Greensburg — The three Decatur County high school football teams return to action this week, hoping to either continue good habits on the field or overcome nagging obstacles that have led to losses.

While South Decatur dominated Broad Ripple Friday and North Decatur held off Edinburgh in a shootout, Greensburg suffered an otherwise close 6-0 loss at the hands of Franklin Community at home. The Pirates hope to get back on the winning end this week in its first conference game of the season.

North is the only team hosting its Week 4 opponent.



North Decatur Chargers (2-1) host Knightstown (1-2)

Friday, 7 p.m.



The Chargers host Knightstown, which is unaffiliated with a league or conference. The Panthers (1-2) went 9-4 last season while winning a sectional championship and falling in the Regionals. Knightstown beat North 60-28 in one of coach Jim Louder's most unpleasant memories at North. However, after a busy but productive week in practice, the team knows Friday's game is going to be a four-quarter battle.

"It's a key game for us to get us back on track," said Louder.

Offensive execution has not been a problem in either of the first three games, other than a couple turnovers.

The Chargers need to tackle better in the open field and avoid mistakes in its pre-snap assignments and markups.

"We had extra practice at tackling and some drills, but they're the ones who have to do it," said Louder. He noted that Knightstown features two good running backs and a decent quarterback that calls plays in a double-wing option offense.

"It's a responsibility offense," he said of the defense's role. "If you don't mark up your man, you look silly. Someone needs to cover the quarterback and someone needs to cover the pitch man."

Blame for the offensive turnovers does not exclusively fall on the shoulders of the skills players, but also on the performance of the offensive line.

Louder said the key to good pass protection is to "sustain, sustain, sustain.

"Just a few seconds is not enough to sustain a block," he explained. "You have to (maintain the block) for four or five seconds." Given the experience and stability at quarterback in senior Justin Huber, scoring points has been a forte for North. Huber leads the team in rushing touchdowns, but he also is capable of winging the rock through the air.

"If you give him time to throw the football, he'll do well," said Louder.

North, added Louder, has shortened up pass routes to make it easier for

receivers to break from the defender and make the catch. With the adjustments made on offense, Huber hopes his completion percentages will increase as the season progresses.

An improved North team focused on sustaining a winning record against a solid and talented Knightstown squad should make for an exciting night just north of I-74 in Greensburg.



Greensburg Pirates (1-2) at Lawrenceburg Tigers (1-2)

Friday, 7 p.m.



Greensburg topped Lawrenceburg 27-7 last year. The Tigers have outscored their opponents 73-0 the past two weeks, against Union County and Milan.

Lawrenceburg will present a challenge with its defense on the heels of back-to-back shutouts. The Tigers look forward to playing a Pirate team that suffered the turnover bug while getting shut out last week.

"Their defense looks good," said Greensburg head coach Scott Moore. "They move well and they tackle well. They look really fast on film, and they look like a good team. Like always, we're working on ball security. We put the ball on the ground too much last week."

The Pirates have been dedicated to returning to what has made them successful when things have gone well.

"We got back to fundamentals, and got back to our roots, offensively," said Moore of this week's preparations. He said the Pirates must "do a better job of what we're supposed to be doing, and get better."

Greensburg had rushed for more than 350 yards the previous week against Jennings County. Facing an Eastern Indiana Athletic Conference foe, Moore and his coaching staff have emphasized making that a priority again.

"When you're in conference play you need to run the ball and hang onto the ball," he said.



South Decatur Cougars (3-0) at Edinburgh Lancers (0-3)

Friday, 7 p.m.



The South Decatur football team has a chance to improve its conference record to 2-0 Friday when it travels to Johnson County for a showdown against Edinburgh.

Although the Mid-Indiana Football Conference season is still young, it would be in South's best interest not to overlook the 0-3 Lancers. Edinburgh gave North Decatur a run for its money last week when the Chargers had to hold off an improved Lancer squad and pull out a 42-32 win at home.

The Cougars beat the Lancers 45-8 one year ago.

However, South will be without the services of sophomore Matthew Gatewood, who will miss the remainder of the season after sustaining an injury against Broad Ripple last week.

South's stable of skill players, though, will likely cushion the blow of Gatewood's injury.

Senior Blake Moore delivered a 22-yard touchdown run and a recovery of Jeremy Beesley's field goal block. Senior Jordan AmRhein has thrown multiple touchdown passes in every game, and has run for two scores in each of the last two. AmRhein also has led South in rushing the past two weeks. Junior Tyler Ewing has caught five touchdown passes on the season, leading the team in receiving. Ewing also intercepted two Broad Ripple passes, the second setting up AmRhein's scoring run. Senior Devon Hudson recovered a Rocket fumble.

Michael England has stood out defensively, including an interception return for a touchdown in Week 2, along with Eric Post.

Kyle Ritchey has been consistent on extra points and kicking duties.

Whenever head coach Rodney Martin credits his team for its play this season, he worries about leaving out a player or not mentioning a name. South hopes it gives Martin that dilemma this week. If that happens, it would most likely mean another team effort for the Cougars.