Hamilton Heights lost a hard-fought rivalry game at Tipton on Friday, 35-28.
The Blue Devils scored first with a long touchdown pass early in the first quarter. The Huskies answered back within minutes, as Deshawn King ran the ball into the end zone from the three-yard line. Michael Lecher’s extra-point kick tied the game at 7-7, which is where the first period ended.
Heights took the lead early in the second quarter after Ethan Rodriguez caught a 10-yard TD pass from Guy Griffey, and Lecher kicked the extra point. The Huskies held the 14-7 advantage until right before halftime, when Tipton scored with 14 seconds left in the half to tie things up at 14-14.
The difference turned out to be the third quarter, as the Blue Devils scored on an eight-yard run while holding Heights scoreless. The Huskies tied the game again early in the fourth quarter; this time it was Isaac Wilson throwing the touchdown pass, 25 yards to Colin Denham. Lecher kicked the extra point, and it was 21-21 with 10:01 left.
But Tipton took the lead back right away. Anthony Reel took an 80-yard kickoff return into the end zone, making it 28-21 Blue Devils. Heights answered just over a minute later, with King running 20 yards for his second touchdown of the game. Lecher made the extra-point kick, his fourth of the night.
The score stayed 28-28 until there was 2:25 left, when Drew Pearce’s 28-yard run put Tipton ahead for good. The Huskies tried one final drive, but were stopped when the Blue Devils intercepted a Heights pass.
Both Huskies quarterbacks had good games: Griffey was 11-for-16 and 121 yards, while Wilson was 8-of-14 for 131 yards. King rushed 16 times for 103 yards, and had the most receptions with four.
Heights dropped to 1-2 in Hoosier Conference East Division play and are 2-5 overall. The Huskies are back home next week to play division leader Lewis Cass.
TIPTON 35, HAMILTON HEIGHTS 28
Score by Quarters
Heights 7 7 0 14 – 28
Tipton 7 7 7 14 – 35
Team Stats HH THS
First Downs 14 14
By Rush 6 14
By Pass 7 0
By Penalty 1 0
Rushes-Yards 24-125 44-251
Yards Passing 252 48
Comp-Att-Int-TD 19-30-2-2 5-10-1-2
Fumbles 1-0 0-0
Penalties-Yards 6-45 4-50
Punts-Average 3-29.3 4-41.3
Heights Scoring
First Quarter
4:05 – Deshawn King 3-yard run (Michael Lecher kick)
Second Quarter
10:35 – Ethan Rodriguez 10-yard pass from Guy Griffey (Lecher kick)
Fourth Quarter
10:01 – Colin Denham 25-yard pass from Isaac Wilson (Lecher kick)
8:33 – King 20-yard run (Lecher kick)
Heights individual stats
Rushing: King 16-103, Camron Knott 2-15, Kaleb Schakel 2-6, Wilson 2-5, Griffey 2-minus 4.
Passing: Griffey 11-16-121, Wilson 8-14-131.
Receiving: King 4-21,Denham 3-59, Isaac Tuma 3-46, Knott 3-45, Brent Pennington 2-56, Rodriguez 2-20, Blake Webel 2-5.