Greensburg —
The North Decatur and Greensburg football teams entered Friday's regular-season finale with matching records and a chance to take football supremacy for the 2012 season.
Greensburg visited North's Ed Kaelin Field and overcame a slow start to tally a 26-7 win in a physical contest.
The Pirates end the regular season at 7-2, while the Chargers are now 6-3 on the season. Neither team lost two straight games all season.
Celebrating Senior Night, the host Chargers took first shot at the endzone and jumped ahead in the first quarter. Junior quarterback Brock Ricke went to the air for a 44-yard touchdown pass to senior Jason Kirchhoff in the first quarter. Before the game, North took a moment to honor Kirchhoff for surpassing Ben Buening's school rushing record of 4,417 yards.
Greensburg senior Ryan Martin scored three touchdowns on the night, including the go-ahead score inside one minute left in the first half. North blocked the extra-point attempt.
Martin made it 19-7 with 8:21 left in the third quarter on a 2-yard run.
Despite a 20-yard run by Kirchhoff, a 19-yard catch by senior John Hammersmith on third down, a roughing-the-passer penalty, and another Hammersmith conversion to the 14, North was unable to cut into the deficit. Greensburg senior Jack Eberhardt notched his first of two clutch interceptions.
Martin later scored with 2:02 left from the 3 to cap a 9-play, 90-yard Pirate drive.
Kirchhoff gained 45 yards rushing, unofficially, while Ricke passed for 127 yards.
Greensburg gained 273 yards. Green rushed for 124 yards and scored the Pirates' first touchdown. Martin rushed for 77 yards and three touchdowns, while senior Derek Chambers rushed for 40 yards. Junior Andy Meadows added 15, while senior Kyle Moeller added 10.
All statistics are unofficial at the time the story went to press.
Contact Nick Gonnella at (812) 663-3111, x7003.
Fatal Hot Air Balloon Accident in Turkey
Tornadoes, Storms Strike Midwest
'Babyland': Camp Lejeune's Toxic Legacy?
Raw: Heavy Tornado Damage in Shawnee, Okla
Probe Begins After Conn. Commuter Trains Crash
NTSB Begins Investigation Into Conn. Train Crash
Lotto Fever Sweeps the Country
Conn. Commuter Trains Collide; 60 Go to Hospital
Coffee Run Leads to Hatchet Hitchhiker Arrest
Fmr. IRS Head Insists No Politics in Targeting
CDC: Fecal Bacteria Common in Swimming Pools
$1 Million in Jewels Stolen at Cannes Film Fest
NM Mom Chases Down Child Abductor
Raw: Crash Sends Car Into Fla. Pool
Raw: Obama Sits Down With Elementary Kids
Raw: Bear Falls From Tampa Tree
Ousted IRS Chief: Errors Not Caused by Politics
Terror Suspect Due in Court in Idaho Friday
Raw: Driver Ejected From Truck, Over Bridge
Could Tobacco Be the Next Biofuel?
