The IHSAA football sectional tournament begins on Friday, and while the Class 6A schools have the week off, all three of Hamilton County’s smaller schools will be playing at home.
The two Class 3A schools, Hamilton Heights and Guerin Catholic, will be taking on the best teams in that class as part of Sectional 28. The Huskies are hosting No. 1-ranked Bishop Chatard, while the Golden Eagles welcome the No. 2 team, West Lafayette. Both games kick off at 7 p.m.
Sheridan opens play in Class 1A Sectional 46 by hosting Tindley. That game also is set to begin at 7 p.m.
SECOND MEETING
This will be the second time that the Blackhawks have played the Tindley Tigers. The two teams met for the first time on Oct. 24, 2014, also in the first round of the sectional. Sheridan cruised to victory by the score of 75-20; it stands as the most points the ‘Hawks have scored in a single game in the past 25 years.
This season, the Tigers will come to Bud Wright Stadium with a 3-5 record. Tindley began its season with a double overtime win at Edinburgh, by the score of 26-20. The Tigers fell in their next three games (New Castle 41-0, Twin Lakes 20-6 and Covenant Christian 56-0) before defeating Purdue Polytechnic 20-6.
Tindley then lost to Wes-Del 62-28 and Heritage Christian 48-6. The Tigers finished their regular season with a 22-8 win at Manual.
“They got a lot of quickness and speed,” said Wright. The coach said Tindley mixes it up: While the Tigers are a spread team, they also run quite a bit.
“They got a quarterback that throws and runs,” said Wright. That quarterback is senior Antonio Robinson, and he has thrown for770 yards and nine touchdowns, and rushed for 543 yards and four TDs.
“He goes back to pass and then he’ll pull it down and take off,” said Wright. “He’s the leading rusher by far.”
Senior Kameron Jennings is Tindley’s top receiver with 16 catches, including one touchdown. Sophomore Jayden Pinkston has 14 receptions, but five of them have been for scores.
Jennings is also the top tackler for the Tigers, with 66 stops. Junior Joe Phillips III has 59 tackles, five of them for a loss, while Robinson has made 55 tackles. Junior Ailex Smith Jr. has made six sacks.
“They got some size defensively,” said Wright. “They got a lot of quickness in the backfield.”
Sheridan, which finished the regular season 4-4, has been dealing with injuries and illness, so the Blackhawks are still trying to figure out their starting lineup in the days to lead the game.
“We’re still trying to fit things together,” said Wright.
Senior Cameron Hovey has been a force for the Sheridan offense, rushing for 1,294 yards and 17 touchdowns. Sophomore Peyton Cross has come into his own, with 406 yards and two scores. On defense, sophomore Jacob Jones has 61 tackles, including eight for a loss and six sacks, while Hovey has made 57 stops.
HEIGHTS-CHATARD
The meeting between the Huskies and the Trojans will be the first one since Nov. 24, 2012, when the teams met each other in that season’s 3A state championship game. Chatard beat Heights 30-13 for its third consecutive state title.
The Trojans come into this game as, once again, the defending 3A state champions. This season, Chatard is 7-1, with the only loss coming to 5A No. 1 Cathedral, 39-20, in Week 4.
The Trojans won their first three games before meeting the Irish, defeating Brebeuf Jesuit 27-14, East Central 10-0 and Roncalli 28-7. After the Cathedral game, Chatard won its next four, taking care of Southport 42-0, Guerin Catholic 38-0, Merrillville 45-28 and Terre Haute North 35-7. The Trojans did not play a Week 9 game.
Carter St. John was highly efficient for Chatard in the Terre Haute North game, completing 14 of 15 pass attempts for 117 yards and two touchdowns, and also rushing for one touchdown. Matthew Coons rushed for 146 yards, including one touchdown.
Heights will be playing a top-two team in 3A for the second week in a row, as the Huskies fell to No. 2 West Lafayette 40-0 last week in the Hoosier Conference championship game. Heights finished the regular season 4-5.
Sophomore Vincent Harley has been stepping in as quarterback for the Huskies this season, and has been playing solidly, totaling 229 yards and one touchdown over five games. Junior Guy Griffey, in six games as QB, has thrown for 645 yards and 10 scores. Junior Isaac Tuma is Heights’ top receiver with 17 catches, including five TDs.
Sophomore Trey Ehman is on top of the rushing list, with 872 yards and six touchdowns, while junior Nate Hulen has also run for six scores. Junior Harrison Hochstedler has been dominant on defense with 96 tackles, with senior Kaleb Schakel making seven tackles for a loss.
GUERIN CATHOLIC-WEST LAFAYETTE
West Lafayette will be making its third trip into Hamilton County this season when it plays at the Eagles Nest on Friday.
The Red Devils have visited Hamilton Heights twice: In addition to the Hoosier Conference title game, the Huskies hosted West Lafayette in Week 3. The Red Devils won that game 49-14.
West Lafayette, which is 8-1 for the year, began its season with a loss to 6A Lafayette Jefferson 27-16, but have won every game since then. Other victories for the Red Devils have come over McCutcheon 41-3, Lafayette Central Catholic 47-14, Rensselaer Central 27-21 in double overtime, Benton Central 65-6, Lewis Cass 51-20 and Twin Lakes 49-14.
Senior Colin Martin has had an incredible season as the West Lafayette quarterback, completing 162 of 231 pass attempts for 1,855 yards – an average of 206.1 yards per game – and 15 touchdowns. Junior Cannon Melchi has 65 of those catches, including eight touchdowns.
Sophomore Max Mullis is on top of the rushing list with 528 yards and 11 scores, while junior Brice Rider has 387 yards and five TDs. Martin has run for seven touchdowns and Melchi for six.
On defense, junior Jaxon Deutsch leads with 64 tackles, including 10 for a loss, while junior Mariere Omonode has 60 stops, including 21 for a loss, and nine sacks. Another junior, Connor Barket, has made 17 tackles for a loss.
Guerin Catholic finished its regular season 3-4, beating Culver Academies 24-14 in its Week 9 game. Jagger Albert rushed for 127 yards and a touchdown, while quarterback Sam Miller went 8-for-10, totaling 78 yards and one score.