Martinsville uses big second half to topple 5A No. 1 Whiteland: 'We're here'
MARTINSVILLE, Ind. — If Martinsville was in need of a statement win, it got one Friday against the Class 5A No. 1 Whiteland Warriors.
The Warriors entered the matchup 5-0, scoring nearly 30 points per game while holding opposing offenses to around 13.
Against Martinsville, things changed. While the two teams exchanged touchdowns in the first half, the Artesians found a way to be on top at halftime. taking a 21-14 lead.
Martinsville used the advantage to power its way through the second half, topping the Warriors 35-21 for its first 5-1 start since 2018, and third since 1999.
"I thought our kids were outstanding all game," Martinsville coach Brian Dugger said. "Offense, defense, special teams. That's the best football team we've seen. Their offense is unbelievably hard to stop, the defense is physical and tough, but our kids were outstanding tonight."
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More than anything, Martinsville senior quarterback believes the win was a wakeup call for the rest of the state.
"It shows we're here to play and that you can't take us for granted," senior quarterback Tyler Adkins said. "Just letting the state know we're here, we're ready to go after it."
First-half fireworks
The game's halftime score may sound familiar. It was the same as last year's matchup between the Artesians and Warriors. This year, the circumstances were different.
Last season, Martinsville poured 21 points onto the board, including 14 unanswered, in the second quarter after committing two interceptions. This time the teams went tit-for-tat, both scoring 14 points in the game's second quarter. The ending of the half, though, remained the same.
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Much like last season's meeting, where Riddick Bolton found the endzone with 11 seconds remaining, Martinsville used a shuffle pass from Tyler Adkins to Hunter Stroud to score a touchdown in the final 58.3 seconds of the second quarter, getting a boost going into halftime.
That boost was significant enough to allow the Artesians to make the final effort in the second half.
"Every time they made a play, we turned the energy right back around," Dugger said. "We never faltered. Our kids were dialed in, they kept digging."
An offense left unfazed
If there's one thing Whiteland's terrific at, it's using its offense as a form of defense. The Warriors like to put together slow, methodical drives to keep opposing offenses on the sideline. To a degree, they were successful, particularly in the first half.
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Even as the Warriors found success controlling the clock, generating 387 yards, 214 of which came on the ground, the Martinsville offense was left unbothered.
"We knew we hadn't played our best on offense all year, we felt like we'd be really tough to stop, and when we're dialed in, I feel like that's what we can do," Dugger said.
With each possession, the Artesians worked their way down the field with relative ease, picking up a balanced 417 yards that consisted of 208 through the air and 203 on the ground. In fact, The Artesians didn't call on the punt unit all game. The only two times they didn't score were when they turned the ball over, and that was off two interceptions near, or in, the redzone.
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"We felt like we could do a lot of (run-pass options), kind of make them use their bigger guys in space," Adkins said. "We didn't feel they could cover us in space, so spreading them out, and then once we spread them out, starting to establish that run game."
Adkins completed 19 of 24 passes for 214 yards, three touchdowns and two interceptions, while Brayden Shrake rushed for 175 yards and two scores on 32 attempts.
Unsung hero
The classic saying "defense wins championships" is cliche, but the second-half performance by Nic Crone and the rest of the Martinsville defense proved vital.
The Warriors were on the move during their first possession out of half, taking all but two minutes to get to Martinsville's 16-yard line. Then Crone delivered back-to-back sacks on second and third down to force Whiteland into a tough fourth and long, which ultimately came up short.
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"We knew they couldn't hold us on pass rush," Crone said. "We felt our three were better than their five. So, as soon as we saw the opportunity, we knew it was our time to shine. That's when all the plays folded together. If we weren't disciplined and the defense play the way we did, we wouldn't have had that score on the scoreboard tonight."
What it means
Grabbing this win was a huge one for Martinsville, not only for the sake of its program, but also for its hopes of a Mid-State Conference title.
The win vaults the Artesians to the top of the Mid-State rankings, sharing a spot with rival Mooresville, while Whiteland falls back a spot to share second with Plainfield. It should also catch the eye of poll voters, especially after back to back wins over ranked teams in Class 5A.
Looking ahead
Martinsville will host to Perry Meridian next Friday, with kickoff slated for 7 p.m.
Contact reporter Devin Voss at dvoss@gannett.com or follow him on Twitter at @DevinVoss23.
This article originally appeared on The Reporter Times: Indiana high school football: Martinsville vs Whiteland, IHSAA scores