Bowen keeps goin’
Notre Dame recruit rushes for 357 yards, 5 TDs as Andrean heads to state
The stadium fell silent while Andrean senior Drayk Bowen was down in the end zone after scoring his third touchdown Friday night.
After several minutes, the Notre Dame recruit rose, walked slowly to the sideline and removed his helmet.
“They speared me, got me in the head,” Bowen said. “I was a little ‘eh’ in the head, but I’m all good now. I had some tests and I’m all good.”
Bowen turned in a better-thangood performance. Really, it was one for the ages.
Bowen ran for 357 yards and five TDs on 35 carries as the 59ers downed Fort Wayne Bishop Luers 48-29 in a Class 2A semistate championship game in Merrillville.
Defending state champion Andrean (10-3) returns to the final and will play Evansville Mater Dei (11-3) for the second straight time.
Bowen carried the 59ers last season against Mater Dei. He did it again against Luers (8-6).
“It was amazing,” Bowen said. “We worked all week on our O-line dominating.
“We knew what the weather was going to be like. We knew it was going to be cold. We knew it was going to be hard to throw.
“We knew it was going to be won in the trenches, which is how most Indiana games are won. We preached that all week. Those guys dominated. They were physical up front, they moved people, they created lanes for me.”
No Andrean player besides Bowen had a carry until late in the third quarter. The 59ers had one completion to that point. Bowen didn’t play the game’s final 8 minutes, 13 seconds as they went largely to reserves.
“Pretty good,” Andrean coach Chris Skinner said of Bowen’s performance. “We knew — we didn’t know, but we thought they were likely to load the box and want to stop the run. We also assumed they’d want to try to take away (Patrick) Clacks somehow.
“So we were able to find some formations that were favorable for us in the run game, just get some numbers advantages. And obviously he doesn’t need much to get going.
“That’s a credit to him. That’s
a credit to our offensive line and tight ends for making those holes.”
After Luers closed to 21-13 with 37 seconds left in the first half, Bowen generated another Andrean TD in the waning seconds. After breaking a 55-yard run, he scored a 6-yard TD with four seconds left in the half, bouncing off three tacklers.
After Bowen’s 8-yard TD made it 35-16 with 5:29 left in the third, Luers returned the ensuing kickoff for a score. But on the next play from scrimmage Bowen rambled 72 yards for his final TD, all but sealing the 59ers’ victory.
Antonio Barnes opened the scoring with a 32-yard
interception return for a TD with 8:38 left in the first quarter. Clacks caught an 18-yard TD pass from Billy Henry with 9:39 left in the fourth for Andrean’s final score.
“Getting that stop and setting the tone right away with the interception, that was a huge play,” Skinner said. “Great play too.”
Andrean topped Mater Dei 21-9 in the 2021 state championship game. They’ll meet again at Lucas Oil Stadium in Indianapolis at 10 a.m. on Friday.
“I’m happy to be there,” Skinner said. “Obviously they’re a very good program, a very proud program.
“I don’t know much about them in terms of this year’s team, but obviously I know some of the players who will be back. But I haven’t seen
any film on them.
“It’s kind of cool. I have a lot of respect for the program and their coach. I met him for the first time last year, and he seems like a really genuine, awesome guy. There’s a reason he’s been there for such a long time and had the success he’s had.
“I’m looking forward to having another good game.”
Bowen expressed similar sentiments.
“They’re a good program,” he said. “They’re a respected program.
“We got the best of them last year. They’re going to want to come back and come for us. They’re going to want us just as bad as we want them, if not more.
“We have a good team ahead of us. We just have to get prepared.”