Greensburg — Week three of the 2010 football season has arrived, and the Decatur County teams are off and running...literally.

Greensburg, North Decatur and South Decatur posted big wins last week by rushing past their opponents. They combined for nearly 850 yards on the ground. Greensburg's Zach Balusik accounted for 156 yards of that total.

Seven players combined for 11 rushing scores, with North's Justin Huber tallying four. Greensburg's Devin Law and North's Jason Kirchhoff scored two apiece.

South was able to air it out again behind the duo of Jordan AmRhein and Tyler Ewing. However, AmRhein added a score with his legs.

Will the ground attack continue tomorrow? While two county teams remain perfect on the season, Friday night's opponents will pose a legitimate challenge for all three squads.





Greensburg Pirates (1-1) vs. Franklin Grizzly Cubs (1-1)

Friday, 7 p.m.



The Pirates hope to build on a confidence-building 33-21 win over Jennings County after erasing an early deficit with 14 second-half points.

"I was pleased with how we played," said Greensburg head coach Scott Moore. "We knew we played well Friday, but there is still work to do to improve."

The Grizzly Cubs of Class 4A Franklin gave up 46 points in their opening loss to Northview, then beat Shelbyville last week 13-7.

Moore will find out what kind of team he fielded Friday when the Pirates match up with an unfamiliar opponent. Instead of playing Rushville, Greensburg will need to be up to the task against a tough offense and an athletic squad.

"Franklin poses a couple different problems," said Moore. "We've never faced them before, and they're a big, strong and fast team. We're going to need to play well this week."

Franklin's top running back gained 250 yards against Northview.

"He's obviously a dangerous runner," said Moore. "With the skill players they have, we're going to have to play real well on defense."

Moore hopes his team grows from the experience of playing another Class 4A team before facing the Eastern Indiana Athletic Conference slate. "It certainly doesn't get any easier for us, with the EIAC coming up," he said.

Moore said picking up more than 350 yards on the ground will be tough to duplicate this week.

"Their defense is really good," he said. "The defensive line and linebackers are the best we'll see all year. They played the run really well against Northview."



South Decatur Cougars (2-0) vs. Broad Ripple Rockets (0-2)

Friday, 7 p.m. Homecoming Game



South Decatur celebrates Homecoming this week, while the Cougars hope to win its first three home games to start the season.

South faces another new opponent Friday, one week after dismantling a team the Cougars knew little about.

However, head coach Rodney Martin warns his team not to assume its game against Indianapolis Broad Ripple will produce similar results to last week's 56-0 win over Eastern Hancock.

"They're going to be a very solid and quick team," he said. "They're probably going to be the quickest team we'll face all year. If we play to our capabilities, we'll have a good shot of winning the game."

The Cougars can approach this game as a tune-up for the inevitable grind of the upcoming conference schedule, because what they will face in the Mid-Indiana Football Conference might very well be on display in the Rockets.

"This will give us a very good indication of what we need to do to prepare for our conference," said Martin. "They all have very good team speed. It's going to be a good test for us to see where we are, and what we need to do to reach our goal of winning the conference."

Despite having a solid coaching foundation in Bob Ashworth, who is 184-85 in his 27 seasons as a head coach, the Rockets have struggled out of the gate. Following a 42-6 loss to Indianapolis Chatard, the Rockets fell to Christian Academy (Ky.) 36-13. Its tough schedule of Indianapolis powerhouses notwithstanding, Class 4A Broad Ripple enters the Homecoming battle an improved team over years past.

Whatever challenges the Rockets pose, the Cougars will be ready with an offense that has averaged 42 points and a defense that has yet to allow a point scored.



North Decatur Chargers (2-0) at Triton Central Tigers (1-1)

Friday, 7 p.m.



The Chargers will travel to Triton Central hoping for a better outcome against the Tigers, who beat North 41-9 last year.

The Class 2A Tigers beat Eastern Hancock 60-13 in Week One and lost to Heritage Christian 42-33 last week.

Being a member of the MIFC, North head coach Jim Louder knows plenty about the Tigers.

"They have size, speed and athleticism," he said. "They're experienced, with everybody back from last season. We're going to have to play a perfect game."

While Louder said he "wants to win as badly as anybody else on the team," he said can't fault his team in defeat for giving its best effort against a Class 2A powerhouse.

North will need to improve defensively to have a legitimate shot to win, as the offense seems to be a well-oiled machine with a 42-point output last week.

"We're going to have to have a balance in our offense," said Louder. "We need to execute the pass and take what their defense gives us. We need to execute better offensively and we have to make better decisions."

First and foremost, North looks to clean up its defensive execution and tackling.

"You miss so many tackles," said Louder, "you're going to lose the game."