AURORA- The Batesville Bulldogs improved to 3-0 after defeating the South Dearborn Knights Friday evening. The Dogs used the ground game to pull out the win, rushing for 184 yards on the night. The defense also picked off their opponent four times. The Knights fall to 1-2 on the season and 0-1 in EIAC games while Batesville starts 1-0 in EIAC play and will look to continue their win streak against Rushville Friday.
The Dogs stopped SD on their first drive after Deacon Hamilton made a third-down tackle on running back Carson Cheek. Batesville took possession after a punt on their own 36-yard line. Two runs from Gage Pohlman and a quick pass from Will Jaisle to Cade Kaiser set BHS up across midfield with a fresh set of downs. Jaisle found Kaiser again before several runs (7,11) by the quarterback got Batesville a 1st and 10 on the 13-yard line. A fumbled snap set the Dogs back and they faced 4th and 12 and settled for a field goal attempt. Brady Wonnell’s kick was tipped and fell short, giving the Knights the ball back with just under four minutes to go in the half.
Adam Kunkel was able to find some open targets on the Knights’ next drive and hit Ryan Richard, then Reid Thornton for a first down. Conner Huff was on the receiving end of a Kunkel bullet and Hudson Shackelford caught a 29-yard bomb setting SD up in Bulldog territory. With 30 seconds left in the stanza, Shackelford caught another reception, but two incomplete passes put the Knights in a 4th and 2 situation. Kunkel was unable to find a receiver on the attempt and Batesville got the ball back on downs. Batesville gave the ball to Alex Krekeler on a handoff just to close out the half but the junior took the carry for 44 yards and gave Batesville the ball near the red zone to begin the second quarter.
A fumbled pitch started the quarter; luckily it netted the Dogs four yards after Pohlman fell on the loose ball. On the next play Batesviile went deep and Jaisle connected with Kaiser for a 24-yard touchdown. Wonnell added the extra point and less than a minute into the second quarter the Dogs led 7-0. After the kickoff return, a Kunkel pass found Thornton for a second time and went for a first down. Two incomplete passes brought up 3rd and 10 for the Knights. Kunkel tossed a quick pass intended for Olli Babcock that Hamilton read from his corner position and jumped the route; he took the ball 40 yards for a pick six. A blocked extra point kick by Griffin Davis made the score 13-0 with just over 10 minutes remaining in the half.
The Knights got their longest run of the game when Cheek picked up nine yards to start the next possession. Hamilton made another great read and stopped Cheek in the backfield on the next play. Kunkel was unable to hit Richard on the third down attempt and the Knights punted. Batesville started the next drive near midfield and 15 seconds later they scored again; this time Pohlman took a handoff and broke a tackle, before outsprinting everyone for a 57-yard romp. Wonnell connected on the extra point and BHS led 20-0 with 8:14 to go in the half.
The Knights started their next drive picking up first downs using the ground game, with Brady Ballart mowing down the defense getting SD across midfield. A 14-yard rush by Cheek and a six-yard Ballart run set the Knights up inside the 20. Unfazed by a holding call, Kunkel’s line held the Dog defense at bay long enough for him to connect with the streaking Richard who came down with the ball in the end zone to put SD on the board for the first time. Kunkel connected with Richard again for a two-point conversion and the Batesville lead was trimmed to 12 with 4:30 remaining in the half.
The Dogs began their next drive from the 25-yard line but two stuffed runs by SD and an incomplete pass forced a Batesville punt. Krekeler got the ball right back for Batesville by picking off Kunkel at midfield and the Knights’ Caden Thompson returned the favor jumping on a muffed snap and corralling the fumble recovery for the Knights. After two incompletions Ballart picked up four yards and SD faced 4th and 6. Kunkel found Shackelford for a first down and then went to the end zone, but the Dogs broke up the pass; with under 30 seconds left, SD went back to the same play. Kunkel was unable to connect with Shackelford on the next two plays and a holding call put the Knights at 4th and 23. The Dogs picked off Kunkel on a Hail Mary pass and went into the half up 20-8.
Batesville took over near midfield to start the third quarter and an 18-yard pass from Jaisle to senior Bobby Weiler and a busted play where Jaisle found Krekeler gave BHS 3rd and 5 from the 33-yard line. A flea flicker was called but the long pass to Kaiser fell incomplete and Jaisle took a fourth-down run two yards beyond the sticks, giving the Dogs a first down. The Knights were able to shut down the Dogs’ next three pass attempts, bringing up another fourth down. An incomplete pass gave SD the ball back on the 21-yard line. A stuffed run, incomplete pass and declined penalty brought up fourth down for SD with Kunkel punting out of the end zone.
