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Big Fourth Quarter secures Snider's Third Football Crown
INDIANAPOLIS - The 2023 season began for Fort Wayne Snider and head coach Kurt Tippmann with several questions to answer. Graduation losses from the previous season left the Panthers with several holes to fill in the line-up.
Fortunately, for Tippmann and the Panthers, they received the ultimate answer with a 33-6 triumph over Decatur Central in the Class 5A state championship game.
One of those answers, senior tailback Uriah Buchanan, ran for 235 yards and scored two touchdowns – on runs of 80 and 95 yards. In addition, the Snider defense came to the fore, holding the high-powered Hawks to just two field goals and 158 yards in offense to claim the program’s third state title – adding to the 1992 and 2015 titlists.
“These kids have worked very hard and everyone in this program knows they will work hard,” Tippmann said. “We’re proud of that and it leads to playing well at crucial points.”
Class 5A State Championship
Fort Wayne Snider 33, Decatur Central 6
Box Score
Despite the final score, there were many crucial points in the contest. Simply put, the game was closer than the final margin indicated. The winners scored three times in the final 10 minutes to turn the game into a rout.
Decatur Central (11-3) opened the scoring on a 35-yard Ashton Vogel field goal in the first quarter. Snider (13-1) didn’t break through until early in the second quarter when Buchanan took a handoff on first down at the 20, slithered through the DC line and sprinted untouched the rest of the way for a 7-3 lead.
Vogel added a 41-yard field goal with 4:55 left in the second to send the game into halftime at 7-6, but not before the Panthers had a golden opportunity to pad that advantage.
After a high snap on a DC punt, Snider had a first-and-goal at the Hawks 1-yard line. Yet, two sacks sandwiched a short Buchanan run that left Snider with a hurried field goal attempt that missed as time expired.
“It was really hard at the end of the first half,” Tippmann admitted. “We talked, pointedly, at halftime that this would be a gut-check and, fortunately, the kids responded and shook it off.”
The Panthers opened the second half by forcing a Decatur Central punt and, once again, a poor snap led to a 4-yard loss and a turnover at the DC 30. Snider couldn’t move the ball, but sophomore Meng Tung came on to boot a 47-yard field goal that barely floated over the cross bar for a 10-6 Snider lead.
Snider extended that lead to 13-6 on an 18-yard field goal by Chase Wennemar with 1:43 left in the third.
Buchanan delivered the back-breaker on Snider’s next possession. After a punt, the Panthers took over on their own 5-yard line and, two plays later, Buchanan went right up the middle of the DC defense and raced 95 yards for a 19-6 lead with just over nine minutes remaining.
The run was one-yard short of the Class 5-A finals record, which was set by Vaughn Dunbar – another Snider product – in 1986.
“It really came down to those two long runs,” DC coach Kyle Enright said. “(Buchanan) is a great player. Each time, he came out of the pile and had the speed to take it to the house.”
Panthers quarterback Keron Billingsley added a 16-yard scoring run, then connected with Buchanan on a 26-yard throwback screen pass for the final score with 3:17 left.
Decatur Central’s dual-threat quarterback Bo Polston (one of five sophomores to start on offense for his team) hit only 6-of-16 passes for 59 yards and was held to 17 yards rushing on eight attempts. Junior N’po Dodo led the Hawks with 64 yards rushing on 12 carries.
While Buchanan missed the longest run record by one yard, he also fell two yards short of 2,000 rushing yards for the season.
“We’re going home state champions, so it’s all good,” Buchanan said.
Decatur Central was making its second state finals appearance after falling in the 2018 title game to New Palestine.
Game Records
None
Snider’s Jake Tippmann named Eskew Mental Attitude Award honoree
During the awards ceremony, Jake Tippmann of R. Nelson Snider High School was announced by the IHSAA Executive Committee as the recipient of the Phil N. Eskew Mental Attitude Award in Class 5A Football.
The award is annually presented to a senior who is nominated by his principal and coach, and has demonstrated excellence in mental attitude, scholarship, leadership, and athletic ability during his four years of high school.
Tippmann plays linebacker and has served as team captain this season. Tippmann is a member of the IHSAA Student Advisory Committee, was elected Vice President by his peers, and presented the group’s mission at the annual Fall Principals Meeting at Huntington North High School this fall. He is also a volunteer with Big Brothers, Big Sisters – acting as a mentor to and meeting with fifth grade students every two weeks over the last two years.
Tippmann has excelled in the classroom and is on track to graduate as the valedictorian of his class next spring with a 4.8 GPA.
He is the son of Kurt and Martina of Fort Wayne, IN and plans to study Mechanical Engineering at Purdue University next fall.
The award is named in honor of late former Commissioner Phil N. Eskew, who served as the IHSAA’s third commissioner from 1962-76.
The Indianapolis Colts, the presenting sponsor of the state tournament, presented a $1,000 scholarship to Fort Wayne Snider High School’s general scholarship fund in the name of Jake Tippmann.
