Previewing Heights, Fishers, Guerin Catholic season openers
By RICHIE HALL
High school football starts tonight across Indiana. The Reporter brings you the final three previews involving Hamilton County teams’ opening games.
HAMILTON HEIGHTS-LAPEL
Hamilton Heights will open its season at Lapel for the second time in three seasons. The Huskies played at Lapel to start the 2020 campaign, falling 42-19 to a Bulldogs team that eventually went 9-3 that season.
Heights has been on a steady upswing the past two seasons. The Huskies finished last season 6-4 and have several players back from the previous year.
“We definitely have a good mix of experience coming back,” said Heights coach Jonathan Kirschner. “We have several starters on both sides of the ball that do return. We’re young at some of the positions.”
That includes senior Trey Ehman, who led the Heights rushing last season with 936 yards and four touchdowns. Senior Cooper Vondersaar brings back the most receptions with 14. Vondersaar and junior Jaylyn Pugh both made several catches during the Huskies’ scrimmage with Eastbrook last Friday, while junior Carson Fettig made some good runs.
“We’re in a good situation, but it’s a tough situation because I think we’ve got a lot of skilled kids that are all in the mix all the time,” said Kirschner. “And there’s a lot of competition going on. Let’s put it that way.”
On defense, seniors Trevor Tuma and Mason Moran will be leading the way. Both are returning starters from last season. Senior Josh Brown and junior Dean Mason will also be in the mix, along with a newcomer, sophomore Kendall Flanders.
“He’s a very athletic kid,” said Kirschner.
The Huskies play their Week 2 game at North Montgomery, and are scheduled to have their home opener on Week 3 against Rensselaer Central.
FISHERS-NORTH CENTRAL
Fishers will make the relatively short drive to North Central on Friday to take on North Central. The two teams have played each other in the opening week since 2014. The Tigers won last year’s contest 27-7.
“North Central is a very talented football team and well coached,” said Fishers coach Curt Funk. “We will need to be good in all three phases of the game.” Funk said taking on the Panthers “will be a tremendous challenge” for the first week of the season.
The Tigers were 6-4 last year, and have several solid senior players returning from that team. Senior quarterback Lucas Minns threw for 1,569 yards and 13 touchdowns last season. Lead runningback Carson Dunn totaled 734 yards and 10 scores. Wide receiver Aidan Zimmer brings back the most receiving yards, with 366.
Dunn and Zimmer are captains, along with senior linebacker Grady Stanley and senior cornerback Grant Shelton. Funk said his captains “have provided strong leadership to our football team.”
Stanley was Fishers’ top tackler the previous season, with 91 stops. Junior defensive lineman Brady Wolf had four sacks.
“I think practice has been going well and our players have been working hard,” said Funk. “We challenge them on and off the field and they respond to get better every day.”
The Tigers play two home games after their trip to North Central, hosting Pike for Week 2 and Noblesville Week 3 for their Hoosier Crossroads Conference opener.
GUERIN CATHOLIC-McCUTCHEON
Guerin Catholic will travel to McCutcheon to open its season. This will be the fifth year that the Golden Eagles have taken on the Mavericks in Week 1; Guerin Catholic beat McCutcheon 27-20 in last year’s game.
“We have studied McCutcheon and have been very impressed,” said GC coach Tom Dilley. “They have a new coach and some new energy and optimism. They have changed and simplified their scheme enabling them to play fast and confidently. We expect a very competitive game that will come down to takeaways, kicking game and execution. We are excited to start the season Friday.”
The Golden Eagles have some good experience coming back on offense, including one of their quarterbacks and their lead rusher. Junior Ryan Zimmerman is the quarterback; last season he traded play-calling with now-graduated Sam Miller. As a sophomore, Zimmerman threw for 1,280 yards and 10 touchdowns.
The lead rusher is senior Justin Zdobylak. In his junior season, he gained 803 yards and scored seven touchdowns. Junior Cooper Navarro also played significant minutes as a rusher, totaling 160 yards for the season and three scores.
Guerin Catholic also has a solid receiver group returning, including senior Will Fremion (five receiving touchdowns) and juniors Alex Gibbs and Jack Cherry. Meanwhile, top defensive players coming back are seniors Anthony Ferrucci, who made 66 tackles last year, and Jonathan Gonzalez, who had 51 tackles.
“Our practices have been good,” said Dilley. “We are getting a little better each day. The strengths of our team should be our offensive line play, depth at receiver, and our collective team pursuit of defense.”
The Golden Eagles go on the road for their Week 2 game, traveling to Lafayette Central Catholic to play for the Bishop’s Cup. Guerin Catholic then returns home on Week 3 to take on Heritage Christian.