The Dogs started their next drive on the Knights’ side of the field, but the SD defense stuffed two BHS runs behind the line and a Jaisle keeper was good for just three yards. Penalties put SD back near the end zone and they punted on 4th and 23. Batesville with good field position again used the ground game to move the ball and Pohlman got BHS into the red zone as the quarter expired.
Batesville began the fourth quarter on the seven-yard line facing 3rd and 3. A Jaisle keeper came up a yard short but the same play on fourth down made it 1st and goal with Jaisle getting the Dogs to the three-yard line. The Knights held Batesville out of the end zone; a holding call pushed BHS back to the 15 and SD got the ball back with eight minutes to go. The Knights went to the air and Kunkel found Richard for a 10-yard pickup, he then went deep but Kaiser came down with the long pass and the Dogs had their fourth interception of the game. The Dogs couldn’t get the offense going and punted after a three and out.
The Knights started the next drive with six minutes left in the game on their own 30-yard line. After two completed passes the Knights had the ball near midfield. A holding penalty gave SD a first down and Kunkel connected with Shackelford for 27 yards giving the Knights a first down on the 15-yard line. A second down pass from Kunkel found Shackelford again and the next pass to Richard got three-yards to the six-yard line facing 4th and 1. Ballart picked up a first down on the next play and with 2:28 remaining SD punched in a three-yard score with Ballart doing the honors. A two-point conversion attempt sailed over Kunkel’s target.
The Dogs used the ground game coming out in a power I formation to move the chains and force SD to use their timeouts.
Gage Pohlman gave the Batesville Bulldogs an early lead when the junior scored from 29 yards out to give Batesville the lone score of the first quarter. Pohlman added to the Dogs’ lead in the second quarter with a 47-yard run that put his squad up 14-0. Quarterback Will Jaisle connected with Cade Kaiser to put Batesville’s third touchdown on the board. Final in the Victory Bell showdown: 21-0.
Pohlman carried the ball 21 times and totaled 230 yards to go with his two scores. The Dogs put up 244 rushing yards and Jaisle tossed for 110 yards on five completions, adding a touchdown and one pick. Kaiser led the way for the receivers with 63 yards.
The Dogs’ defense allowed just 105 yards to the Indians in the shutout, totaling seven tackles for a loss; they picked up three sacks, one each from Pohlman, Bobby Weiler and John Dirkhising. Junior Alex Krekeler forced a fumble and came away with an interception for the second game in a row. Dirkhising and senior Carter Bohman led the Dogs with six tackles each. Sophomore Brady Wonnell was 3-of-3 on extra point attempts in his special teams effort.
Batesville will travel to Aurora this Friday to take on South Dearborn (1-1) who is fresh off a 41-0 shutout of Madison. The two teams will battle in their first EIAC contest of the season at 7pm.
Batesville opened the football season with a win on Friday over Indian Creek. The Braves opened the scoring with a 15-yard touchdown pass in the first quarter to go up 7-0. The Dogs didn’t let that deter them and scored the next four touchdowns to take a 28-7 lead. The Braves fought back scoring in the third stanza and twice in the fourth, but Batesville held on for a 42-28 win.
The Braves scored first in the contest when Jalen Sauer connected with Bobby Emberton from 15 yards out. The Dogs came out for their first offensive possession after a Gage Pohlman kick return got them started at the 34-yard line. Pohlman then picked up several first downs to move the chains for BHS and get them inside the 30. A big run from Deacon Hamilton got them inside the 10-yard line, then Will Jaisle ran in a keeper for a six-yard touchdown. Sophomore Aiden Long added the extra point and the game was tied 7-7 with just over three minutes to go in the first quarter.
The Dogs stopped Indian Creek on their next possession when Damien Dance grabbed an interception near the goal line and returned it to the 26. Batesville used the ground game to slowly move the ball into the red zone and they capped off their possession with a one-yard touchdown run by junior Alex Krekeler; Long split the uprights for his second PAT of the game and BHS went up 14-7 with just over five minutes to go in the half. The Dogs shut down Indian Creek’s running game and forced a punt on a 4th-and-13. With three minutes to go, Batesville took over on IC’s 42-yard line and after three incomplete passes the Dogs punted. The Braves moved the ball near midfield and with 16 seconds to go in the half and facing a 4th-and-9, IC elected to go for it. Pohlman used his speed to shed his blocker, picked up a sack and got the Dogs the ball back on their own 32-yard line. With under 10 seconds to go in the half, that was all Jaisle needed; he connected with Cade Kaiser for a 32-yard touchdown pass, and Batesville took a 21-7 lead into the locker room at halftime.
