The only football team left standing between undefeated Hamilton Southeastern and the state finals is another undefeated team.
The No. 1-ranked Royals will travel to Fort Wayne tonight to take on No. 5 Carroll in the Class 6A north semi-state game. Kickoff is at 7 p.m., with the winner headed to Lucas Oil Stadium next Friday (Nov. 25) to play in the state championship game.
Bot the Chargers and Southeastern are 12-0 for the season. Carroll rolled through the regular season with only two close games. Those were in Weeks 2 and 3, where the Chargers first beat Snider 28-21, then got past North Side 28-20. Carroll opened its campaign with a 42-3 win over Bishop Luers.
After that, the Chargers cruised through their next six games to earn a 9-0 record in the Summit Conference; teams in that league play an all-conference regular season. Carroll’s other wins came against Northrop 38-0, Bishop Dwenger 58-6, South Side 58-6, Homestead 52-10, Concordia Lutheran 51-0 and Wayne 45-8.
The Chargers took care of business in Sectional 2, with a semi-final win at Penn 35-7, then a home championship game over Warsaw 34-17. That sent Carroll to the Regional 1 game at Lafayette Jefferson, and the Chargers came back in the second half to win 21-20. It was Carroll’s first-ever regional championship.
“They play fast physical football,” said Royals coach Michael Kelly. “They are very well coached and have several playmakers. We have to match their physicality and passion.” Kelly said his team has to be tough, play disciplined and with great effort, “and be relentless from start to finish.”
The Chargers’ quarterback is a sophomore. Jimmy Sullivan has completed 177 of 272 pass attempts for 2,083 yards and 27 touchdowns. Senior Camden Herschberger is by far the top receiver, with 55 catches, including seven for touchdowns. Junior Hansen Haffner has the most touchdown receptions with 10, and 35 catches overall.
Another sophomore, Nathan Starks is the top rusher with 1,130 yards. Junior Brden teely has the most TD rushes with 11, followed by Sullivan with nine and Starks with seven. On defense, junior Ashton Pesetski has 77 tackles, including 19 for a loss. Senior Royce Jones also has 19 tackles for a loss, with senior Solomon Oduma making 11 tackles for a loss.
Southeastern finished its 9-0 regular season – including an unbeaten Hoosier Crossroads Conference championship – with the Sectional 3 title. The Royals hosted Homestead in the semi-finals and won 35-0, then beat Fishers on the road 35-13 for the championship. Southeastern hosted Westfield in last week’s Regional 2 title game and won 20-0.
The Royals’ defense has been superb all season, with several players stepping up. Senior Griffen Haas leads the tackles with 93, followed by senior Shane Gastineau with 71 stops. Three players have over 10 tackles for a loss: Senior Evan Sherrill with 16.5, senior Dom Burgett with 11.5 and junior Jack Seyferth with 10.5.
Kelly said his team’s defense plays “as one,” and the players fly to the football.
“They are physical and relentless,” said Kelly. “We also have a great coaching staff that helps set them up for success and the players trust what is asked of them. They want to compete.”
On offense, senior quarterback Ty Bradle is 128-of-226 with 1,592 yards and 16 TDs. Junior Donovan Hamilton is the leading receiver with 45 catches, nine for touchdowns, followed by senior Clayton Wilke with 39 receptions, two for scores. Junior Jalen Alexander has dominated the rushing game with 1,514 yards and 15 touchdowns, while sophomore Azariah Wallace has eight rushing touchdowns.