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To say the 2005 Piqua Indians football team had some hype surrounding them heading into the season might be an understatement.
After all, the Indians were returning over half the team from the year before. The fact that the Tribe was hungry to turn things around after having non-winning seasons for the three previous years was just more motivation.
The Indians finished with a record of 6-4 overall and 4-1 in the Greater Western Ohio Conference.
A 6-4 record may not sound very interesting but consider the fact that the Indians played one of the toughest schedules in Piqua football history and you can truly appreciate the record.
The Indians opened the season with a 27-14 win over Grove City. The Indians showcased the potential the team had as they jumped out to a 20-0 lead early in the fourth quarter. After Grove City scored, it took the Indians just one play of offense to put the game on ice.
The second week of the season wasn‚t so nice to the Indians as they dropped a 26-14 decision to a strong Xenia squad.
Week three saw how dangerous the Indians were. Piqua jumped out to a 28-0 lead in the first half and never looked back. The Indians won in convincing fashion, 42-14.
The Indians continued their dominance at Trotwood-Madison. A 28-0 shutout marked the 600th win in the program‚s history, making Piqua just the sixth program to reach the milestone.
The Indians then ran into as tough of a four game stretch as you could find. A 37-20 loss to the #3 team in Division II, Springboro followed by a 34-7 defeat at the hands of Division I's seventh ranked team, Centerville. The Indians were now 3-3 and appeared to be fading fast.
Then came the annual showdown with Troy. The Trojans entered the game with only one loss. An estimated 10,000 fans witnessed what will go down in history as maybe the greatest game between the two long time rivals. A back and forth affair came down to the last few minutes. Troy was facing a 4th down at the Indians 6 yard line when they elected to attempt a field goal. Piqua's Jafe Pitcock blocked the kick to send the Indians home with a 13-12 victory and a 58-57-6 lead in the series.
Following the emotional victory over Troy, the Indians were set to entertain the pass happy attack of the Northmont T-Bolts. The first half appeared to be all Northmont as they built a 21-3 lead. The second half showed some of the best football the Indians had to offer. The Tribe built some momentum as they electrified both the home crowd as well as the visiting T-Bolts with not one, but two 98 yard scoring drives in the second half. The comeback attempt fell just short as the Indians fell by a score of 27-25 in what turned out to be the GWOC West Championship.
Despite the loss the Indians found themselves in the thick of things in the race for the playoffs.
Piqua ventured north to battle Sidney for the "Battered Helmet". The Indians continued their dominance over the Yellow Jackets with a 45-6 victory. The win was the 23rd victory in the last 26 meetings between the two.
The Indians closed out the regular season and capped off the winning season with a 41-25 win over Vandalia-Butler.
The winning season has put the Indians back on track as they hope to return to gridiron glory for years to come.
THE TOP 10 MOMENTS OF 2005...
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