For well over a decade, the Mudsock football game between Hamilton Southeastern and Fishers has been a highly-anticipated date on the sports calendar.
This year, however, the anticipation will be off the charts. The Royals travel to the Tigers’ TCU Field on Friday and for the first time, both teams will be 3-0 when the game kicks off at 7 p.m.
“The atmosphere is going to be special, and our players are excited to play in front of the home crowd,” said Fishers coach Curt Funk. “We are doing our best to treat this game like any other game with our preparation, but our kids know this one is special. This is the type of game you grow up dreaming about and what makes this community and school system so special!”
Southeastern earned its unbeaten record with easy wins over historically good teams: Lawrence Central 35-7, North Central 45-13 and Avon 40-13. This is the first time since 2008 that the Royals are off to a 3-0 start.
“Southeastern is well coached and they play hard,” said Funk. “They have good fundamentals, and it is hard to find any weaknesses in their team. They have a lot of seniors playing and that shows on film with their physical play.”
One of those seniors is quarterback Sam Jacobs, who has passed for 209 yards and four touchdowns this season. Junior Ty Bradle has thrown for 119 yards and three TDs. Senior Jack Wafford has four catches, two for touchdowns, while all three of senior Dylan Conner’s receptions have been scores.
Seniors Blaine Wertz and Owen Jones lead the rushing game, with Wertz gaining 209 yards and five TDs, and Jones totaling 204 yards and three touchdowns. On defense, senior Louden Sundling has 11 tackles, five of them for a loss. Junior Griffen Haas has 10 stops.
Meanwhile, Fishers has also played a tough schedule to get to 3-0. The Tigers have beaten North Central 27-7, Pike 14-0 and Noblesville 16-13 during the first third of the season. Royals coach Michael Kelly said Fishers is well-coached and disciplined, and his team must be the same to have an opportunity to win.
“They play tremendous defense and they are explosive on offense,” said Kelly. The stats prove it: Junior quarterback Luke Minns is 33-of-49 through the air, with 449 yards and four touchdowns. Junior Aiden Zimmer has nine of those receptions, while senior Jeffrey Simmons has eight catches. Both have caught a touchdown pass.
Junior Carson Dunn has already totaled 259 yards rushing, including two touchdowns. On defense, junior Grady Stanley has 34 tackles in three games, including six for a loss.
“We have talked this week about the importance not being on who we play but rather on how we play,” said Kelly. The coach is aware that the players “know each other well but we have to stay focused on getting better each week. Records and previous games are thrown out the window on a week like this because we know we are going to get their best game.”
NOBLESVILLE-WESTFIELD
Another big rivalry game is taking place on Friday: Noblesville and Westfield are playing for the Midland Rail Trophy. The Millers will travel to the Shamrocks’ Riverview Health Stadium for a 7 p.m. kickoff.
Noblesville will head to Westfield with a 2-1 record. The Millers cruised past Mount Vernon 57-36 and Terre Haute South 45-12 before narrowly falling to Fishers 16-13 last week.
“I think Noblesville is playing great,” said ‘Rocks coach Jake Gilbert. “They are always so tough defensively. Adam Metzler does a great job. I feel like their offense has taken a major step forward this year. Coach (Dave) Sharpe’s system is setting in and you can see the execution. They are huge and they have more speed at RB (running back) this year.”
Sharpe said a key for his team is “to take care of the ball, grind out the yardage and then make a big play” whenever the time presents itself. The Millers have players capable of making those big plays, starting with Logan Shoffner. The sophomore has gained 728 yards rushing and scored eight touchdowns. Two seniors have also scored multiple TDs: Alairic Rogers-Walton has three touchdowns and 183 total yards, while Brayan Goméz Sánchez has two touchdowns and 182 yards.
Two seniors lead the defense: Seth Stone has made 29 tackles and Sam Steinhofer has 28 stops. Senior Jacob Hoffman has made five tackles for a loss.
Westfield is also 2-1 for the season. After dropping their opener to Cathedral 14-0, the Shamrocks have sailed past Harrison 33-11 and Zionsville 42-21.
“Coach Gilbert and his great coaching staff, they run a first-class program over there,” said Sharpe. “They are just fundamentally sound on both sides of the ball. Our kids are very familiar with them because we played them twice last year.”
Many of the players that were on Westfield’s team last year are back for this season, including reigning county Player of the Year Micah Hauser. Now a senior, Hauser leads the ‘Rocks in both rushing (227 yards, three TDs) and tackles (39). Sharpe said that Hauser is one of the best players he’s ever coached against.
Senior quarterback Maximus Webster has been very efficient, completing 27 of 40 pass attempts for 337 yards and three touchdowns. Freshman Gabe Aramboles has emerged as the leading receiver, with eight catches, including a touchdown. Junior Patrick Schramm has seven catches and senior Nic Depasquale has six, including a score.
