FITHIAN — Carrollton coach Rodney Flowers believes all three phases of football game deserve the same dedication.
That why his Hawks spend one-third of their practice on offense, one-third on defense and one-third on special teams.
That last phase proved to the difference on Saturday afternoon in a IHSA Class 1A first-round playoff game against the Oakwood Comets at Marty McFarland Field.
Carrollton not only won the field position battle by four yards, but a blocked punt by starting quarterback Carson Flowers produced the go-ahead touchdown as the Hawks advanced into the second round with a 28-14 victory over the Comets.
“Coming in, we thought we could have good field position all day and we thought we could block one of their field goal attempts or their punt,” said Carrollton coach Rodney Flowers, whose team average starting field position was their own 40, while Oakwood averaged starting at the 36. “We work a lot of that type of stuff in practice. The kids have bought into it and it worked today.
“That was a big, big momentum change.”
Carrollton only needed one play after the blocked punt to take the lead. Senior Charlie Stumpf, who accounted for 137 yards and three scores — two rushing and one receiving — gave the Hawks the lead for good at 21-14 when he scored from the Oakwood 1-yard line.
“I think it’s a play where we just had someone fall asleep,” Oakwood coach Cameron Lee admitted. “Those are the type of plays that you take for granted. With so many of these kids playing every snap, I think we just had a little lapse in our protection.
“It’s the littlest things that can make the biggest difference sometimes.”
Flowers also pointed out that Stumpf, Carrollton’s punter, had just blasted a 50-yard punt on the previous possession before the Hawks blocked Comets’ punter Nathan Young.
“We talk all of the time about field possession and momentum in the game,” he said. “That’s exactly how today’s game played out.”
Carrollton’s defense seemingly carried that momentum over the final three possessions for Oakwood.
The Comets (7-3 overall) had a chance to answer on their ensuing drive thanks in part to a 36-yard kickoff return by Collin Furry set them up at the Hawks 46.
Oakwood actually had the ball at the Carrollton 27, but a holding penalty stalled that drive and the Comets turned the ball over on downs. It was the third possession in the second half for Oakwood that stalled after an offensive penalty.
“A couple of holding calls were drive killers,” Lee said. “When you lean on running the ball so much, you can’t get behind the sticks with a penalty.”
In addition to his big kickoff return, Furry also gave Oakwood a 14-6 lead in second quarter with a 19-yard interception return for a touchdown. Furry picked off Flowers a second time in the third quarter, but the Comets failed to capitalize on that turnover or a Carrollton fumble in the fourth quarter.
“We just didn’t execute well enough in the second half,” Furry said. “We had to execute, play together and play stronger.
“We played well defensively, but we just made a couple of mistakes. If we could have fixed those, I think that game goes our way.”
The Hawks (7-3 overall) opened the scoring with a 44-yard run by Stumpf and they tied the game at halftime with a 32-yard touchdown pass from Carson Flowers to Stumpf.
Carrollton advances to play Dupo, a 28-7 winner over Salt Fork, in a second-round game next Saturday in Carrollton.
At Marty McFarland Field, Fithian
IHSA Class 1A Playoffs
Carrollton 28, Oakwood 14
Carrollton 6 8 0 14 — 28
Oakwood 0 14 0 0 — 14
First quarter
Carrollton — Charlie Stumpf 44-yard run (kick blocked), 6:22.
Second qaurter
Oakwood — Alex Wallace 1-yard run (Trevor McCall kick), 11:19.
Oakwood — Collin Furry 19-yard interception return (McCall kick) 5:42.
Carrollton — Stumpf 32-yard pass from Carson Flowers (Reed Schnettgoecke pass from Flowers), 3:54.
Fourth Quarter
Carrollton — Stumpf 1-yard run (Brady Clendenen kick), 7:22.
Carrollton — Clendenen 21-yard run (Clendenen kick), 1:14.
Individual statistical leaders
Rushing — Carrollton: Charlie Stumpf 13 carries, 80 yards. Carson Flowers 5-22. Brady Clendenen 1-21, TEAM 2-(-3). Oakwood: Kyler Johnson 23 carries, 99 yards. Collin Furry 3-9, Wallace 2-4, Jaethan Perez 2-(-4).
Passing — Carrollton: Flowers 12 completions, 19 attempts, 2 interceptions 144 yards. Oakwood: Wallace 17 completions, 31 attempts, 1 interception, 96 yards.
Receiving — Carrollton: Stumpf 7 receptions, 57 yards. Eli Rhoades 2-55, Clendenen 2-21, Reed Schnettgoecke 1-14. Oakwood: Perez 8-25, Nathan Young 4-23, Collin Furry 3-29, Cale Thomas 1-8.