By RICHIE HALL
FISHERS – Donovan Rhodes gave his Hamilton Southeastern football team a little insurance on Friday night.
The Royals were leading Fishers 31-21 in the fourth quarter of the Class 6A Sectional 3 championship game. The Tigers had the ball just yards away from the end zone, but on third-and-2, Rhodes made an interception.
Rhodes would get another pick minutes later, and that set up another Southeastern touchdown. A few minutes after that, the Royals were celebrating a defense of their sectional title with a 38-21 win over the Tigers.
“It’s always a great feeling,” said Southeastern senior Jalen Alexander. “Ever since I came here and transferred here my sophomore year, I’ve always thought we had something brewing up in the culture of HSE.”
Alexander said he was glad “the state and the city” were getting a chance to see the game, and quite a few people from the city of Fishers were on hand to watch the hard-fought contest. It seemed like it would be a high-scoring game at first when the teams traded touchdowns during the first three minutes of the game.
Royals quarterback Chandler Weston dashed off on a 52-yard run to put the first points on the board. The Tigers responded seconds later when quarterback Bennett Gorak connected with Joe Syrus for what turned into a 70-yard touchdown pass.
Not to be outdone, Donovan Hamilton caught a touchdown pass of his own midway through the first quarter. That one was a four-yard reception from Weston. That would be the last score of the period, and the Royals led 14-7.
Fishers’ Khobie Martin tied the game again when he made a three-yard trip into the end zone. The score would stay 14-14 until just before halftime: Southeastern’s Hugo Belmonte kicked a 33-yard field goal and the Royals led 17-14 at the break.
“We told them at the start of the week, it’s going to be up to the line of scrimmage. That’s going to tell the game,” said HSE coach Michael Kelly. “And we knew it was going to be a challenge. They have a great defensive line.”
“Our offensive line did a great job and then our defensive line as well did a great job,” said Kelly.
The second half of the game belonged to Alexander, as he rushed in three touchdowns. Alexander’s first score came midway through the third period on a 27-yard breakaway to put the Royals up 24-14.
But the Tigers stayed close. Gorak launched another long touchdown pass, this one to JonAnthony Hall for 29 yards. Jonathan Tangara made extra-point kicks after all three touchdowns, and Fishers was within 24-21.
A large crowd was on hand, including a nice turnout from the Fishers student section. (Richie Hall)
“Our kids kept battling the whole night,” said Tigers coach Curt Funk. “They made big plays. When they needed a takeaway, they got a takeaway at crucial times of the game, and we just unfortunately just weren’t able to convert some of our drives and fell up short.”
Alexander began the fourth quarter with a five-yard touchdown run, and the Royals were up 31-21. The Tigers began a long drive and got to a first-and-goal situation at the one-yard line.
Southeastern pushed Fishers back to the two by third down, and that’s when Rhodes made his first interception, returning it to the Royals’ 35-yard line. The Tigers held HSE to a three-and-out to get the ball back, but Rhodes intercepted the ball again.
“I feel like we needed a little bit more energy, and it just put the game away,” said Rhodes.
The Royals were soon marching down the field, and Alexander finished the job with a one-yard touchdown run.
“His work ethic, his attention to detail in practice, the amount of effort he puts in, it’s so well-deserving,” said Alexander of Rhodes. Alexander said he was glad to see all of Rhodes’ preparation translate into success in a game.
“I think every college coach should be jumping on him,” said Alexander. “He’s a great prospect.”
Alexander is great himself and will be giving Ball State football fans something to cheer about when he heads to Muncie next year. He finished with 137 yards, including his three touchdowns. Weston totaled 103 yards on the ground. In addition to his field goal, Belmonte kicked all five extra points. Mason Wright had seven total tackles, followed by six for Jack Seyferth and Judah Parkter, and five for Rhodes and Michael Hoog.
As for the Tigers, the Indiana University-bound Martin finished with 129 yards, while Gorak went 8-for-11, totaling 197 yards. Hall had four receptions. Owen Folta led the defense with eight tackles, with seven each for Leo Morrow, Carter Imes and Regan Thembulembu.
Grant Haworth, Jev Hutton and Kaleb Sweeney all made six tackles, with Hutton getting one sack. Fishers finished the season 7-4.
Southeastern is 9-2 and plays next Friday at Westfield for the regional title.
HAMILTON SOUTHEASTERN 38, FISHERS 21
Score by Quarters
Fishers 7 7 7 0 – 21
Southeastern 14 3 7 14 – 38
Team stats FHS HSE
First Downs 15 22
By Rush 8 18
By Pass 7 2
By Penalty 0 2
Rushes-Yards 32-148 55-352
Passing Yards 197 32
Comp-Att-Int-TD 8-11-2-2 3-11-0-1
Fumbles-Lost 0-0 3-0
Penalties-Yards 6-42 4-35
Punts-Average 3-31.7 3-43.0
Scoring
First Quarter
HSE, 9:39 – Chandler Weston 48-yard run (Hugo Belmonte kick)
FHS, 9:21 – Joe Syrus 70-yard pass from Bennett Gorak (Jonathan Tangara kick)
HSE, 5:39 – Donovan Hamilton 4-yard pass from Weston (Belmonte kick)
Second Quarter
FHS, 8:41 – Khobie Martin 3-yard run (Tangara kick)
HSE, 0:17 – Belmonte 33-yard field goal
Third Quarter
HSE, 4:55 – Jalen Alexander 27-yard run (Belmonte kick)
FHS, 3:22 – JonAnthony Hall 29-yard pass from Gorak (Tangara kick)
Fourth Quarter
HSE, 11:56 – Alexander 5-yard run (Belmonte kick)
HSE, 0:45 – Alexander 1-yard run (Belmonte kick)
Fishers individual stats
Rushing: Martin 22-129, Gorak 6-14, Ryan Thembulembu 3-5, team 1-0.
Passing: Gorak 8-11-197.
Receiving: Hall 4-53, Syrus 2-118, Noah McPeek 2-26.
Southeastern individual stats
Rushing: Alexander 24-137, Weston 9-103, AZ Wallace 16-69, Hamilton 6-43.
Passing: Weston 2-10-12, Hamilton 1-1-20.
Receiving: Hamilton 2-12, Alexander 1-20.