Monroe Central

The Monroe Central football team saw its 2023 season end Friday night with a 27-22 home loss to Sheridan in their Class 1A sectional final matchup. The Golden Bears (6-6), the underdogs coming into the matchup against the 10th-ranked Blackhawks (9-3), had a spirited effort without starting quarterback Lane Wilson, who suffered a knee injury in last week’s sectional semifinal win against Wes-Del. Monroe Central used gashing touchdown runs of 83 yards from Jerimiah Ullom in the first quarter and 79 yards from Carter Duncan in the second quarter, matched with a grinding defensive effort, to go into halftime with a 14-0 lead. But Sheridan fought back from there, scoring touchdowns on its first two drive of the second half, and then falling on a Monroe Central fumble in the end zone for another touchdown, to take a 21-14 lead with 11:33 left in the fourth quarter. The Golden Bears continued battling, however. On their next possession, they embarked on a five-play, 68-yard drive that ended with a 29-yard touchdown pass from Duncan to Ullom. Duncan then ran it in for the two-point conversion to give Monroe Central a 22-21 lead with 9:07 left. But the Blackhawks answered right back, going 69 yards in 11 plays, reaching the end zone with a one-yard touchdown run to retake a lead they would not relinquish, 27-22. The Golden Bears had 247 yards of total offense, including 27 rushing attempts for 218 yards (8.1 average). Duncan (eight carries, 104 yards, rushing touchdown) and Ullom (nine carries, 85 yards, rushing touchdown) led the way. Duncan completed 4-of-8 passing attempts for 29 yards with a touchdown. Travis Reed led the Monroe Central defense with 11 total tackles, followed by Izaiah Mangas and Julius Ullom (10 tackles each). Justice David and Elijah Goodspeed each had sacks, and Ethan Hunt had an interception.