Calumet waits 'til 2nd half to shine

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GARY -- After looking totally lethargic and not very interested in playing the first half, Calumet came out in the second half Friday, putting up more than 300 yards of total offense en route to a 38-6 victory over visiting South Central on Senior Night.

A couple of uncharacteristic fumbles and missed opportunities kept South Central alive in the first half as Calumet couldn't muster up momentum to score.

But the scoring wasn't too far behind as the Warriors went on to display their talent in the second half.

"We just had to shake it off," said Darcell Ballentine, who ignited the first big play option in the second half with a 81-yard run for score.

"I thought even in the first half we were totally in control of the ballgame, but we just shot ourselves in the foot with all the turnovers," Calumet coach Ivan Zimmer said. "The kids were just jacked up for senior night."

Along with Ballentine, who finished with 142 rushing yards on nine carries, senior back George Ezell did his part by scoring three touchdowns on runs of 4, 74 and 75 as he tallied up 170 rushing yards on only 11 touches.

Quarterback Nate Fowler orchestrated the offense under center as the junior made sure to send out the senior group on a positive note.

He called his own number twice with the first coming in the second quarter on a 1-yard with 9:08 to play in the second quarter.

Fowler capped off the big-play second-half with a spectacular 60-yard run.

South Central (2-6, 2-4 GSSC) with less than three minutes left in the half, made its presence known as Bryant Hoover connected with John Fagan on a 65-yard TD pass.

Fagan battled double coverage deep down field and managed to snag the ball away and sprint into the end zone for the Satellites' only score of the evening and a 6-6 tie at the half.

But the second half belonged to the Warriors (7-1, 6-0 GSC) with four touchdowns (81, 74, 75 and 60) as they stayed undefeated heading into next week's conference championship match against undefeated Wheeler.

The Satellites managed only 177 total yards of offense on the night, while Calumet finished with 449.