The Titan football team took down the Washington Hatches on October 4. This conference win moved the Titans to 2-1 in the conference and 5-2 overall.
The Titans were ahead 14-7 with 0.4 seconds left on the clock in the first half. Senior kicker Cam Novotny, who in his position has put up many points for the Titans, broke the school record for the longest field goal by hitting a 51-yarder.
“I wasn’t nervous at all,” Novotny said. “I knew I was going to hit it and was completely confident. All the work [I have put in] showed just in that moment.”
Novotny etched his name in the football record books with his kick.
“It feels amazing and surreal – that’s what ‘ve been working so hard for, to do the best I can at each phase,” he said. “I love leaving a mark in history, especially at this amazing school.”
Novotny’s kick impressed not only the Titans’ loyal fans but also his teammates.
“That kick sealed him into the record books and probably will never be broken,” sophomore Khale Campbell said.
“The crowd was in shock,” sophomore Gavin McEllhiney added. “I have never seen him hit a 50+ yard field goal in a game, but in practice I have seen him make one from 55 yards.”
On defense, Campbell had multiple sacks and tackles for losses.
“After their first touchdown, I adjusted by being quicker off the ball and getting more leverage on the offensive lineman I was going up against,” Campbell said.
While the Titan squad is known to often give a beating to the teams they play, there is still room for improvement.
“On the negative side, we have to do a better job of playing through adversity,” head coach Nick Hart said. “When things aren’t going our way, we do not do a great job of battling through them. On the positive side, I thought we responded really well after halftime.”
Junior quarterback Zach Foster is settling into his role as the play caller for the Titans.
“Zach Foster was looking more comfortable in the pocket and was trusting his offensive line,” Hart said. “His passes were crisp, and he was reading the defense well.”
While performing better in the eyes of Hart, Foster is looking to keep getting better.
“There’s always room for improvement, so you know I can complete more throws on third downs in order to keep our team on the field longer,” he said.
The Titans’ second string players are starting to step up and fill their roles.
“I thought overall we played pretty well,” Hart said, “We are still making some mistakes that I don’t think we should still be making. But, overall, it was a pretty good performance.”
The Titans play host to the Mt. Vernon Wildcats on Friday, October 11, the Friday of Fall Break, with a kick off time of 6 p.m. They then travel to Boonville to end the regular season before tournament action. In the Sectional draw, the Titans start the state tournament against Heritage Hills, ranked 2nd in class 3A, at home on October 25. This is Gibson Southern’s second time playing Heritage Hills this season. The last time these two teams faced off, it was during the rain spawned from hurricane Helene, and the Titans lost 28-0. No doubt they will be looking to avenge this loss.
