Southridge shuts out Boonville in 'a tough, ugly win' to position itself as PAC contender

BOONVILLE, Ind. — Reid Schroeder mostly has experienced success as part of the Southridge football team.

He watched the Raiders win nine games when he was a freshman. As a sophomore in 2020, he was a key cog of the team that was undefeated going into the semistate. That winning tradition is what made a 5-5 campaign last season — a year many programs would love to have — tough to swallow. It’s why he and his fellow seniors have their sights set on a “bounce-back” campaign this fall.

It may be early, but the first two weeks have been a promising start. Southridge shut out Boonville 13-0 on Friday night to improve to 2-0. A strong beginning for a hungry group.

“I think it’s just about ‘The Raider Way’ – that’s our tradition,” Schroeder said. “The people that played before us have set great examples. We feed off of that for our own senior years. It’s just great to see.”

IHSAA football:Week 2 Evansville-area schedule, scores and radio links

In many ways, Friday's win felt like a typical Southridge victory with a tenacious defense that forced the Pioneers’ offense to panic. And a rushing attack that milked the clock and to cause frustration. The senior class seemed to be involved in almost every big play.

Southridge head coach Scott Buening knows his team has to win games like these. The Pocket Athletic Conference schedule provides no favors. A matchup next week against North Posey could put the winner in the driver’s seat for a Small School Division title.

“Tonight was the epitome of a tough, ugly win,” Buening said. “To come here and be able to do that against this kind of team? We’re obviously very happy with that. Tonight was a total team effort.”

Boonville’s offense had its way last week at Paoli. But the Raiders never allowed the Pioneers to find any sense of comfort on Friday. Southridge held Boonville to just 29 total yards and four first downs. Clay Conner, who has become one of the top players in the SIAC, was held to negative yardage.

The Pioneers never truly threatened to score. Southridge’s defensive starters have yet to allow a point.

“I’m really proud of our defense. That offense that Boonville has – good Lord,” Buening said. “With the athletes and the skill they have, we didn’t sleep much this week I’ll just say that. We’ve continued to execute. That’s something to feel good about.”

Southridge forced four fumbles — three of them were recovered by seniors. The most backbreaking one came in the fourth quarter.

With Boonville trailing 7-0 and backed up near its own end zone, the Raider defense swarmed Clay Conner and forced a fumble. Senior Michael Hasenour was there to recover it for a touchdown. It felt like the nail in the coffin.

“The defensive line, everything we did was perfect,” Hasenour said. “We forced four fumbles. In the backfield, we made sure their quarterback couldn’t sneak and run it out for a touchdown.”

While the focus goes to the defense in a shutout, Southridge’s backfield helped them control the flow of the game. Especially in the second half. Schroeder finished with 20 carries for 109 yards and a 5-yard touchdown in the second quarter, marking the game’s only offensive score. O’Ryan Curry added 64 yards. Quarterback Hudson Allen scrambled for 29 more on 10 carries.

A strong run game has been the backbone of Southridge’s offense since Buening took the helm in 2013. Some recent names like Tucker Schank, Cole Calvert and Aidan Jochem might ring a bell. Schroeder remembers watching and learning from those guys.

Now, he’s doing the same things.

“They just set such great examples,” Schroeder said. “I’m able to try and do what they did and apply it to my senior year.”

It doesn’t matter who is on the roster, Southridge always seems to find success. That’s what strong programs do. They’re hopeful this strong start is only the beginning of another memorable year.

“Since the start of the season, we’ve already improved our leadership,” Hasenour said. “We’ve been doing more to try and lead the people coming up so it doesn’t just stop at us. We want to make sure we’re good for years to come, too."

Contact Courier & Press sports reporter Hendrix Magley via email at hendrix.magley@courierpress.com or via Twitter @TweetsOfHendrix.

This article originally appeared on Evansville Courier & Press: Indiana high school football: Southridge shuts out Boonville in Week 2