The Hamilton Southeastern football team saw its share of tough competition during the first half of the season.
Now at Week 5, the midpoint of the season, the Royals will take on yet another difficult opponent, as undefeated and Class 6A No. 8 Westfield heads to Southeastern’s TCU Field on Friday night for the Royals’ Homecoming game. The all-Hamilton County clash highlights this week’s slate of seven local games.
The Shamrocks scored their wins over Harrison 55-28, Decatur Central 36-14, Zionsville 51-24 and Noblesville 34-14. That comes out to an average of 44 points per game. That potent Westfield offense is led by senior quarterback Cam Simons, who is putting up some big numbers so far: Simons has completed 47 of 64 passes (73.4 percent) for 823 yards and 10 touchdowns.
“Probably the most complete offense that we’ve seen so far this year,” said Royals coach Adam Morris on Hamilton County Television. (All quotes are from HCTV.) “Cam Simons, the quarterback, is an unbelievable player. Played really well against us last year and I think since last season, he’s been one of the better quarterbacks in the area.”
Simons has plenty of receivers, and the top two so far are junior Mason Peining, with 13 catches and three touchdowns, and senior Dane Wheeler, who has 12 receptions and three TDs. The Shamrocks’ running game is anchored by senior Eli Patchett, who has rushed for 361 yards and six touchdowns.
Sophomore Micah Hauser leads the Westfield defense with 34 tackles, while Patchett has 32 stops.
Southeastern’s record is 1-3, but that has come against a difficult early-season schedule. The Royals beat Lawrence Central 24-20 in their opener, then fell to North Central 17-16, Avon 35-27 and Fishers, another unbeaten team, 27-6.
Senior quarterback Andrew Hobson is also having a great season. Hobson has completed 64 of 123 passes for 939 yards and six touchdowns. Two more seniors are the top receivers: DeAndre Rhodes has 24 catches, including four TDs, while Ben Boysen has made 22 receptions. Junior Tylin Taylor is the leading rusher with 198 yards.
“This team is really good,” said Westfield coach Jake Gilbert. “They have on both sides of the ball, a few guys who I think are pretty special and just excellent players, and those guys give problems to whoever they play.”
NOBLESVILLE-ZIONSVILLE
Expect a large crowd at Noblesville’s Beaver Materials Field Friday night, as the Millers will be playing their Homecoming game against Zionsville. Kickoff is a half-hour later than usual, at 7:30 p.m.
Noblesville is 0-4 for the season, and would like nothing more than to get its first win at Homecoming. The Millers will be taking on a 2-2 Eagles team, which started the season with victories over Pike 17-7 and Lebanon 47-33, then lost to Westfield 51-24 and Franklin Central 17-14.
“Their new coach, Scott Turnquist, is a great coach,” said Noblesville assistant coach Chris Radican. “Came from Carmel, he was the offensive coordinator at Carmel. Does a great job, has a great staff around him.”
Zionsville’s quarterback is senior Cole Wiseman, who has thrown for 449 yards and three touchdowns. Sophomore Trey Firestone has emerged as a leading receiver, with 12 catches, including one score. The Eagles also have a great young running back in sophomore Cole Price, who has already gained 671 yards and scored seven TDs. Senior Garrett Williamson leads the defense with 43 tackles.
“He’s going to be tough, so we’re going to have to stay gap sound, tackle well, pursuit of the ball, gang tackle, all those things,” said Radican. “I know those are all clichés, but we’re going to have to do a good job getting to the football and finishing plays.”
The Millers have played the toughest schedule in the state so far, according to the Sagarin ratings. Noblesville has fallen to Cathedral 42-14, Carmel 37-0, Fishers 28-7 and Westfield 34-14.
Two seniors have been playing quarterback for the Millers. Alex Zavac has thrown for 72 yards and Jayden Barrett for 52 yards; both have one touchdown pass. Barrett also leads the rushing with 146 yards. Senior Carson Sanders and junior Zach Blevins both have four receptions, including a TD for Sanders.
On defense, five Noblesville players have at least 30 tackles. Sam Steinhofer leads with 36 tackles, with senior Aidan Richardson next in line with 35 stops.
SHERIDAN-CLINTON PRAIRIE
Sheridan will also have its Homecoming game on Friday, welcoming Clinton Prairie for a 7 p.m. kickoff.
The game is an important one when it comes to the Hoosier Heartland Conference race. The Blackhawks are 3-0 in the league, with the Gophers and Eastern right behind them at 2-0. Sheridan and Prairie are both 3-1 overall.
The Gophers won their opener over Park Tudor 59-12, lost to Attica 50-14, then began HHC play with victories over Clinton Central 47-13 and Tri-Central 47-21. Junior quarterback Kade Osborn has completed 40 of 60 passes for 660 yards and seven touchdowns. Senior Jacob Fullerton is CP’s top receiver, with 17 catches and two scores.
“The quarterback’s a good passer and a good runner and the running back’s pretty solid,” said Blackhawks coach Bud Wright. “They throw the ball all over the place. They’ll be a challenge for us.”
Senior Jack Baker is the Gophers’ top rusher with 492 yards and four touchdowns. Osborn has run for 393 yards and has scored nine TDs. Prairie also has a huge defensive line; senior Jacob Fullerton leads the tackles with 17 stops. Junior Sean Patrick has six tackles for a loss.
Sheridan, ranked No. 10 in 1A, opened its season with a 41-6 loss to Western Boone, and since has beaten Clinton Central 49-29, Tri-Central 50-19 and Delphi 36-35. Sophomore Silas De- Vaney has 304 yards passing as quarterback, including a touchdown.
