INDIANAPOLIS — For the first time since 2015, the Fort Wayne Snider Panthers are IHSAA Class 5A football state champions.
The last time Snider made the trip to Lucas Oil Stadium was in 2015, where the team faced a red-hot New Palestine Dragons team. The Panthers narrowly won the slugfest, beating the Dragons, 64-61.
This year, however, Snider had no problem with the Decatur Central Hawks, taking the title with a 33-6 win.
The Hawks scored first in the first quarter. Kicker Ashton Vogel made a 35-yard field goal to put Decatur Central on the board first. However, finding the end zone turned out to be a challenge.
Snider running back Uriah Buchanan exploded for an 80-yard rushing touchdown to give the Panthers a 7-3 lead. With five minutes to go in the first half, Vogel kicked his second field goal of the game for the Hawks to make the score 7-6.
Decatur Central then collapsed in the second half. The Hawks struggled on offense and were unable to find the end zone or kick a field goal for the duration of the game. Snider took advantage of the Hawks' stalled-out offense to score 26 total points in the second half.
Mang Tung made a 47-yard field goal to put the Panthers up 10-6 midway through the third quarter before Chase Wennemar knocked a 17-yarder through the uprights to push the Panthers' lead to 13-6.
Uriah Buchanan then broke free for a 95-yard rushing touchdown to extend Snider's lead to 19-6 with ten minutes to play in the game.
Quarterback Ke'ron Billingsley pushed the lead to 26-6 with a 16-yard rushing touchdown. Decatur Central's attempt at a comeback was dashed when they were stuffed on fourth down with less than four minutes to play.
Billingsley then found Buchanan with three minutes remaining for a 26-yard touchdown pass to seal the game for the Panthers.
Buchanan ended the game with 235 rushing yards and three total touchdowns.
Snider ended the season with a 13-1 record, having lost only once this season to conference rival Homestead in a 23-20 overtime shootout. Decatur Central finishes 11-3, a significant improvement over last year's 4-7 season.