Martinsville, IND – Martinsville may very well be the surprise team so far in Southern Indiana. They are ranked 7th in the AP poll in 4A and sit pretty at 5th overall in the SISN Top 25. They come into tonight’s game on a high as they just beat 5A AP #4 Whiteland by a couple touchdowns. The Artesians have played the 35th strongest schedule according to Sagarin, and have gone 1-0 against top 25 teams, and 3-1 against top the top 64. When I say it’s been a hell of a season for the Arties, know I’m not lying.
We had to make the quick drive from Bloomington to be able to witness for ourselves this magical team in action, that’s why we made a little schedule change and are featuring this game as our “Game of the Week” in Southern Indiana high school football. Let’s dive a little deeper into both teams in our game recap.
Perry Meridian Falcons (2-4 OVR , 1-3 CONF)
Perry Meridian has not had a great season, although they have played the 38th strongest schedule according to Sagarin. They come in riding a win though as they beat a game Greenwood squad by 10 last week. This 6A team will look to use their size and athleticism to try and catch 4A Martinsville slipping.
Perry Meridian will use a somewhat balanced attack on offense. Look for them to try and use their size and power to pound the ball early on the ground to open up Martinsville’s defense. Once they notice the Artesians start to creep up a bit look for QB Allen Zupan to throw to his favorite target Isaiah Hunter the rest of the way. Perry Meridian sure does like to air it out so Martinsville’s secondary better be on high alert.
Players To Watch
Senior WR/CB Isaiah Hunter
Isaiah is a very very talented all around football player. He excels at both his positions on offense and defense. He leads his team and all of 6A in interceptions with 5 on the year. We’ve only played 6 games folks. He is averaging almost an interception a game. Not to mention, he leads his team in both rushing and receiving yards. This kid can do it all. Martinsville will definitely have to game plan against Hunter to try and keep the ball out of his hands, on both sides of the ball.
Martinsville Artesians (5-1 OVR , 3-1 CONF)
Martinsville is certainly the talk of the Indiana high school football world right now. They have surprised many people with their stellar play this year. When you talk about running a balanced offense, few teams actually do it. Martinsville does. Led by outstanding Senior QB Tyler Adkins and highlight machine Junior RB Brayden Shrake, they have attempted 172 passes and 169 rushes on the year. Doesn’t get more balanced than that. What’s crazy about that statistic is that they excel at both. Not many football teams at any level can accomplish that feat.
Martinsville’s D is nothing to laugh at either. They picked up an insane 7 sacks last week against a Top 10 team in Whiteland. They were led by DE/DT Nic Crone who had 4 of those 7 sacks. The Artesians bend but don’t break defense is holding opponents to just over 17 points a game. I’m sure they’d like to get that number lower, but for now it is enough to keep on winning. That is what the Artesians do, they just keep on finding ways to win.
Players to Watch
Junior RB Brayden Shrake
Shrake has been nominated a couple times for SISN player of the week and for good reason. Brayden leads the Artesians in rushing with 640 yards on the year good for an average of over 100 yards a game. Oh and he has also added 6 scores on the year. Shrake is that bruiser kind of back who will not average many yards per carry but will wear you down over the course of a game and then attack when the time is right. I look for him to have a huge game.
Senior QB Tyler Adkins
Tyler Adkins is the definition of consistency at the quarterback position. To date he has completed 64% of his passes and thrown for 1348 yards and 15 touchdowns to only 4 interceptions. He knows how to take care of the ball. His favorite target on the year has been Garrett Skaggs, who has caught 47 of Adkin’s balls for 548 yards and 4 touchdowns. Adkins is not afraid to spread the ball around either if Skaggs is covered up. His field vision is top notch. I expect him to have a huge game tonight.
Thanks for reading yall and let’s pack Siderewicz Field tonight to watch the SISN Game of the Week. Hope to see yall there!
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