With the Homecoming games all finished for the 2019 season, the majority of Hamilton County football teams are hitting the road for their Week 7 games.
There are only three games in the county this Friday, although one of them is an all-county contest: Noblesville travels to Hamilton Southeastern’s TCU Field. Meanwhile, Fishers and Guerin Catholic host relatively new opponents, and Carmel and Hamilton Heights take on old rivals.
NOBLESVILLE-SOUTHEASTERN
Noblesville will head to HSE with its first win of the season in the books. The Millers defeated Franklin Central 20-13, holding on to the lead from the second quarter forward, and holding off a late charge by the Flashes. Noblesville is 1-3 in Hoosier Crossroads Conference play and 1-5 overall.
Senior Jayden Barrett is the Millers’ quarterback, rushing for 234 yards and a touchdown this season, and passing for 131 yards and a touchdown. Senior Carson Sanders has nine receptions and a TD of his own. On defense, junior Skyler Tolliver leads the list with 53 tackles, including 3.5 for a loss. Sam Steinhofer has 50 tackles.
The Royals have won their last two games, roaring past Westfield 34-10 and Zionsville 35-14. Southeastern currently is 2-2 in conference play and 3-3 overall; the Royals are tied with Fishers and Westfield for third place in the HCC standings.
Senior quarterback Andrew Hobson is the county’s leader in passing this season, throwing for 1,258 yards and nine touchdowns. Senior DeAndre Rhodes leads the receivers with 33 catches, including five TDs. Sophomore Blaine Wertz has been outstanding since returning from an injury, rushing for 383 yards and two scores over the last three games.
Senior Seth Smarelli leads the HSE defense with 58 tackles, while junior Nate Haas has 55 stops. Senior Chris Stein has made six tackles for a loss.
FISHERS-FRANKLIN CENTRAL
Fishers will host Franklin Central in an HCC game Friday at Clarian Field.
The Flashes come into the game with a 1-3 conference mark and a 3-3 overall record, but have dropped their last two games. Franklin Central fell to Avon 42-7 two weeks ago and lost to Noblesville 20-13 last week.
A pair of juniors lead the Flashes’ offense. Jordna Ruley has rushed for 680 yards and seven touchdowns, with Peyton Viewegh passing for 577 yards and three scores. Senior Jacob Whitney has 17 catches, including one for a touchdown. Senior Nate Talhelm has 82 tackles on defense, including five for a loss, while junior Luke Shomaker has 65 stops, six for a loss.
The Tigers are 4-2, but have also lost their last two games, although they have been to top 10 teams: Class 6A No. 7 Brownsburg 42-17 and 6A No. 1 Avon 35-14. Fishers is 2-2 in HCC play.
Senior quarterback Marcus Roux has totals of 665 yards and nine touchdowns as quarterback, while senior Dylan Scally leads the rushing with 504 yards and four TDs. Sophomore Jeffrey Simmons has 17 receptions, four of them for touchdowns. Senior Geoffrey Brown has been solid on defense with 57 tackles, including seven for a loss. Senior Alex Lemaich has six tackles for a loss.
GUERIN CATHOLIC-
PONTIAC NOTRE DAME
Guerin Catholic will play the second game of its three-week homestand this week, and the first of two Michigan opponents when it hosts Pontiac Notre Dame on Friday.
Notre Dame, like its college namesake, calls itself the Fighting Irish. The team has fought its way to a 5-0 record this season. Notre Dame has defeated Linden 27-19, Muskegon Catholic Central 42-22, Divine Child (Dearborn) 38-0, Berkley 50-7 and the Detroit Leadership Academy 49-20. This will be the Fighting Irish’s only trip south to Indiana.
The Golden Eagles are 4-2 and tied for No. 8 with Gibson Southern in the latest 3A coaches poll. Guerin Catholic lost to Bishop Chatard 35-7 last week; the Trojans are tied with West Lafayette for the No. 1 spot in the 3A poll.
Senior Christian Gelov is the Golden Eagles’ quarterback, and has passed for 797 yards and nine touchdowns. His top receiver is senior Bernie McGuinness, who has 26 catches, five of them TDs. Senior Gus Baumgartner has rushed for 767 yards and eight scores. Senior Tom Hokanson leads the GC defense with 61 tackles, followed by junior Jagger Albert’s 52 stops.
HAMILTON HEIGHTS-TIPTON
Hamilton Heights will travel up State Road 19 Friday evening to take on its big rival Tipton.
The game is not only a rivalry game, but an important one in the Hoosier Conference East Division standings. Both teams are 1-1 in the division, putting them in a tie with Western for second place. Lewis Cass leads the East with a 3-0 mark.
The Blue Devils are 4-2 overall. They won their first three games of the season over Madison-Grant 19-6, Elwood 62-14 and Twin Lakes 19-14, then fell to Cass 28-7 and Lafayette Central Catholic 24-14 before rebounding with a victory over Northwestern 51-7 last week.
Junior Sam Edwards is Tipton’s quarterback, and he has thrown for 717 yards and 10 touchdowns. All of the Blue Devils’ offensive leaders are juniors: Jayvin Lyons is the top rusher with 340 yards and four TDs, and Drew Pearce has 18 receptions, five of them for scores. Sophomore Drew Servies leads the defense with 51 tackles.
