Hamilton Southeastern got off to a strong start at its season-opening game with Lawrence Central at the Royals’ TCU Field, and that momentum carried Southeastern to a 35-7 victory.
The Royals poured in 21 points in the first quarter. Blaine Wertz and Louden Sundling both scored touchdowns on short runs, then Noah Wolf grabbed an interception deep in the HSE red zone, and took it 99 yards for a score.
“I thought we came out really, really strong,” said Royals coach Michael Kelly. “I thought we played hard.”
Southeastern continued to roll in the second quarter, this time scoring from the air. Sam Jacobs delivered two long touchdown passes, the first one a 31-yard toss to Will Gerig, and the second one a 10-yard throw to Dylan Conner. Alex Geroulis made all five extra point kicks.
“Defensively, we were able to hold them out of the end zone in the first half,” said Kelly, and the coach believes that made a big difference in the outcome of the game.
Wertz finished the game with 55 yards rushing, with Owen Jones gaining 47 yards. Jacobs completed 3 of 6 pass attempts for 51 yards.
The Royals play at North Central next Friday.
HAMILTON SOUTHEASTERN 35, LAWRENCE CENTRAL 7
Score by Quarters
LCHS 0 0 7 0 – 7
Southeastern 21 14 0 0 – 35
Team Stats LC HSE
First Downs 13 9
By Rush 6 4
By Pass 7 3
By Penalty 0 2
Rushes-Yards 28-88 27-109
Yards Passing 160 68
Comp-Att-Int-TD 10-16-1-0 4-7-0-2
Fumbles-Lost 1-1 0-0
Penalties-Yards 10-66 4-48
Punts-Average 3-28.0 1-43.0
Southeastern Scoring
First Quarter
7:50 – Blaine Wertz 1-yard run (Alex Geroulis kick)
5:05 – Louden Sundling 1-yard run (Geroulis kick)
1:21 – Noah Wolf 99-yard interception return (Geroulis kick)
Second Quarter
5:00 – Will Gerig 31-yard pass from Sam Jacobs (Geroulis kick)
2:27 – Dylan Conner 10-yard pass from Jacobs (Geroulis kick)
Southeastern individual stats
Rushing: Wertz 13-55, Owen Jones 8-47, Jalen Alexander 4-9, Sundling 1-2, Ty Bradle 1-minus 4.
Passing: Jacobs 3-6-51, Bradle 1-1-17.
Receiving: Gerig 1-31, Clayton Wilke 1-17, Connor Ruhnow 1-10, Conner 1-10.