End of the road–Indians’ historic season ends with semifinal loss


Darren Kinnard
Section618.com

DECATUR — The Johnston City Indians knew they had quite a task in front of them. In their first football state semifinal in school history, the Indians had to travel to Decatur to take on fellow unbeaten St. Teresa, the number one ranked team throughout the season.

The Bulldogs showed why, bouncing back from an early 7-0 deficit to score 39 straight points, on the way to a 39-15 win.

Johnston City jumped on top in the first quarter. Brody Little recovered a St. Teresa fumble deep in their territory. That set up Isiah Watson’s 6-yard touchdowns for a 7-0 Indians lead.

Elijah Wills’ scored on a 5-yard run for the Bulldogs, but the Indians stopped the two-point conversion attempt, to maintain a 7-6 lead after one.

St. Teresa turned a Johnston City fumble into points as quarterback Joe Brummer scored on a one-yard keeper. The two-point conversion was good for a 14-7 Bulldogs’ lead with 6:33 left in the second quarter.

Things went sideways for the Indians right before half. Driving for a potential tying score in the final minute, Johnston City fumbled inside the St. Teresa 25. Three plays later, Brummer broke free for a 67-yard touchdown run giving the Bulldogs a 20-7 lead with 7.7 seconds left before half.

While the Indians struggled to get anything going offensively early in the second half, the Bulldogs tacked on three more touchdowns before Watson closed the scoring with a 22-yard touchdown run in the fourth quarter. The senior finished with more than 130 yards rushing on the day.

Johnston City head coach Todd Thomas shows his team the state semifinal plaque headed for the school’s trophy case.

St. Teresa advances to play Downs Tri-Valley Friday in Champaign in the 2A State Championship game. The Indians finish 12-1.
The Johnston City Indians close the season with one final huddle and break.