The football sectional tournament begins for Indiana’s Class 6A teams on Friday, and for the four Hamilton County teams in Sectional 4, it will be a repeat of the regular season’s Week 4 games.
Fishers plays at Hamilton Southeastern in a Mudsock re-match at the Royals’ TCU Field, while Westfield will take on Noblesville in another Midland Rail contest, this one at the Millers’ Beaver Materials Field. Both games kick off at 7 p.m.
FISHERS-HAMILTON SOUTHEASTERN
Southeastern traveled to the Tigers’ TCU Field on Sept. 10, where it won the Mudsock Trophy by the score of 42-13. The Royals would go on to finish their season 7-2, with their only losses to the two teams ranked above them in the IFCA coaches poll: the No. 2 Shamrocks and No. 5 Brownsburg.
Fishers coach Curt Funk said that HSE has been a very dominant football team all season.
“Their offense is putting up a lot of points and they have a real tough defense,” said Funk.
Royals quarterback Sam Jacobs is 43-of-84 through the air, with 732 yards and 10 touchdowns to his credit. Senior Will Gerig has 13 receptions, including two TDs, while senior Jack Wafford has made 11 catches, three for touchdowns. Senior Dylan Conner’s nine receptions include four touchdowns.
On the ground, senior Blaine Wertz has gained 958 yards and scored 17 touchdowns, followed by senior Owen Jones with 628 yards and seven scores. Jacobs has 585 yards and four rushing touchdowns. Senior Louden Sundling leads the Southeastern defense with 72 tackeles, 11 for a loss, while junior Evan Sherrill has eight tackles for a loss.
We are excited for the second season,” said Kelly. The coach said his players “are focused on this week” and are taking it one play at a time.
“We aren’t looking down the road,” said Kelly. “We are looking forward to playing at home in front of our crowd and students.”
The Tigers are 6-3, finishing their season on Oct. 15 with a 49-46 double overtime win against Zionsville.
“They play hard and are very fast to the football,” said Kelly.
Junior Lucas Minns is Fishers’ quarterback, and he has completed 119 of 180 pass attempts for 1,471 yards and 13 touchdowns. Junior Aidan Zimmer is the Tigers’ top receiver with 31 catches and six scores, followed by senior Jeffrey Simmons, who has 26 receptions and five touchdowns.
Junior Carson Dunn leads Fishers in rushing with 695 yards and 10 TDs. On defense, junior Grady Stanley is on top of the tackles list with 76, followed by senior Jack Alvarez with 72 and senior Jake Gates with 61 stops. Senior Dominic Oliverio has 11 tackles for a loss, while Stanley has nine and sophomore Brady Wolf has eight.
“Our kids are really excited about the game on Friday,” said Funk. “We look forward to the opportunity and everyone is healthy.”
WESTFIELD-NOBLESVILLE
Westfield and Noblesville also played their regular-season game on Sept. 10, with the Shamrocks winning 42-15. Westfield was in the midst of an eight-game win streak, which puts its record at 8-1 for the season.
“Westfield just keeps getting better and better,” said Millers coach Dave Sharpe. “It’s just quite remarkable how efficient they have been these past few seasons and they’re really peaking right now.”
The ‘Rocks finished the season on Oct. 15 by beating Franklin Central 42-28, clinching a second consecutive unbeaten Hoosier Crossroads Conference championship. Senior quarterback Maximus Webster has been the model of Westfield’s efficiency, going 96-of-136 for 1,478 yards and 14 touchdowns.
Freshman Gabe Aramboles leads the Shamrocks in receptions with 25, including four TDs. Senior Ian Bruch has 23 catches, while seniors Jackson Wasserstrom and Nic Depasquale each have 18. All three seniors have caught three touchdown passes.
Do-it-all senior Micah Hauser leads the rushing with 710 yards and 13 scores, while senior Trevon Hatchett has 331 yards rushing and six touchdowns. On defense, junior Tyler Dikos has made 97 tackles, followed by 81 stops for Hauser and 70 for junior Charlie Dager. Senior Popeye Williams has made 11 tackles for a loss.
“We are pumped,” said Westfield coach Jake Gilbert. “We are ready. We’ve been waiting for this for a long time.”
Noblesville is 2-7 for the season. The Millers have gotten most of their yards on the ground, with sophomore Logan Shoffner gaining 1,165 yards and scoring nine touchdowns. Senior Alairic Rogers-Walton has 467 yards rushing and six scores.
Shoffner also has 14 catches for the Millers. While Noblesville is primarily a running team, senior quarterback Connor Meinerding has done well throwing the ball, going 16-of-30 for 132 yards and two touchdowns. Sophomore Gage Gulley was the quarterback for the Millers in the regular-season game, filling in for Meinerding. Gilbert noted the different quarterback, and also said the Millers “have opened up their offense quite a bit more.”
