By RICHIE HALL
SHERIDAN – The Sheridan football team began its 2024 season Friday by hosting Western Boone at the renovated Bud Wright Stadium.
The Sheridan football team cut the ribbon on the first ever Blackhawks football game to be played on the team’s new turf field. (Allison Waitt)
The Stars took control of the game in the second half to beat the Blackhawks 35-14. The action took place on Sheridan’s new turf field, with the hundreds of football fans that attended the game walking through a brand-new stadium entry. There were also new concession stands, all in view of Sheridan’s new fieldhouse.
Unfortunately, the new field was missing Bud Wright himself. Wright was forced to miss the opening game of his 59th season with the Hawks after being injured during Sheridan’s scrimmage at Crawfordsville last Friday, although he is recovering after surgery.
Jacob Chesney, a 2016 Sheridan graduate and football star for the Blackhawks, served as acting head coach for the team, and said the team “played really well” with WeBo.
“We were close, the score doesn’t really say it,” said Chesney. “But man, we’re a couple plays away that would have changed some drives that we could have found the end zone on, and it would have been a closer game. But overall, they played hard. O-line stepped up, really proved themselves worthy. Backs ran hard.”
Sheridan scored its first touchdown with 3:08 left in the first quarter, after the Stars had scored earlier. Senior quarterback Owen Bell threw a 24-yard pass to Dayne Voege, which set up a three-yard touchdown run for senior Jaylen Arnold, a transfer from Carmel. Bell made the extra-point kick.
Jacob Chesney, a former Sheridan player and 2016 graduate, filled in as head coach for Bud Wright, who was absent
from the game after being injured last week. He is pictured with Blackhawks quarterback Owen Bell. (Allison Waitt)
“He’s a great athlete,” Chesney said of Arnold. “Great athlete. I don’t know how much offense he played, he’s a corner(back) coming out of Carmel, and that obviously shows. He’s locked down offensively, we just got to get him the ball and let him run.”
Western Boone scored a few seconds later to go up 14-7. The Blackhawks tied the game again during the second quarter, when Bell found Caleb Alexander for a 13-yard touchdown pass. Bell followed that with his second extra-point kick.
“Really, the whole senior class are great leaders,” said Chesney. “But senior, QB, he’s got it. He’s vocal. He relays information from coaches to players when needed. He’s a true leader. I’ve got all the faith in the world in him.”
The Stars scored on a long touchdown pass with 5.1 seconds left in the first half to take a 21-14 lead into halftime. Western Boone added one score in each quarter of the second half, making a short running touchdown in the third period and a 40-yard touchdown pass in the fourth.
Jon Barnes led the Sheridan rushing with 94 yards, while Arnold gained 55 yards. Bell was 6-of-16 passing, with Alexander making four of those catches.
Friday’s game was the last for the Sheridan-WeBo series, which has been the season opener for both teams since 1997. Western Boone is leaving the Sagamore Conference after this school year to compete in the new Monon Athletic Conference, which means there will be necessary schedule changes for the Stars in 2025.
The Blackhawks go on the road next week, traveling to North Miami.
Be the first to comment on "Blackhawks & Stars go head-to-head for final time, Western Boone prevails"