Maconaquah Schools

The Maconaquah Braves scored early and often at Whitko Friday night and posted a convincing 62-0 win. Coach Michael Fenter's troops, now 3-0, scored on all six of their first half possessions and bolted to a 48-0 lead at intermission. The second half was played with a running clock with the IHSAA "Mercy Rule" in effect. The Three Rivers Conference triumph kept the Braves atop the league standings with a perfect 3-0 record. Whitko remained winless on the year (0-4) and dropped to 0-3 in the TRC. Maconaquah, off to its best start since 2015, will continue league play Friday with a road trip to Peru. The Braves now lead the all-time series with Whitko, 9-2. Maconaquah completely controlled both sides of the ball enroute to the lopsided win. Offensively, sophomore quarterback Aiden Robinson shredded the Wildcat defense in the first half by tossing six touchdown passes. Robinson completed 13 of his 17 passes in the opening half for 304 yards and finished with 337 yards on 15 of 21 accuracy. After AJ Kelly caught Mac's first TD pass (19 yards) on its opening drive, senior Brady Dausch picked off Whitko's first pass attempt and returned it 16 yards to paydirt. Nolan Tarrh's PAT kick gave the Braves a 13-0 lead with 6:22 on the clock. Robinson and Kelly teamed up again for a 27-yard TD strike at 3:32 and Tarrh's kick gave MHS a 20-0 lead. Kelly's touchdown reception moved him past the 2,000 yard career mark (2,004) and saw him pass Phillip Garnett and Jared Blake into fifth place on Maconaquah's all-time scoring list with 190 points. Kile, Mac's career receiving leader, was next to step into the spotlight. He hauled in a 27-yard Robinson TD pass to end the first quarter scoring and then had the catch of the night to open the second period. Starting on its own 20, Robinson hit Tarrh for seven. Kile then leaped high with a one-hand grab over the middle, broke several tackles and electrified the large Brave contingent with a 73-yard gallop to the endzone, tossing several Wildcats defenders aside along the way. He finished with with game-high 107 yards on four catches. Tarrh followed with 104 yards on four receptions and added two PAT kicks. Kile now has 3,250 receiving yards during his stellar career, moving him into 12th place on the state's latest published list of career receivers. The sure-handed senior has now caught TD passes in 22 of his last 24 games and has scored in 23 consecutive Maconaquah games. Max Sachse added Maconaquah's other six PAT kicks as the Braves tied a school record of eight PAT kicks made in a game, tying the mark set vs Taylor in 2013 and Wabash in 2019. The 62 points scored vs Whitko is the second-most scored in school history. The Braves set the record (72) vs North Miami in 2021. Maconaquah romped to a 48-0 lead at the end of the first half as the Robinson-to-Tarrh connection accounted for TD's of five and 44 yards in the final six minutes of action. The lead ballooned to 55-0 on a Marcell Sims 39-yard TD scamper to start the third quarter. Conner Eldridge scored the final touchdown with a nice 30-yard TD run early in the final period. Soph Alexander Martin led the Braves with 57 yards rushing on five carries in the last five minutes of the game. Defensively, the Braves limited Whitko to a mere two yards of total offense. The Wildcats crossed midfield only one time during the game and were forced to punt seven times. Carsten Hollars led the swarming Brave defense with seven tackles. Dausch followed with six stops, including three for Wildcat losses. Dausch also had the interception TD return and the school-record 10th forced fumble of his career. Kile and Landon Morgan were each credited with four tackles and Morgan also had a pair of quarterback sacks. Maconaquah, ranked 19th in the latest USA Today Class 3A Indiana HS poll, had the 13th-best defensive average entering the game and is now allowing just 4.3 points per game. Mac's offense is averaging 46 points an outing.