By CRAIG ADKINS
For The Reporter
INDIANAPOLIS – The Hamilton Southeastern Royals were able to figure out some things and that made it look easy on Friday night on their way to a comfortable win over North Central.
HSE made quick work of the host Panthers and were able to set it on cruise control for a majority of the night in a 35-7 win at Panther Stadium.
The Royals marched down the field quickly and wasted no time on the opening drive. Going six plays and 61 yards, Jalen Alexander punched it in from one yard out for the early 7-0 edge.
Forcing North Central to punt, it wasn’t long that Southeastern was hungry for another score.
Starting the second series at the Panthers’ 41, three plays later, Chandler Weston found a wide open Kameron Anthony for a 39-yard touchdown strike to make it 14-0.
“It was important for us to get off to a quick start. I thought offensively, we kind of stumbled around last week, playing against a very, very good Carroll team,” said Hamilton Southeastern head coach Michael Kelly.
After a second straight punt by North Central, HSE had the ball at the Panther 49 and looked to capitalize again.
Weston found Donovan Hamilton, who broke away from his defender, for a 39-yard touchdown grab. This put the Royals in complete control at 21-0 through one quarter.
The junior signal caller was able to take his time in the pocket with the help of his offensive line.
“Our offensive line, that’s one of the strengths of our team right now. We’ve got two really, really good tackles and then the interior guys do a nice job and we’re working on moving our feet and making sure we stay in front of people. That’s a huge credit to Coach Radican and the job he does developing players. And, Coach Gorin and Coach Mussleman do a fine job getting those guys ready to go,” continued Kelly.
The offense kept coming at the Panthers in the second, but not as heavy. AZ Wallace muscled his way for the fourth HSE score of the first half that put the Royals up 28-0 after two quarters.
North Central started to play better defense in the third. They both turned the ball over on downs to start the second half.
Southeastern put the game out of reach late in the third when Weston took advantage of a Panther defensive back leaving Dylan James open for a 48-yard touchdown pass. That made it 35-0, making it a running clock for the duration of the game.
Early in the fourth, North Central showed some signs that they weren’t going away quietly. Jimmel Perryman dove into the end zone from one-yard away that accounted for the final score of 35-7.
Jimmel Perryman led the Panthers with 19 carries and 79 yards and a TD.
North Central drops to (0-2) on the season and has now lost 14 games in a row, dating back to the 2021 season. The Panthers visit Warren Central to open Metropolitan Conference play next week.
AZ Wallace led the Royals on the ground with 66 yards on seven totes. Jalen Alexander carries seven times for 31 yards. Donovan Hamilton caught four passes for 66 yards, Dylan James two for 54 yards and Kameron Anthony one for 39 yards. They each scored a TD.
Hamilton Southeastern (2-0) hosts Avon (0-2) next Friday in the first game of a grueling Hoosier Crossroads Conference schedule.
“The reality is, in our conference, there are no weeks off. You’ve got to make sure you come ready to go to work. They have a QB that’s a veteran, well-seasoned. He’s explosive with plays, so he’s going to be a challenge for us. We’re going to see how good we are next week, trying to bottle him up,” stated Kelly.
HAMILTON SOUTHEASTERN 35, NORTH CENTRAL 7
Score by Quarters
Southeastern 21 7 7 0 – 35
North Central 0 0 0 7 – 7
Team Stats HSE NC
First Downs 16 12
Rushes-Yards 25-141 37-125
Yards Passing 207 29
Comp-Att-Int-TD 13-19-1-3 6-11-0-0
Fumbles-Lost 0-0 0-0
Penalties-Yards 2-20 5-67
Punts-Average 0-0.0 6-31.5
Southeastern Scoring
First Quarter
9:46 – Jalen Alexander 1-yard run (Hugo Belmonte kick)
7:05 – Kameron Anthony 39-yard reception from Chandler Weston (Belmonte kick)
3:38 – Donovan Hamilton 39-yard reception from Weston (Belmonte kick)
Second Quarter
9:07 – AZ Wallace 2-yard run (Belmonte kick)
Third Quarter
5:12 – Dylan James 43-yard reception from Weston (Belmonte kick)
Southeastern individual stats
Rushing: Wallace 7-66, Alexander 7-31, Brennan Baker 5-19, Anthony Harris 3-18, Weston 2-7, Jonathan Prater 1-0.
Passing: Weston 12-17-205, Kian Kelly 1-1-2, team 0-1-0.
Receiving: Hamilton 4-66, Alex Billman 3-39 James 2-54, Anthony 1-39, Calvin Finke 1-7, Charles Dabner 1-2, Charles Sylvester 1-0.