Greensburg Salem QB Trent Patrick torches Indiana

By: Shawn Annarelli
Friday, October 25, 2019 | 10:21 PM

Previous Next

Greensburg Salem quarterback Trent Patrick had a senior night to remember, accounting for six touchdowns and leading the Golden Lions to a 48-7 win over Indiana and a third-place finish in the Class 4A Big 8 Conference.

“A big team win like this is definitely going to put us in a good spot mentally, so we’ll have a good time watching the film from this game tomorrow morning,” Patrick said. “We were making the plays we wanted to make during the last week of practice. It’s just going to propel forward in the playoffs, I hope.”

Greensburg Salem benefited from two first-half Indiana turnovers and two long punt returns to start three drives in Indians territory and another at midfield. The Golden Lions ran 15 plays for 228 yards in the first half.

Patrick, who had 97 yards and four touchdowns passing and 103 yards and two scores rushing, made Indiana pay for its mistakes with Greensburg Salem’s first two touchdowns on the ground, one on a sneak at the goal line and another for 60 yards.

He went to the air for the Golden Lions’ next three touchdowns with a 20-yard strike to wide receiver Aaren Putt, a 32-yard pass to tight end Ryan Thomas and a 33-yard throw to Jalen Page to take a 35-7 lead into halftime.

Patrick connected with Cavan Trout for a 6-yard touchdown pass in the third quarter.

“It was very important to get all of my (senior) receivers involved,” Patrick said. “I told each of them before the game they had one touchdown in store for them. The timing had to be right. We had to get them the ball, and it worked out in our favor.”

The Indians scored their only touchdown on a 13-play, 78-yard drive to take a 7-7 tie into the second quarter. Quarterback Fox Van Leer scored on a quarterback sneak.

Indiana coach Brandon Oberdorff said it was “by far” his team’s best offensive game this season with freshman running back Rourke Jones running for 103 yards.

“It was great to have Rourke back, because he can be a special player for us if he buys into the process,” Oberdorff said. “He gave an added dimension we haven’t had, and then Fox Van Leer ran with passion. We blocked well and found things we could do, but unfortunately we turned the ball over.”

The Indians (1-9, 1-6) turned the ball over five times, four on lost fumbles and another on an interception.

“Indiana has a good scheme, and they did a good job of running their offense, and we had to change some things against them,” Greensburg Salem coach Dave Keefer said. “We gave up some yards, but stopped them when we needed to. We still have to improve.”

Greensburg Salem (5-5, 5-2) will advance to the playoffs.

“We have to execute what we’ve worked on all season,” Keefer said. “We have a good bit of offense we can run. This late in the season, it’s about what team executes better. Next week, that’s what it comes down to.”

Tags: Greensburg Salem, Indiana