Lexington 69, BlueCats 28

By Art Jester

HERALD-LEADER STAFF WRITER

The Lexington Horsemen thoroughly defeated the Evansville Bluecats last night to take sole possession of first place in the Atlantic North Conference of the National Indoor Football League.

Everything about the Horsemen was impressive as they won 69-28 before a Rupp Arena crowd of 4,581. The score alone was a big setback for Evansville, whose 49 points-per-game average was fifth in the NIFL.

The Horsemen (6-3) got some help Friday night when the Fort Wayne Freedom won 49-35 at the (St. Louis) Show Me Believers.

The Freedom and the Believers both are 6-4, tying them for second in the Atlantic North Conference. Evansville (4-5) is fourth.

"This was our best, most complete game" this season, said Horsemen Coach Bob Sphire. "Tonight's performance was pretty much a five-star performance."

Two individual performances made the record book.

Running back Martez Johnson, capitalizing on superb blocking and his ability to cut, slice and fly, had 14 carries for 141 yards and two touchdowns.

Johnson broke the Horsemen's individual rushing record of 88 yards, which he set at Evansville on June 7, 2003.

"I've got to credit our offensive line," Johnson said. "All I had to do was run."

Johnson also caught a two-yard touchdown pass.

That was just one of eight from quarterback Dusty Bonner. A model of cool consistency, Bonner tied the team's individual record of eight touchdown passes that he set at Evansville last year.

Last night, Bonner completed 22 of 30 passes for 197 yards, with no interceptions.

"Pretty sweet," is the way Sphire described Bonner's output.

"The offensive line was tremendous tonight," Bonner said. "I think we had fun tonight."

That was obvious, and nowhere was that more obvious than on defense.

In the first half, Lexington stopped Evansville twice as the Bluecats were on the goal line. Another time, defensive back Tayo Agboke intercepted a pass to kill another Evansville threat.

"We didn't get complacent when we got ahead," said defensive lineman Nate Van Sickel.

"It was a matter of will," said defensive lineman Sylvester Peoples.

Agboke had eight tackles, as did defensive back Nate Green.

Lexington's sticky pass coverage, and the intense pressure applied by Van Sickel, Peoples and others, resulted in the Horsemen essentially shutting down Evansville's two top receivers, Demetrius Doss and John Gordon.

Evansville trailed 42-14 at halftime, and already had the look of a team that knew it was headed for defeat.

"We've jumped out on a lot of teams this season, but we've let our guard down." said Horsemen wide receiver Dougie Allen, who caught three TD passes. "We came out and stayed focused for the whole game."

The result was a team that seemed to have jelled and was ready for the stretch run toward the playoffs.

Sphire said he told the team at halftime to treat their big lead "the way Smarty Jones handled the Preakness. He got the lead and then he kicked it into another gear."

Sphire thinks his team matured when it went to Wheeling, W.Va., on May 15 and got creamed by Ohio Valley 50-13.

"At that point we could have begun pointing fingers or we could pull together," Sphire said. "Since we rolled out of that game, we've had a different mindset. This team decided that they're going to assert themselves."