The word of the evening for Hamilton Heights on Friday night was “gritty.”
That’s the way Huskies coach Jon Kirschner described his team’s 28-19 Hoosier Conference victory at Lewis Cass. Heights was able to make the plays and stops it needed, and was rewarded with a win that gave the Huskies a tie for first place in the HC’s East Division standings.
“It was a lot of really gritty football tonight,” said Kirschner.
It was also back and forth at first. The Kings scored early in the opening quarter on an interception return. The Huskies eventually tied it up late in the period when Trey Ehman made a 23-yard touchdown run.
Ehman struck again with 35 seconds left in the second quarter, running in from five yards to score. Michael Lecher made his second extra-point kick of the game, and Heights held a 14-7 halftime lead.
Cass’ Luke Davis scored on a six-yard run early in the third period, but the Huskies blocked the extra-point attempt. Minutes later, Heights’ Kaleb Schakel streaked into the end zone on a 35-yard run. Lecher’s kick gave the Huskies a 21-13 lead.
The Kings opened the fourth quarter with a three-yard TD run by Keegan Lytle. Cass went for two, but was unable to convert. Finally, with 2:37 left, Schakel scored on a six-yard run. Lecher booted the extra point, making him 4-for-4 in kicks.
“We were able to come up with big plays, big stops, big first downs,” said Kirschner. The coach said that while he was obviously “super pumped that we won,” he was also “most proud of my kids because we fought through some adversity tonight.”
“We were able to get back, fight with some real grit and pull it out,” said Kirschner.
Ehman led the Heights’ rushing with 195 yards in 37 carries.
The Huskies finished East Division play with a 3-1 record and are tied atop the standings with Western and Tipton. The Panthers beat the Blue Devils 42-28 on Friday. Next week will be the conference placement games; Heights will host a team from the West Division, with the opponent to be determined.
The Huskies are 4-4 overall.
HAMILTON HEIGHTS 28, LEWIS CASS 19
Score by Quarters
Heights 7 7 7 7 – 28
Lewis Cass 7 0 6 6 – 19
Team Stats HH LC
First Downs 13 10
By Rush 13 7
By Pass 0 3
By Penalty 0 0
Rushes-Yards 45-228 41-181
Yards Passing 0 61
Comp-Att-Int-TD 0-1-1-3 0 6-9-0-0
Fumbles-Lost 1-0 1-0
Penalties-Yards 2-15 2-20
Punts-Average 3-33.0 3-25.3
Heights Scoring
First Quarter
1:06 – Trey Ehman 23-yard run (Michael Lecher kick)
Second Quarter
0:35 – Ehman 5-yard run (Lecher kick)
Third Quarter
6:20 – Kaleb Schakel 35-yard run (Lecher kick)
Fourth Quarter
2:37 – Schakel 6-yard run (Lecher kick)
Heights individual stats
Rushing: Trey Ehman 37-195, Schakel 3-38, Devonte Henson 1-5, Nate Hulen 1-2, Vincent Harley 1-minus 12.
Passing: Harley 0-1-0.
Receiving: None.