HAMILTON HEIGHTS-NORTHWESTERN
Hamilton Heights finally returns home Friday after two weeks on the road. The Huskies will also begin Hoosier Conference East Division play that night when they host Northwestern.
The Tigers are 0-2 for the season; they did not play a Week 2 game. Northwestern lost to Twin Lakes 38-12 in its opener and fell to Lafayette Central Catholic 42-0 last week.
Heights is 2-1 for the season, and is coming off a big win at Rensselaer Central last week. The Huskies beat the Bombers (who were ranked No. 9 in Class 2A) 26-21.
Senior Guy Griffey has put together some nice numbers, with 260 yards and four touchdowns this season. Senior Isaac Tuma leads the receptions with eight, while fellow senior Gavin Bramel counts three touchdowns among his five catches.
Junior Trey Ehman is up to 307 yards rushing, including two scores. Senior Harrison Hochstedler leads the Heights defense with 34 tackles.
SHERIDAN-DELPHI
Sheridan hosts Delphi Friday night in a Hoosier Heartland Conference game at Bud Wright Stadium. The Blackhawks will look to stay on top of the conference standings, as they are off to a 2-0 start.
The Oracles are 0-2 in conference play and 1-2 overall. After winning a non-conference game over Benton Central 12-2 to start the season, Delphi dropped HHC contests to Carroll 9-0 and Eastern 28-14.
Junior Cade Nelson is the Oracles’ quarterback, and he is 16-of-30 for 186 yards and a touchdown. Senior Luis Angel Sanchez is at the top of the reception list with seven catches, while senior Peyton Roth and sophomore Joshua Hartley both have five receptions.
Sheridan is 2-1 overall. Senior Gavin Reners has done a solid job on the ground, with 418 rushing yards and four touchdowns. Junior Peyton Cross is next with 179 yards and two scores. Junior Jacob Jones leads the defense with 30 tackles, including six for a loss.
GUERIN CATHOLIC-BREBEUF JESUIT
Guerin Catholic will head south into Indianapolis on Friday to play Circle City Conference rival Brebeuf Jesuit. Kickoff is set for 7 p.m.
The Braves are unbeaten this season at 3-0, and all three victories are noteworthy. In its opener, Brebeuf stunned Bishop Chatard 24-19, giving the Braves an early conference advantage. Brebeuf then took care of New Palestine 38-14 and Cardinal Ritter 40-6.
The Braves have two quarterbacks that have been producing good numbers. Junior Nolan Buckman has 298 yards and four touchdowns, while throwing at a 22-of-41 clip. Senior Anthony Annee is 10-of-16, with 212 yards and two scores.
Senior Max Walters has made 21 catches so far, with five touchdowns among them. Another senior, Clark Sweet, leads the rushing with 119 yards. Senior Jayden Childers and junior Cole Williams each have 23 tackles.
The Golden Eagles are 1-2 and will be playing their first conference game of the season this week. Senior Sam Miller is having an incredible start, completing 46 of 63 pass attempts for 586 yards and five touchdowns. Senior Ryan Glenn has 17 catches and sophomore Jack Cherry has 16 receptions; Glenn has caught three TD passes and Cherry has one.
Junior Justin Zdobylak is the leading rusher with 327 yards and three scores. Junior Anthony Ferrucci is on top of the defense with 31 tackles.
CARMEL-PIKE
Carmel will also be on the north side of Indianapolis on Friday, playing at Pike for its second Metropolitan Conference game.
The Red Devils are 0-3 for the season, with losses to Zionsville 28-10, Fishers 14-0 and Ben Davis 49-21 in their MIC opener.
Pike’s main quarterback, senior Akim Abdur-Rahim, did not play last week against the Giants. In his first two games, Abdur-Rahim threw for 327 yards and a touchdown. Sophomore Lakendrick Suttles played quarterback against Ben Davis, throwing for 201 yards and three TDs.
Senior Justin Jones and juniors Malachi Jackson and Cameron Green all have seven receptions, with Green getting two touchdown passes and Jones one. Junior Jeremiah Berry leads the rushing with 203 yards, including one TD. Junior Josh Woods leads the tackles with 33.
The Greyhounds are 2-1 and will be looking for their first MIC win after falling to Center Grove last week. Senior Zach Osborne was recovering from an injury and didn’t play last week; he was 33-for-52 for 381 yards in his first two games, throwing three touchdowns. Senior Lleyton Lukowski had a good performance under center last week, throwing for 169 yards and one TD.
Junior Desmond Duffy leads the Carmel receiving with 16 catches, including two scores, while senior Jaedon King has 13 receptions, one of them for a touchdown. Senior Ethan Hall as rushed for 168 yards and a touchdown. Junior Winston Berglund is on top of the tackles list with 33.