Football – First Round Sectional preview: Hamilton Heights visits Speedway for neutral site game to begin playoffs

By CRAIG ADKINS

For The Reporter

Class 3A Sectional 29: Hamilton Heights (3-6) vs. Speedway (4-5) *at Decatur Central

Tomorrow night, the Huskies will be playing on a neutral field for the first time since the 2012 Class 3A football state finals when they faced Bishop Chatard at Lucas Oil Stadium.

Friday night’s matchup with Speedway has been moved from the Sparkplugs’ regular home field to Decatur Central. Speedway began renovations on Ralph Johnson Field following the final home game on Oct. 11 against Indianapolis Lutheran.

The Sparkplugs will have a new turf field that features checkerboard end zones with maroon and yellow school colors. The most interesting element is that the 50-yard line will resemble a yard of bricks, just like the Indianapolis Motor Speedway down the street.

This will also be the first meeting between the Huskies and Sparkplugs.

Jon Kirschner is in his seventh season as the head coach at Hamilton Heights with a 36-36 record.

Heights started off the season at 0-4. The Huskies lost the opener late at Lapel (29-20) and dropped a close overtime battle with Triton Central at home 17-14. Week 3 was an offensive struggle at McCutcheon (31-2) and a similar outcome at Danville the following week, 38-7.

The season has turned around from where it began. A much-needed home win over Western (21-6) got the Huskies in the win column. Week 6’s road trip to Logansport didn’t bode well with a 41-6 loss to the Berries.

The Huskies have gone 2-1 in their last three. Starting the month winning 26-16 over Twin Lakes and edging Tipton on the road 14-13, the regular season ended at home last week with a 21-7 defeat at the hands of West Lafayette.

After Drew Woodruff started off the season at quarterback, Joey Sigler has assumed duties in recent weeks. Woodruff threw for 931 and four TDs. Sigler has come on strong completing 44 of 73 passes (60.3 percent) for 889 yards and five touchdowns. He’s also ran 38 times for 129 yards and another four scores.

Leading the run game is Nathan Flanders with 43 carries and 208 yards. Logan Hickman has also rushed for 92.

Tyler Champion is having another great season with 45 receptions for 906 yards and six TDs. Keaton Weaver also has 315 yards on 28 catches and Dre Chandler 13 for 186. Nick Bichey has been a bright spot of late, catching nine for 173 and a pair of touchdowns.

Defensively, Michael Cain leads with 58 tackles, 3.5 sacks and an interception. Nick Hulen is second with 46 stops, 3.5 sacks and two fumble recoveries. Sigler is third with 43 tackles and a pair of fumble recoveries.

Speedway head coach Shane Clampitt is in his fourth season and has a 22-21 record.

The Sparkplugs started the season 3-1. After a season-opening loss at South Putnam (28-20), Speedway grabbed three wins in a row at Owen Valley (47-0) and a pair of home wins over Beech Grove (48-26) and Cardinal Ritter in OT (29-23).

Things went downhill in the latter part of the season, losing four of five heading into the playoffs. After the three-game winning streak, two losses in a row came at Scecina (21-15) and home to Monrovia 42-21. They sandwiched a nice shutout of Covenant Christian (29-0) in the middle of two more losses to Lutheran (49-7) and at Triton Central (37-6) to last week.

Quarterback Connor Moreland leads a balanced offensive attack. Moreland passed 96 of 175 for 1,519 yards, good enough for 17 TD passes and just four picks.

Jazz Coleman leads the Sparkplugs in rushing with 854 yards on 142 carries for 11 TDs. Moreland also has 214 on the ground, while JaRonn Smith has rushed for 203 on 24 runs. Cameren Biggs leads the receivers with 413 on 16 receptions for four TDs, while Vinsin Jean has 18 catches for 268 and three scores.

Lucas Devault leads Speedway’s defense with 73 tackles. Biggs has three interceptions and pass deflections. Ezekiel Omole has 49 tackles and three passes, along with four sacks. Dawson Ott and Correy Midgett also have four sacks each.

Hamilton Heights last sectional title was in 2012, the same season the Huskies were Class 3A state runner-up. Speedway last grabbed a sectional crown in 2010.