On defense, senior Sam Steinhofer leads with 96 tackles, followed by sophomore Austin Hastings with 83 stops. Two more seniors, Jaocb Hoffmann and Seth Stone, both have 7.5 tackles for a loss.
“The defense is a bit different at times as well,” said Gilbert.
“Anything can happen in 48 minutes, and our kids have done a great job of getting ready for this sectional match-up,” said Sharpe.
CARMEL-AVON
Carmel will open play in Class 6A Sectional 5 with a trip to Avon Friday. Kickoff for that game is set for 7 p.m.
The Orioles finished their regular season with a 1-8 record, getting its first win of the season Oct. 15 against Noblesville 35-21.
Avon sophomore quarterback has had a remarkable year, completing 159 of 276 pass attempts for 2,172 yards and 21 touchdowns.Senior Chrishon McCray is by far the leading receiver, with 57 catches and 17 touchdowns. Three more Orioles players have over 20 receptions as well.
“Avon certainly doesn’t look like a 1-8 team on film,” said Carmel coach John Hebert. “Their offense produces a lot of explosive plays, especially when the ball is in the hands of Chrishon McCray. He is really an electric player and their QB does a nice job getting the ball to him and their other recievers.”
Junior Jaiden Jones is the leading rusher for the Orioles with 345 yards and four TDs, followed by junior Dailon Zeigler with 311 yards and one touchdown. Senior Derrick Shaw II leads the defense with 51 tackles.
Carmel finished its regular season 8-1, beating Lawrence Central 14-0 in its Week 9 game. Senior quarterback Zach Osborne, who Hebert said practiced Tuesday night “and looked good,” is throwing at a 121-of-200 clip for 1,749 yards and 20 touchdowns. Junior Desmond Duffy leads the receptions with 44, including 11 touchdowns, followed by senior Jaedon King with 35 catches and three TDs.
Senior Ethan Hall is the top rusher with 336 yards and two scores, while Osborne has 295 yards on the ground and eight touchdowns. Junior Will Heldt leads the defense with 77 tackles, followed by junior Winston Berglund with 68 stops.
“We took last week to rest and replenish our starters, shifting the focus to our younger players which really was a great shift of emphasis,” said Hebert. Those younger players are really ready to play bigger roles in preparing our top 30-40 players for the tournament. I think our team feels we have something to prove. I’m excited to see them take the field.”
GUERIN CATHOLIC-WESTERN BOONE
Guerin Catholic will be going where no Golden Eagles team has gone before on Friday: Western Boone.
The Stars will host Guerin Catholic in a Class 3A Sectional 28 game, with kickoff at 7 p.m. It will be the first-ever meeting for the two teams.
WeBo, of course, is the three-time defending Class 2A state champion. The Stars were moved up to 3A this year due to the success factor. Western Boone is 6-4, having won its first-round sectional game last week over Crawfordsville 41-14.
Golden Eagles coach Tom Dilley called the Stars a “very good team.”
“They execute at a high level and obviously they’re a part of a great program,” said Dilley. “Their offensive and defensive systems are proven in the last few years. They play with a lot of confidence.”
Senior Elliott Young is WeBo’s quarterback, and he is 73-of-119 for 1,237 yards and 13 touchdowns. Seniors Casey Baird and Garrett Morton each have 19 catches, with Morton making eight touchdown and receptions and Baird three.
Junior Trevor Weakley is the Stars’ leading rusher with 606 yards, including six TDs. Jacobs has scored eight rushing touchdowns. Sophmore Cannon Brunes leads the defense with 90 tackles, including 23.5 for a loss. Junior Ryan Taylor has 81 stops, and junior Zayne Sturgis has nine tackles for a loss.
Guerin Catholic is 3-7 for the season, edging out Hamilton Heights 21-20 in a sectional first-round game last Friday. Sophomore quarterback Ryan Zimmerman is 67-of-128, totaling 1,094 yards and 10 touchdowns. Senior Ryan Glenn has 48 catches, including six for touchdowns. Junior Will Fremion has 25 receptions, five of them for scores.
Junior Justin Zdobylak is the top rusher with 735 yards and seven touchdowns. Senior Adam Novelen leads the GC defense with 81 tackles, while senior Max Nickell has 70 stops. Senior Dylan Balcer has made 9.5 tackles for a loss.
Dilley said keys to the game include taking care of the football and “we have to win the line of scrimmage.” The coach also said that when his team does get some opportunities, it must take advantage.
“We need to execute at a high level, because I know they will,” said Dilley.