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Batesville started the third quarter on offense at their 42-yard line and electing to stay with the running game, the Dogs picked up two more first downs. A pass interference call got BHS into the red zone where Jaisle ran in his second rushing touchdown on the night. Long hit the PAT and the Dogs took a 28-7 lead with 7:00 to go in the third quarter. The Braves moved the ball through the air on their next drive and got the ball to the 3-yard line; the Dogs stuffed the Indian Creek rushers on the next two downs and a holding call on the Braves moved them back to the 15-yard line. Sauer then connected with a receiver and the Braves cut the Batesville lead to two scores.
Batesville used the ground game to eat up the clock and marched to the 24-yard line as the third stanza ended. On their first play of the fourth quarter, Pohlman picked up 17 yards giving Batesville a 1st-and-goal from the seven. Jaisle then dropped back and connected with Kaiser, who pulled in a touchdown over the head of an Indian Creek defender. Long put up the extra point and BHS led 35-14.
The Braves got a great return to begin their next drive on the 44 and Sauer took the first snap and ran 18 yards. A quick snap caught the Dogs’ defense off guard and a screen pass got the Braves down to the eight for a 1st-and-goal. Two good defensive stops against the run brought up a 3rd-and-4 for Indian Creek, then an incomplete pass brought up 4th-and-goal. Sauer then connected in the back of the end zone with Emberton for the second time and the Braves made it a two-score game again with Batesville still ahead 35-21.
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Indian Creek caught a lucky break when they pounced on a BHS fumble on the kickoff return. Taking over on the 29-yard line, three plays later the Braves hit paydirt again with a touchdown pass and the score was Batesville 35, Indian Creek 28. With eight minutes to go in the game the Dogs took over on the 22-yard line. A few short runs ahead of a 12-yard pass from Jaisle to Nathan Shornick picked up a first down and BHS went back to the ground game. A Krekeler run got BHS to midfield with 4:30 to go in the game. Pohlman took the next handoff and scampered 48 yards, getting the Dogs to the 3-yard line. Krekeler finished off the drive following his left tackle into the end zone, and Batesville led 42-28 with under four minutes to go. The Dogs shut down IC on their final drive and secured a win to start the season 1-0.
Batesville was led by Jaisle who was 6-for-11 passing with 92 yards and two touchdowns; he added 35 yards and two more rushing touchdowns on the ground. Pohlman finished a career-high 178 yards on 25 carries, Hamilton had 25 on four rushes and Krekeler carried 11 times for 43 yards and two scores. Kaiser caught four passes for 66 yards, Pohlman one for 14 and Shornick had one reception for 12 yards. Pohlman also led the Dogs on defense with seven tackles and two sacks. Hamilton was next with six tackles, John Dirkhising, Dance, and Krekeler each had five tackles on the night. Quinton Elston had a sack and Dance and Krekeler each picked off a pass in the Dogs’ win.
Next up for Batesville is a home contest against Milan (1-0), who defeated Rushville by one touchdown on Friday, 27-20.
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Scoring Summary
First Quarter
IC – 9:30 – 15-yard pass (kick) 0-7
BHS – 3:30 – 6-yard run (kick) 7-7
Second Quarter
BHS – 5:27 – 1-yard run (Kick) 14-7
BHS – 0:06 – 32-yard pass (kick) 21-7
Third Quarter
BHS – 7:00 – 5-yard run (kick) 28-7
IC – 3:37 – 15-yard pass (kick) 28-14
Fourth Quarter
BHS – 11:20 – 7-yard pass (kick) 35-14
IC – 9:26 – 4-yard pass (kick) 35-21
IC – 8:19 – 11-yard pass (kick) 35-28
BHS – 3:55 – 3-yard run (kick) 42-28
Total Yards- BHS 377 (92 passing, 285 rushing) IC 179 (177 passing, 2 rushing)
The South Dearborn Lady Knights defeated Milan 3-0 on Tuesday when they hosted the Lady Indians. They won their sets with scores of 25-20, 25-14, and 25-22. Kelsey Clyde led SD with 10 digs and added 10 kills. Carli Walter had five aces, Claire Elliott led SD with 12 kills, and Gracie Messmore finished with nine digs and 11 assists. The Lady Knights are now 1-1 on the season and will host East Central (4-0) on Thursday at 5pm.
