Kovach, 59ers score early and often vs. Knox

Andrean's Kyle Kovach runs the ball in the second quarter against Knox.
(Stephanie Dowell/Post-Tribune)

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MERRILLVILLE — Turn down the thermostat, dampen down the field and Kyle Kovach heats up. Go figure.

No seriously, go figure — use these stats: 13 carries, 207 yards and five touchdowns. Adds up to a great night, but Kovach did it in the first half, which was the sum difference in host Andrean’s 52-14 thrashing of Knox in the Class 3A Sectional 17 final Friday night.

The 59ers (6-6) travel to face Northwood in Class 3A regional play next week.

“It was great,” Kovach said. “Our line opened up some great holes and I was able to find room to run."

Kovach said the team wanted to support junior Richard Grove who lost his father this past week. “Our whole motivation was to do this for Richard,” Kovach said.

Kovach scored on runs of 50, 15, 38, 1 and 66 in the half.

“It was a great first half of football,” Andrean coach Phil Mason said. “This is what we’ve been waiting for, we’ve been preaching to the kids all season that we want to be here in week 12."

Lost in the offensive explosion was Andrean’s defense that stymied the powerful offense of the Redskins (7-5). Knox likes to spread the field and go downfield, but Andrean’s overwhelming pass rush completely derailed the Redskins offense.

“We missed some early opportunities and then things obviously snowballed from there,” Knox coach Terry Chestovich said. “But Andrean is a great team and they’ll represent Sectional 17 well in the regional, I wish them all the luck, their tough schedule will help them all the way.”

With the game out of reach 35-0 at half, Kovach went to the shelf, but the Niners weren’t done yet. Junior Steve Herrera took over in the backfield and tacked on another 144 yards rushing against the overmatched Knox defense, the jewel a 90-yard touchdown run midway through the fourth quarter.

Still, the offense was supported by Andrean’s stingy defense that held Knox to 136 total yards, with the Redskins scoring coming late in the game against Andrean’s clean jerseys.