Junior Cameron Hovey has been dominant on the ground, with 866 yards and 10 TDs. Junior Keenan Warren leads the receptions with five, and one touchdown. Hovey is also on top of the tackling with 38 stops, while three players have six tackles for a loss.
CARMEL-LAWRENCE NORTH
Carmel continues Metropolitan Conference play by hosting Lawrence North.
The Wildcats are 2-2, starting their season with wins over Perry Meridian 55-0 and Marion 35-8. After that, LN lost to Lawrence Central 41-31 and North Central 42-27.
The 6A No. 3 Greyhounds are 3-1. They started their season with a 41-14 loss to Louisville Trinity Lutheran, then defeated Noblesville 37-0, Center Grove 20-14 and Pike 24-7.
Carmel has been using two quarterbacks. Senior Gabe Quigley has passed for 237 yards, including two touchdowns, with sophomore Zach Osborne throwing for 232 yards. Senior Zach Gish is the leading receiver, with six catches, including two scores. Senior Dylan Downing has been solid running the football, gaining 697 yards and scoring seven TDs.
FISHERS-BROWNSBURG
The first of three county teams to go on the road, 6A No. 6 Fishers will travel to 6A No. 7 Brownsburg on Friday.
The Bulldogs are 2-2, but have played a difficult schedule. Brownsburg has wins over Ben Davis 29-24 and Franklin Central 41-14, and losses to Cincinnati St. Xavier 38-17 and Hendricks County rival Avon. The Orioles edged out the Bulldogs 7-3 last week.
“Those are two good defenses as well as two good offenses,” said Tigers coach Rick Wimmer. “But a rivalry game like that, sometimes the defense comes out.”
Brownsburg’s quarterback is junior Ben Easters, and he has thrown for 766 yards and eight touchdowns. Junior Preston Terrell has the most catches with 18, including three scores, while junior Luke Lacey counts five TDs among his 12 receptions.
Sophomore Donny Marcus has 363 yards rushing and three scores to his credit. Senior Cade Shupperd leads the defense with 21 tackles.
Unbeaten Fishers has wins over North Central 26-0, Pike 26-13, Noblesville 28-7 and Hamilton Southeastern 27-6. Senior Marcus Roux has passed for 482 yards and seven touchdowns. Senior Nick Leath leads the receptions with 12, including one TD. Senior Dylan Scally is on top of the rushing game with 310 yards and two scores.
“We’re a decent team right now, but we’ve got some tough challenges ahead of us,” said Wimmer. “We’ve got so many areas that we need to improve and we can improve on. There’s just too much work to be done to sit back and be too happy about where you’re at. You’ve got to keep looking ahead and be able to visualize where we need to go and what we need to do to get there.”
HAMILTON HEIGHTS-WESTERN
Hamilton Heights travels to Russiaville on Friday to take on Western in a Hoosier Conference East Division game.
The Panthers are 3-1, with wins over Twin Lakes 35-21, Western Boone 42-41 and Benton Central 70-7. Western’s only loss was in Week 3, to Rensselaer Central 28-14.
Sophomore Jett Engle is the Panthers’ quarterback, and he has had an impressive season so far with 10 touchdowns on 449 yards passing. Junior Nathaniel Liddell has five of those TD receptions, part of his overall 11 catches.
Junior Jerry Padgett leads the Western ground game with 690 yards and six touchdowns. On defense, senior Hunter Cottingham has made 62 tackles, with senior Noah Pownall getting 52 stops.
“They’re going to run a very similar offense to Northwestern,” said Huskies coach Jon Kirschner. “We did get some practice with it this week. They’re disciplined and they run the ball a bunch. It’s going to be run and run and run, and then it’s going to run some more, and then they’ll try and pass a little bit. They’re a running football team and they’re good at it.”
Heights beat Northwestern 36-0 last week for its first win of the season, after losses to Mount Vernon 44-23, North Montgomery 28-14 and West Lafayette 56-7. Junior Isaac Wilson passed for 208 yards and two scores last week in the Huskies’ win, giving him 436 yards and four touchdowns for the season.
Senior Camron Knott leads the receptions with 17, including four TDs. Senior Deshawn King is the top rusher with 50 yards, and also leads the defense with 44 tackles. Sophomore Harrison Hochstedler is next on the tackles list with 40 stops.
GUERIN CATHOLIC-
COLUMBUS NORTH
Guerin Catholic will make the long trip south to Columbus North on Friday, playing a 6A school.
The Bull Dogs are 2-2 for the season, with wins over Columbus East 42-31 and Roncalli 14-0, and losses to Avon 48-14 and Southport 10-7 in overtime. Sophomore Luke Hammons is Columbus North’s quarterback, having thrown for 292 yards and two touchdowns.
Senior Mitchel Collier leads the receptions with 11, while junior Blake Huffman is on top of the rushing list with 438 yards and six touchdowns. Senior Landon Robbins has been a force on defense, with 48 tackles, including six for a loss.
“We’re certainly going to prepare our kids for what Columbus North does and their strengths and attacking, if we can find some weaknesses, it hasn’t been easy so far,” said GC coach Tom Dilley. “We’ll prepare for a very good Columbus North defense and a very physical Columbus North offense. They’re well-coached across the board.”
The 3A No. 7 Golden Eagles suffered their first loss of the season last week to Brebeuf Jesuit 20-15, after wins over McCutcheon 24-14, Lafayette Central Catholic 50-28 and Heritage Christian 23-5.
Senior Christian Gelov has been solid during the first part of the season, with 689 yards on 42-of-61 passing, and six touchdowns. Senior Bernie McGuinness has 20 of those catches, including five scores.
Another senior, Gus Baumgartner, has run for 601 yards and scored seven times. Senior Tom Hokanson leads the defense with 44 tackles.
