By RICHIE HALL
Reporter Sports Editor
The 2017 Mudsock football game was an exciting one, but it was almost a repeat of a game that Fishers would rather forget.
The Tigers were cruising along Friday night at their own Reynolds Tigers Stadium, taking a 20-0 lead over Hamilton Southeastern going into the fourth quarter. The Royals mounted a furious comeback, but Fishers was able to hang on and win 20-14. It was the first time the Tigers claimed the Mudsock Trophy since 2014.
“Credit our defense,” said Tigers coach Rick Wimmer. “Those kinds of things can happen to an offense. You can go into the tank a little bit and you got to lean on your defense, and that’s what we had to do tonight. Our defense came through for us.”
Fishers’ offense was sharp in the first half. The Tigers got on the board late in the first quarter, when Matt Wolff scored on a quarterback draw, jogging in three yards for a touchdown.
Ben Norton made the extra point, and he would be called upon again early in the second period to nail an easy 25-yard field goal with 9:01 left. Wolff then struck again late in the quarter, when he found Collin Statz for 28-yard touchdown pass.
Just like before, Norton made the extra point. He also scored the last points of the first half, when he kicked in a 32-yard field goal with three seconds left.
Neither team scored in the third quarter, but the fourth was a different story. Southeastern began a comeback that brought to mind the 2015 edition of the Mudsock game, when it trailed 28-0 at halftime but stormed back in the second half to win.
The Royals started their run on the ground, when Kody Sparks punched the ball into the end zone from the one-yard line with 7:28 left. Southeastern then held Fishers to a three-and-out, and the Tigers then fumbled the snap.
Southeastern recovered it, and managed to get down to the Tigers’ 37 before turning it over on downs. But Fishers fumbled again, and the Royals got the ball back. This time, Southeastern took care of business, as three Sparks passes led to a touchdown. Nick Mutchner took a 22-yard throw in to the end zone. Tyler Melser booted the extra point, as he had with HSE’s first touchdown.
The Royals then recovered an onside kick with just over two minutes remaining, and it looked like the comeback would be completed. But Fishers’ defense put a stop to that immediately when Michael Prewitt intercepted an HSE pass on its first play of the drive.
“We really put our defense in a tough situation,” said Wimmer.
The Tigers had the ball back with 2:15 left, but were starting perilously on their own seven-yard line. Fishers ground the ball down to fourth-and-one inch at the 16, but along the way got Southeastern to take its last timeout. On the fourth-down play, Wolff powered the ball two yards to get the first down. The Mudsock Trophy was once again in the hands of the Tigers.
“We had some miscues that we got to get corrected,” said Wimmer. “But in the meantime, we feel very good about the way our kids competed tonight and they played hard.”
Wolff and Jon Vore traded quarterback duties and both played well. Wolff was a perfect 5-for-5 and threw for 105 yards, while Vore went 7-of-13 and totaled 98 yards. HL Lewis led the rushing with 73 yards on 13 carries. Will Syrus made four catches for 105 yards.
Sparks compiled 122 yards passing for Southeastern, with Mutchner, Brett Cowan and Ben Boysen all making three catches. Jackson Sweeney, who had been out with an injury, returned to the game and gave the Royals a spark, with 24 yards in four carries.
“We got the onside kick, we got the ball, we got time, and the first play we throw a pick,” said HSE coach Scott May. “Obviously, the first half, we didn’t show up.
“But our kids didn’t quit. I thought Sparks gave us a good fire there the second half. We came in, we moved the ball. That’s what we got to do. We got to be able to move the ball.”
The Tigers are now 2-2 and hold a 2-0 record in the Hoosier Crossroads Conference. They travel to Brownsburg next week. The Royals are 1-3 and 0-2 in the HCC, and will host Westfield next week.
The Fishers football captains accept the Mudsock Trophy from Jeanne and Robert “Dub” Clark after the Tigers defeated Hamilton Southeastern 20-14 Friday night in the annual Mudsock game. (Kirk Green)
Southeastern quarterback Kody Sparks throws a pass. Sparks finished the game with 122 yards and a touchdown. (Kirk Green)