ARCANUM – Arcanum led state-ranked Troy Christian late in the fourth quarter Friday night but came up a little short in a 28-21 loss.
The Arcanum football team found itself in an early hole against Troy Christian, who entered the game ranked eighth in Division VII by the Associated Press, as Hayden Hartman connected with Peyton Spurlock for a 55-yard touchdown pass less than three minutes into the game to put the Eagles up 7-0.
Arcanum didn’t trail for long, however, as less than three minutes later Daniel Coats ran 19 yards for a touchdown to tie the game at 7-7.
Arcanum took its first lead of the night with 1:24 remaining in the opening quarter when Pierce Lindemuth ran for a 10-yard touchdown, putting the Trojans up 14-7.
Arcanum extended its lead to 21-7 with 2:28 remaining in the first half with an 8-yard touchdown run by Brandon Kinney, which made him Arcanum’s all-time leading scorer.
Troy Christian reduced Arcanum’s lead to seven points with just 34 seconds remaining in the half when Cameron Strine caught a 35-yard touchdown pass from Hartman, making it 21-14 entering the halftime break.
Arcanum maintained its seven-point lead until the fourth quarter when Troy Christian’s Jacob Brown caught a 45-yard touchdown pass from Hartman. The Eagles failed to make the extra point, though, so with 9:21 remaining in the game the Trojans clung to a 21-20 lead.
With just two minutes left, Hartman gave Troy Christian its first lead since midway through the first quarter with a 1-yard touchdown run. Brown caught the two-point conversion pass, and Troy Christian led 28-21, which ultimately was the final score.
Arcanum out-gained Troy Christian on the ground with 289 yards to the Eagles’ 76. Troy Christian was more effective through the air with 233 passing yards while Arcanum had 78.
Kinney led Arcanum with 167 rushing yards and a touchdown on 23 carries. Coats had 12 carries for 87 yards and a touchdown, and Lindemuth also ran for one touchdown.
Lindemuth completed six of his 11 passes for 78 yards and two interceptions. Coats led the way with three receptions for 32 yards, Wade Meeks caught two passes for 25 yards, and Andrew Baker caught one pass for 21 yards.
Kinney led Arcanum with nine tackles, Austin Fourman had six, and Cambell Gostomsky had four. Evan Atchley intercepted one pass, Dylan Burns forced a fumble, and Meeks recovered a fumble. Maverick Hildebrand had one sack.
Arcanum fell to 3-5 overall with Friday’s loss while Troy Christian improved to 7-1. Arcanum will travel to Cross County Conference foe Mississinawa Valley on Friday.