Lawrenceburg got a win to start the season, taking down the Connersville Lady Spartans in four sets on Tuesday. Set one went to the Lady Tigers 25-21, Connersville took the second set 25-23, but LHS took the final two sets 25-20, and 25-20. Natalie Knigga led Lawrenceburg with 19 kills and 22 assists, Bryleigh Boyd led all players with 23 digs, and Sophia Fassold added 21 assists, and Trinity Taylor had 13 kills I the Lady Tigers win. Connersville was led by Hailey Sembach’s 22 kills. Rayleigh Bresher had 15 digs to lead CHS, and junior Breana Brock led all players with 31 assists.
Batesville traveled to Madison on Tuesday and took three of the five sets to earn the victory over the Lady Cubs and start the seson 1-0. BHS took the first two sets 25-22 and 25-14. Madison too kthe next two sets 25-21 and 25-23. Batesville took the final set 16-14 for the win.
The Lady Wildcats fell in three sets to Hagerstown on Tuesday evening. The Lady Tigers won 25-12, 25-14, and 25-17, to keep Franklin County winless to start the season.
The East Central Lady Trojans went 3-0 on Saturday to win their own Invitational. EC defeated Franklin County (25-10, 25-7) and Connersville (25-10, 25-11) before taking down Union County (26-24, 25-11) to claim the trophy. Connersville defeated FC in three sets (25-17, 17-25, 15-10) and lost to Union County (25-13, 25-23) The Lady Cats also fell to the Lady Patriots (25-15, 25-18)
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Monday-
The Connersville Lady Spartans hosted New Palestine and fell in three sets 25-10, 25-13, and 25-5.
East Central was back in action taking on Greensburg in an EIAC matchup. The Lady Trojans improved to 4-0 on the season after taking three of four sets from the defending sectional champs. EC took the first two sets 28-26 and 25-23, Greensburg took the third set 25-10, and East Central won the fourth set 25-20.
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The Rushville Lady Lions opened their season with a win over Franklin County. The Lady Cats took the first two sets 25-23 and 25-20, before the Lady Lions took the final three sets, 25-20, 25-18, and 15-9.
South Dearborn fell in five sets to Southwestern Hanover. The Lady Knights fell behind two sets 20-25, 23-25. They fought back to take the next two sets 27-25, 25-22, before falling in the final 15-8.
Batesville girls golf had a solid showing in the first week of the 2023 campaign, closing with a 10th-place finish at the invite-only Fall State Preview at Prairie View Golf Club in Carmel Saturday.
The Lady Bulldogs’ total settled at 347 with junior Addyson Weiler leading the way with a 6-over par 78 – good for 9th place individually. Senior Josie Meyer was next at 82 and sophomore Ava South made her season debut count with an 84. Freshman Alexis Gallagher had the last counting score at 103 and classmate Grace Saner totaled 124.
The team had made it a perfect 2-of-2 out of the starting gate with last Tuesday’s tournament victory at Liberty Country Club in the Union County Invitational. After winning at Richmond the previous day, the Dogs duplicated the big win by undercutting runner-up Richmond by 25 strokes (339-364). The host Patriots were third at 371.
Weiler had a medalist effort of 72 and Meyer tied for second overall with 76. Gallagher shot 93, sophomore Zoey Ahern 98 and Saner 108.
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The first dual meet of the year took place Monday at Columbus East with BHS pocketing a comfortable 158-186 win. On the East 9 track of Otter Creek, Meyer shot a splendid one-under 35 as both Weiler (39) and South (38) came in under 40. Ahern had the fourth score of 46 while Saner and Gallagher each landed 53. Carter Gant paced CE with 38.
High school sports are officially underway with several EIAC girls golf teams teeing off at the Elks Club for the Richmond Invitational on Monday. The Batesville Lady Bulldogs shot 322 to take a decisive team victory, finishing 34 strokes ahead of the second-place hosts, Lady Red Devils of Richmond. East Central shot a 409 and finished in fifth, while Rushville took sixth with a team score of 414, and Connersville brought up the rear with a score of 467.
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The individual low medalist was East Central’s Rowan Pies with a 71. Also finishing in the top five, Josie Meyer (Batesville) 74, Alex Goowin (Centerville) 77, Isabella Roll (Richmond) 80 and Addyson Weiler (Batesville) 80.
