Maconaquah Schools

With the heat index nearing 100 degrees and the game starting an hour later, the Maconaquah Braves used the strong arm of senior quarterback Aiden Robinson and his fleet-footed bevy of receiving corps to take down the Northfield Norsemen Friday night, 47-24. Maconaquah, ranked #10 in the latest IFCA Class 3A poll, improved to 3-0 on the year and to 1-0 in Three Rivers Conference play. Northfield dropped to 1-2 overall and remained winless in two TRC games. MHS will travel to Whitko Friday for another conference matchup against the 0-3 Wildcats. Coach Ethan Robbins' pesky defense set the tone early, forcing three Norse fumbles in the opening six minutes of the game. Eli Grzegorski and Evan Blake forced two of the fumbles, with recoveries made by James Stambaugh, Aiden Ousley and Nolan Tarrh. Robinson put the hosts on top with a sneak from a yard out with 10:41 on the clock to open the game. Tarrh's PAT kick made it 7-0. The lead ballooned to 13-0 23 ticks later (after a Northfield fumble) when Robinson hit Tarrh with a short five-yard TD pass. Mac's third scoring drive took only three plays (54 seconds) and gave Robbins and his troops a 20-0 lead at the end of the first stanza when Robinson hit Marcell Sims with a two-yard TD pass. Maconaquah next two touchdowns came on scoring drives of 78 and 89 yards and shot MHS to a commanding 33-0 lead with 3:56 left in the first half. A nice 11-yard TD catch by Jorden Van Ness in the corner of the endzone on the first play of the second quarter put the Braves on top, 26-0. Robinson called his own number from two yards out with 3:56 showing for Mac's fifth TD of the night. Tarrh's PAT boot made it 33-0. After Northfield scored on a 45-yard pass play at the 2:50 mark, both teams came up empty on their next possessions and the Braves owned a 33-6 lead at intermission. The Braves got the pigskin three times in the third quarter and cashed in on their final two tries after turning the ball over on downs on their first possession. Robinson hit sophomore Tre Rader in stride with a 56-yard TD strike to make it 39-6. After the Norse scored (39-12), the Robinson-to-Rader duo struck paydirt again . . . this time with a long 61-yard bomb. Tarrh caught Robinson's pass on the conversion try to make it 47-12 with 1:39 showing on the third quarter clock. With the comfortable 35-point lead, the IHSAA "Mercy Rule" went into effect and the remainder of the game was played with a running clock. Northfield scored on its only two possessions in the fourth quarter to provide the final, 47-24. Robinson finished the game hitting on 21 of 36 passes good for 424 yards and five touchdowns. The 424 yards is the fourth-highest single game effort in school history. He was red-hot in the first quarter, shredding the Norse defense with 199 yards on 13 of 17 accuracy. Nine of his completions covered 20+ yards with Rader leading the way with a career-high 167 receiving yards on five catches. Tarrh caught seven passes for 115 yards, while Sims added 96 on five grabs . . . all in the first half. Defensively, DaKoda Dauenhauer led MHS with 13 tackles. Also topping the tackle chart was Blake (11), Tarrh (7), Jayden Fitzpatrick (7), Grzegorski (6) and Ousley (6). Getting four stops apiece were Chase Washburn, Alexzander Martin and Treson Ambrose. Washburn and Dauenhauer each had a QB sack. Washburn and Blake each had two tackles for loss, while Dauenhauer, Ousley and Grezegorski were credited with one apiece. Tarrh picked off a Northfield pass in the third quarter that set up the first Robinson-to-Rader long TD toss and the 39-6 lead. >>>>>> SIDELINE NOTES >>>>>> . . . . . Maconaquah now leads the all-time series vs Northfield, 11-6, winning the last five meetings . . . . . The Braves extended their regular-season home win streak to a school-record 13 games . . . . . The 47 points scored by MHS is the most-ever by a Brave team vs Northfield . . . . . Tarrh was the state's leading receiver entering the game and is now averaging 162 yards per game . . . . . Sims' second-quarter TD gives him 316 points during his stellar career and moved him past Cody Hicks into third place on Maconaquah's career scoring list with 316 points . . . . . Prior to the game former Brave standout Steve Shine was recognized for being a 2026 inductee to the Indiana Football Hall of Fame. Steve had an outstanding college career with the Northwestern Wildcats and was the Cincinnati Bengals third-round pick (86th overall) in the 1994 NFL draft. Unable to attend the game vs Northfield, his father (John) accepted the award presented by Bob Prescott