By JAMES SEAY
For The Reporter
FISHERS – Hamilton Southeastern dominated both sides of the ball from start to finish with a 45-14 against the North Central Panthers at TCU Field. The Royals move to 2-0 on the season and several seniors played a big role on senior night.
North Central took the opening kick and was stymied by the Royals stout defense to force a 3 and out. After a 27-yard punt, the Royals’ offense went to work by establishing the run with Jalen Alexander toting the rock while the offensive line, anchored by Styles Prescod opened lanes. Ty Bradle took a couple of shots for Donovan Hamilton on deep throws and the only way the Panthers defend could stop him was with pass interference penalties. Alexander was able to cap off the drive with a three-yard run to open up the scoring.
The defense continued to wear down the Panthers’ offensive line and the Panthers did not complete a first down until the four-minute mark in the second quarter. Jack Osiecki and the Royals defense continued to swarm to ball and stifled almost every attempt.
The Royals’ second possession included a heavy dosage of Eli Brantman running the ball as the Royals offensive line overwhelmed the Panthers defense. The drive was capped off by a field goal by Carter Gutt.
After another 3 and out, the Royals went right back to work continuing to pound the rock marching down field. After running the ball into the red zone, the Panthers defense was able to slow down the Royals to 4th and goal from the 3. Instead of a field goal, the Royals went into their bag of tricks and inserted Cole Earlewine who took the handoff in for a touchdown to push the lead to 17-0.
“We were able to move the ball effectively,” said HSE coach Michael Kelly. “We got some good play out of the offensive line tonight.” The coach also said the running backs ran hard, and the Royals’ passing game was also solid.
“It was a good game for us offensively,” said Kelly.
The Panthers proceeded to move the ball for the first time completing a 1st down and had a promising start, but after rolling the dice on 4th and 1 in their own territory the Royals defense stood tall again to force a turnover on downs. Despite only 50 seconds left in the half, the Royals were able to move the ball with a 21-yard pass from Bradle to Hamilton. This was followed by another diving catch in the end zone for Hamilton to widen the lead to 24-0.
In the second half, the Panthers defense was able to get a turnover on downs after the Royals marched near the red zone with running backs Alexander and Eli Brantman. When the Panthers took over possession, linebacker Griffen Haas tipped the Panthers pass up and hauled it in en route to a pick 6 to extend the lead to 31-0 early in the third quarter.
“Defense played really well,” said Kelly.
The Royals defense continued to hold firm and was able to stop the Panthers from advancing. The offense turned to Brantman to push the ball upfield with the run and Bradle found wide receiver Silas Newton for a touchdown to push the lead to 38-0.
What followed this TD was pretty exciting to watch and you had to see it to believe it. Panthers wide receiver TJ McWilliams took the kickoff 63 yards for the Panthers first score of the night. Not to be outdone, speedy Royals defensive back Mason Alexander took the next kickoff 80 yards using speed, elusiveness and power to get into the end zone for a 45-7 lead.
With the clock running due to the 35-point lead, the Panthers offense was finally able to find the end zone late in the fourth quarter. For the Royals final drive, mostly second unit players were in the game to run out the clock.
Game stats were unavailable due to technical issues.
The Royals move to 2-0 on the season with the win. They will travel to Avon to take on the Orioles in their next game.