Monroe Central

Monroe Central 56, Fort Wayne Blackhawk Christian 28 The Monroe Central football team put in an all-around solid effort on Friday night, defeating visiting Fort Wayne Blackhawk Christian 56-28 in Parker City. The Golden Bears, who evened their record to 4-4 heading into next week’s regular-season finale against Shenandoah, had 352 yards of total offense on the night — 322 of which coming via the run game, which averaged almost nine yards a carry. Defensively, Monroe Central limited the Braves to just 51 yards on the ground. And on special teams, the Golden Bears had an 87-yard kickoff return for a touchdown by Kyler Bogue early in the first quarter, while kicker Nick Hendrickson nailed 6-of-7 extra-point attempts. Fort Wayne Blackhawk Christian got off to a hot start, reaching the end zone on its first drive on a 4th-and-3 screen pass that it took 65 yards to the house. But Monroe Central punched right back with the kickoff return for a touchdown by Bogue on the very next play, and it was all Golden Bears from there. Monroe Central scored 21, 14, and 21 points in the first three quarters, respectively, to earn a running clock for for the entirety of the fourth quarter. Ethan Hunt led the Golden Bears’ offense with 10 carries for 133 yards and five touchdowns. His night included two runs of 20-plus yards, and one carry of 40 yards. Caleb Luedike also reached the 100-yard rushing mark on the night, earning 101 yards on 10 carries. Caden Dance and Bogue also added rushing touchdowns for Monroe Central. Hunt (10 tackles, 1.5 tackles for loss, one pass defensed, and one forced fumble) and Bogue (nine tackles, two passes defensed, one forced fumble) also led the defensive effort for the Golden Bears. Monroe Central’s regular-season finale next week against Shenandoah is scheduled to kick off at 7:30 p.m. in Parker City.