The REPORTER
Hamilton Heights was on the right side of a last-second play on Friday.
The Huskies were trailing 13-7 at rival Tipton with under a minute to go, but a 30-yard touchdown pass from Joey Sigler to Nick Bichey with 16 seconds left tied the game. Keegan Kavanaugh kicked the extra point, and Heights was soon celebrating a 14-13 victory.
“That was a wild one. That was a fun one,” Huskies coach Jon Kirschner told the Tipton County Tribune afterwards.
The Blue Devils scored right away, just over a minute into the first quarter, as Calvin Condict went on a 23-yard touchdown run after Tipton made a fumble recovery. Heights answered in a huge way in the second quarter, with Joey Sigler throwing a pass to Tyler Champion – who took it 94 yards into the end zone. Kavanaugh’s kick was good and the two teams went into halftime tied 7-7.
The Blue Devils once again scored early, with Aaron Tolle running in from three yards to score. An extra-point attempt didn’t go, so Tipton led 13-7 for most of the second half until Sigler, Bichey and Kavanaugh stepped up to bring the Huskies a last-second victory.
“Our team showed a lot of grit tonight,” said Kirschner. “Even when our backs were completely against the wall, we held strong. Defense held strong, the offense just kept punching a little bit at a time and had faith.”
Sigler finished an outstanding game 12-of-22 from the air, totaling 324 yards. Champion made five catches for 185 yards, while Bichey had four catches for 95 yards.
Heights is 3-5 and won back-to-back games for the first time this season. The Huskies return home next Friday to play West Lafayette for their regular-season finale.