The Huskies are 2-4 overall, but won their game last week over Twin Lakes 27-20. Heights has been using two quarterbacks, and both have been successful: Sophomore Guy Griffey has totaled 630 yards and six touchdowns, while junior Ian Wilson has thrown for 546 yards and five scores.
Senior Camron Knott has 24 catches, including six for TDs. Senior Deshawn King not only leads the rushing with 174 yards and one touchdown, but also the defense with 94 tackles.
WESTFIELD-AVON
Westfield gets the toughest assignment in the HCC on Friday, as the Shamrocks travel to No. 1-ranked Avon.
The Orioles are 6-0 overall and 4-0 in the conference. Most of Avon’s games have been blowouts, but the Orioles did have a couple close ones: Hamilton Southeastern made a fourth-quarter comeback before Avon held on for a 35-27 win, and the Orioles squeaked out a win over rival Brownsburg 7-3.
Junior Henry Hesson is Avon’s quarterback, having thrown for 1,098 yards and 18 touchdowns. Senior Cohen Murrell has 22 receptions and three scores to his credit, with junior Carmelo Mitchell catching 21 passes, seven of them for touchdowns. Sophomore Chrishon McCray leads the rushing with 304 yards and three TDs. Junior Clayton Peters leads the defense with 53 tackles, while senior Ross England has nine tackles for a loss.
Westfield is 4-2 for the season and 2-2 in HCC play, but has lost its last two games, including a Brownsburg 34-14 last week.
Senior Camden Simons is having an incredible year, throwing for 1,126 yards and 10 touchdowns. Junior Mason Piening has 22 catches and senior Dane Wheeler has 21 receptions; both have caught three touchdown passes. Senior Eli Patchett has rushed for 419 yards, seven for TDs. Sophomore Micah Hauser has 47 tackles, with Patchett making 46 stops.
CARMEL-BEN DAVIS
Carmel will travel to Wayne Township on Friday night to take on Metropolitan Conference rival Ben Davis.
The Giants are 3-3, but have won their last two games. The win streak began with a huge upset, 27-24 in double overtime against Warren Central. Ben Davis followed that up with a 35-21 victory over Lawrence North. As a result, the Giants entered the 6A coaches poll this week, tied for No. 10.
Ben Davis’ third win came against Pike 35-34, while losses have come against Brownsburg 29-24, Avon 41-17 and Center Grove 48-20. The Giants are 3-1 in the MIC, tied for second with the Greyhounds and North Central.
Senior Trent Gipson is Ben Davis’ quarterback, totaling 833 yards and seven touchdowns. Senior Adrian Reese II leads the receptions with 21, including one for a score. Senior Alijawon Hassel leads the rushing with 110 yards and four touchdowns, with Gipson running for 106 yards and nine scores. Charles Knuckols leads the defense with 64 tackles.
Carmel is 4-2 for the season and was dealt its first MIC loss of the year last Friday when North Central beat the Greyhounds 27-21. Carmel is ranked No. 4 in this week’s 6A coaches poll.
Senior Dylan Downing is the Greyhounds’ offensive leader, with 531 yards rushing and six touchdowns. Sophomore Zach Osborne has thrown for 389 yards this season; senior Zach Gish and junior Colton Parker both have 11 catches, including one each for a touchdown. Junior Dominic Padjen leads the defense with 63 tackles, with senior Ty Wise making eight tackles for a loss.
SHERIDAN-SEEGER
Sheridan travels back to West Lebanon on Friday for a game with Seeger.
This marks the second year in a row that the 1A No. 9 Blackhawks will take on the Patriots, after hosting them (and winning 40-7) last year. Seeger is 4-2 for the season, with wins against Benton Central 61-21, Riverton Parke 50-0, Covington 33-21 and Fountain Central 47-6. The Patriots have lost to Parke Heritage 52-7 and Attica 36-20.
Junior Khal Stephen is Seeger’s quarterback, throwing for 716 yards and nine touchdowns. The Patriots’ leading receiver is a freshman, Owen Snedeker, and he has 17 catches. Senior Tristan Bahrns has 542 rushing and 10 touchdowns to his credit. Senior Brock Thomason leads the defense with 45 tackles.
Sheridan is 5-1 for the season, having won five games in a row since an opening-week loss to defending 2A state champion Western Boone. The ‘Hawks are taking a break from Hoosier Heartland Conference play this week, but finish the season with their two remaining HHC contests.
Sheridan was dealt a blow last week when leading rusher, junior Cameron Hovey was injured. Hovey has run for 1,225 yards and 16 touchdowns this season, and he will be out for around six weeks. In his place, sophomore Evan Bourdon had a good running game last week; Bourdon has season totals of 383 yards and five TDs.
Sophomore Silas DeVaney is the quarterback, and he has thrown for 462 yards and three touchdowns. Junior Keenan Warren has seven catches, two for scores. Hovey also is the leading tackler with 46 stops, with senior Chris Starks making 45 tackles, including 13 for a loss.
Fishers’ Geoffrey Brown (38) leads the Tigers’ defense in tackles with 57 tackles, including seven for a loss. (Kirk Green/File photo)