Richmond (354) – Isabella Roll 37-43-80, Lauren Freeman 46-43-89, Priya Hodges 42-44-86, Hanna Stearley 47-52-99, Peyton Walton 50-62-112.
Centerville (362) – Alex Goodwin 37-40-77, Aurora Biava 41-46-87, Emma Staten 52-53-105, Liliah Bellew 53-52-105, Kensy Isaacs 45-48-93.
Union County (389) – Peityn Gillman 39-42-81, Madysson McClure 44-53-97, Aubrey Beck 54-53-107, Mel Goecke 49-57-106, Nora Robinson 44-61-105.
East Central (409) – Rowan Pies 33-38-71, Riley Havlin 58-59-117, Alyssa Riehle 50-54-104, Savannah Roope 64-60-124, Marissa Gabbard 60-57-117.
Rushville (414) – Emma Tressler 44-46-90, Megan Alexander 53-47-100, Clair Wait 45-55-100, Abby Hill 59-65-124, Lauren Megee 62-62-124.
Connersville (467) – Abby Keal 47-57-104, Allison Badore 62-58-120, Karlee Garrett 56-65-121, Alania Daniels 66-68-134, Madison Smith 63-59-122.
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More EIAC golf action will take place today at the Liberty Counrty Club with the Union County Invitational already underway. EIAC team attending are Franklin County, Lawrenceburg, Connersville, Batesville, and East Central.
Sponsorship opportunities are available on our website for the 2023-24 sports season. Your business can be displayed to our audience in numourous ways. We are looking for a team page sponsor for each of the eight schools. You will get a banner ad on the top of the school’s page and post sponsors ads that will rotate with other businesses throughout each season.
We have main site sponsorship’s available where your ad will be shown on the header of the main news feed page and ads will be posted between articles.
If you would like a reasonably priced ad you can become a part of our rotating post sponsorships. Most posts will have a main advertiser, so if you or someone you know would like to help us support and promote youth athletics in Southeastern Indiana, give us a call at 765-310-1585 or email Chris Louden chris@eiacsports.com for pricing and availability.
The Batesville Bulldogs will look to build on the success they found at the end of the season in 2022. After a 2-4 start to the year, coach Evan Ulery righted the ship, and the Dogs went 3-1 to end the regular season. They avenged a week one loss to Indian Creek in the sectional semifinal, beating the Braves 35-34. The Dogs’ season ended at the hands of Lawrenceburg in the sectional championship, the Tigers going on to earn a spot in the state championship.
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Ulery is 41-36 in his seven seasons with Batesville and should have no problem improving that record as he looks to get the Bulldogs their first sectional title since 2015. Ulery’s offense will be in good shape with quarterback Will Jaisle returning for his junior season. As a sophomore, Jaisle threw for 1,256 yards and 14 touchdowns. The quarterback was also second on Batesville in rushing with 743 yards, and he led the Dogs with eight rushing touchdowns. Protecting Jaisle are returning linemen, All-EIAC selection Max Amberger, along with seniors Carson Meyer and Collin Wells. The Dogs’ fullback Bobby Weiler returns with starting experience on both sides of the ball.
Gage Pohlman Junior Running back
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Junior Gage Pohlman will return to lead the Dogs’ backfield in 2023. Pohlman already has 1,127 rushing yards through two seasons to go with nine rushing touchdowns. Cade Kaiser returns as Jaisle’s top target from a season ago. The junior grabbed 30 receptions for 470 yards and five touchdowns. Damien Dance also returns for the Dogs, after 20 receptions for 262 yards a season ago. Another backfield weapon for coach Ulery is Deacon Hamilton, who returns for his senior season. Hamilton has been used all over the field over the past few seasons and should see his share of carries this season.
Will Jaisle
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The Bulldogs’ defense lost its top tackler from last season, but the Dogs return their next five tackle-getters from 2022. Carter Bohman and his 82 tackles are back for his senior campaign, along with juniors Dance, Kaiser, Quinton Elston and Lucas Wells. Kaiser also led the Dogs with five interceptions last season. Jonathan Buschle returns at cornerback after an injury-plagued 2022 season. The special teams return placekicker Brady Wonnell, who hit 22 extra-point attempts in 2022.
Brady Wonnell
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Batesville will start the season on the road at Trafalgar taking on the Indian Creek Braves on Aug. 18. The Bulldogs will host Milan on Aug. 25, for their first home game of the season trying to win their fourth straight Victory Bell contest. Other home games this season include Rushville Sept. 8, East Central Sept. 15 and Franklin County on Oct. 6.
