	47
New Buffalo	0	14	7	7	28

STAT LEADERS:

Rushing: Mireles, Hartford, 180 Yards

Passing: Buckner, New Buffalo, 29 Yards

Tackles: Kucharski, Hartford, 9 Tackles

   The Indians started 1-0, New Buffalo started 0-1. The stakes were rather high, as the Indians faced their toughest competition on the season so far.
   First test: Success.
   The Indians put 503 yards up on offense, using only the run, while the defense bent, but did not break against a talented New Buffalo squad. But in the end, the Indians scored a 47-28 victory over the Bison in a game full of running offense.
   The first quarter was all Indians, as they outscored the Bison 14-0 on the quarter.
   After the Indian defense scored a third down stop on the first drive, the Indians came scoring on their first drive of the game when David Mireles took it seventeen yards for the Indian touchdown. It was scored after the Indians were forced to call their first two timeouts of the game on the drive. Juan Perez added an extra point kick and the score was 7-0 Indians with 5:38 left in the first quarter.
   After the teams traded drives, New Buffalo lost the ball, thanks to great line coverage, as they literally stole the ball out of the New Buffalo quarterbacks hands near the midfield mark. That's when Gareth MacMillan scored the second touchdown of the game, going 48 yards for the touchdown. Juan Perez made it two-for-two in extra point kicks and it was 14-0 Indians after one quarter.
   New Buffalo took a one point difference in the second quarter, as they outscored Hartford 14-13 in the second, thanks to a solid running attack.
   After nearly taking the ball the distance in the final minutes of the first quarter, the Bison scored on just the second play of the quarter, when running back Travis Verner took the ball two yards for the Bison touchdown. Kicker Ryan Ziarko added the extra point and the Indians lead was knifed in half, 14-7 with 11:20 left in the half.
   After the teams shared a pair of non-scoring drives, the Indians struck with the feet of junior Sergio Perez, when he broke a fourth down fake punt 53 yards to the Bison 5, then the next play, finished the last five for the touchdown. Juan Perez kicked his third extra point of the game and with 5:53 left in the half, it was now 21-7 Hartford.
   The next drive saw New Buffalo strike back with two key offensive plays. They converted a fourth and short by going thirteen yards to the Indian nine yard line, then scored on a third and sixteen when talented junior running back Kevin Levine took it to the house, scoring his first touchdown of the night. Ryan Ziarko's extra point made it 21-14 Indians with 2:21 left in the first half.
   The final scoring drive saw Hartford go over sixty yards in the final two minutes of the half, as David Mireles broke a big 53 yard run inside the Bison thirteen yard line. After the Indians were forced to call timeout in the red zone, a botched snap looked to end the half. But the Indians quickly regrouped and with no time left on the clock, quarterback Luke Traver went two yards for the touchdown. After New Buffalo blocked the PAT kick, the Indians led 27-14 at half.
   The third quarter was a draw, as both teams scored seven points in the quarter.
   Hartford received the ball to start the second half and it took just 53 seconds for the Indians to score, as David Mireles dashed 67 yards along the left side, breaking two tackles, to score the first points of the half for the green and white. Juan Perez added his fourth extra point and the Indians led 34-14 with 11:06 left in the third quarter.
   New Buffalo, as was the case most of the night, responded right back on the very next possession, using a time-consuming rush offense to take a lot of time off the clock. Aided by two costly fourth down Indian penalties and defensive mistakes, New Buffalo drove down the field and scored when Bison quarterback Aaron Buckner took the ball one yard for the touchdown. Ryan Ziarko's extra point made it 34-21 with 3:44 left in the quarter.
   The fourth quarter was won by the Indians, despite New Buffalo scoring first, by a 13-7 margin to win the contest.
   To start the quarter, the Indians faced fourth and one at the Bison 21, but was stymied at the line of scrimmage by the New Buffalo fronts, forcing a turnover on downs.
   The very next play very nearly was a game changer, when senior running back Jim Mullen took the ball 79 yards for the Bison touchdown. He broke two solid Indian tackles, but Indian fans can say the last defense was blocked by a back judge, but the touchdown stood. Ryan Ziarko made the extra point to make it 34-28 Indians with 11:40 left in the game.
   The very next possession put the game on ice for the Indians, as even with two penalties, including a costly one in the red zone, David Mireles scored his third touchdown of the game, going nine yards for it. A hard earned nine yards at that, as he was dragging a New Buffalo player into the end zone. Hartford failed on the two point conversion and the game was now 40-28 with 8:11 left in the game.
   New Buffalo made one big drive in the mid part of the fourth quarter, but a costly penalty, two plays that went no where and a sack by Indian Jimmy Mullins, put that possession to an end near midfield, where the Bison were forced to punt.
   Less than two minutes later, the Indians scored the final points of the game, when Sergio Perez scored his second touchdown of the game, going 34 yards for the touchdown. Juan Perez scored the final extra point of the night and the Indians won by a 47-28 margin.
   The Indians scored over 500 yards of total offense, led by David Mireles, who had 180 yards on ten carries and three touchdowns, while Gareth MacMillan had 157 yards and a touchdown. Sergio Perez added 127 yards on twelve carries with two touchdowns, while Luke Traver also added a touchdown, as well.
   The Indian defense was led by Tony Kucharski with nine tackles, while Andrew Garcia and Noey Lopez added six a piece. Lopez also added a fumble recovery.
   For the Bison, they were led by Jim Mullen, who carried the ball for 105 yards on six carries and a touchdown, while Kevin Levine added 53 yards and a touchdown and Aaron Buckner was three-for-five passing for 29 yards and a rushing touchdown.
   The Indians, now 2-0 on the season, are back in action this Friday, September 9th against Bloomingdale on the road. Kickoff is set for 7:00 PM. The Cardinals come in 1-1, losing 10-8 to Decatur last week.
   The Bison, now 0-2 on the season, were scheduled to play Covert on Friday, September 9th. But Covert does not have a team this season, so the Bison will earn their first win via the forfeit. The next game for the Bison will take place on Saturday, September 17th against LaPorte LaLumiere of Indiana on the road. Kickoff is set for 4:00 PM.