Monroe Central

Richmond 34, Monroe Central 15 The Monroe Central football team put in a solid first half of football in Friday night’s road matchup against Class 4A foe Richmond, but saw the host Red Devils pull away from there in their 34-15 Week 3 loss. The Golden Bears (1-2) trailed by just one, 8-7, going into halftime, and then saw their first play from scrimmage in the second half turn into and 80-yard touchdown run by Ethan Hunt. The perfectly-blocked play gave Monroe Central, after the ensuing two-point conversion run by quarterback Carson Siekmann, a 15-8 lead 12 seconds into the third quarter. But it was all Richmond from there, as its elusive run game paved the way for a 26-0 spurt to close out the rest of the game. In all, the Red Devils ran the ball 35 times for 400 yards on Friday night, as they earned six run plays of 20-plus yards and two run plays of 40-plus yards. Hunt led the way for Monroe Central’s offense with eight carries for 125 yards (15.6 average) and the aforementioned touchdown. Siekmann, who left the game late with an injury and didn’t return, had 10 rushing attempts for 38 yards and scored the Golden Bears’ other touchdown on the night, a 1-yard rumble with 4:31 left in the second quarter. That play capped a 12-play, 75-yard touchdown drive that took 6:26 off the clock. Kyler Bogue led the Monroe Central defense with nine total tackles, while Travis Reed added eight tackles, including a tackle for a loss. Carson Cruse’s smart read on a Richmond screen play led to his first-career interception late in the second quarter, while Dylan Painter hustled to earn a fumble recovery late in the game. Caleb Luedike had a solid night punting the ball for the Golden Bears, as he had four punts for 166 total yards (41.5 average), with two of his punts landing inside the 20-yard line. Monroe Central heads to Tri next Friday in the team’s final road game of the regular season. Kickoff is set for 7 p.m.