By CRAIG ADKINS
For The Reporter
Carmel: The Greyhounds (2-2) hope their trend of wins and losses through four games is what occurs this Friday, translating into another win. That trend has started with opening at Homestead with a win, losing at home to Christian Brothers (Mo.), dominating at home against Detroit Martin Luther King (Mich.) and last week losing on the road at Trinity in Louisville (41-14).
Even though it is no longer a member of the Metropolitan Interscholastic Conference, Carmel has kept a majority of the MIC on its schedule. Class 6A No. 10 Lawrence North (4-0) is the first that the ‘Hounds will see on the gridiron this season. This is the Wildcats’ best start since 2005 when they were coached by current Guerin Catholic head coach Tom Dilley.
No. 13 in the IFCA poll, Carmel will look to get back to its winning ways when the undefeated Wildcats visit on Friday. Head coach John Hebert is 7-1 against LN with six straight wins and the Greyhounds hold a commanding 24-3 lead in the overall series.
Fishers: Last week’s Mudsock game provided the City of Fishers with an epic finish that sent the Tigers to overtime with rival Hamilton Southeastern. The thousands in attendance were on their feet. Unfortunately for the Tigers, they fell short in overtime to the Royals, 35-34.
The sixth-rated Tigers’ (3-1, 1-1 HCC) slate gets even harder as they face AP No. 1 and IFCA third-ranked Brownsburg (4-0, 2-0 HCC) on the road. The Tigers have dropped seven in a row in the series and trail overall 10-7 to Brownsburg. Head coach Curt Funk is looking for his first win against the Bulldogs.
Fishers leads all three offensive stat categories in the county. Khobie Martin has 715 yards on the ground with 11 scores, JonAnthony Hall with 389 yards receiving on 29 catches and Bennett Gorak has completed 65 percent of his passes for 823 yards and six touchdowns.
Guerin Catholic: The Golden Eagles got their toughest test thus far last week on the road in their first Circle City Conference game at Brebeuf Jesuit. Able to outlast the host Braves, Tom Dilley’s squad escaped the west side of Indianapolis with a 34-29 victory.
Guerin (4-0, 1-0 CCC) has kept its ranking steady from week-to-week for the first month at No. 2 in 3A. It will face yet another tough opponent in Circle City action on Friday when they host the Roncalli Royals (2-2, 0-1 CCC). Roncalli owns a 7-0 record in the series.
Peter Rooney ranks third in the county with 511 rushing yards on 85 carries with three scores. Alex Gibbs has caught 16 passes for 253 yards and a pair of touchdowns, while Jack Cherry has scored three touchdowns in his 12 receptions and 126 yards. Aaron Keller is fourth in the county with 40 tackles, 27 of those being solo.
Hamilton Heights: The Huskies have pitched two consecutive shutouts and the reasons seem to be two-fold. Two weeks ago, they played stellar defense in a 15-0 home win over perennial power Lafayette Central Catholic. Last week, its defense balanced out the offense on their way to a 42-0 road win at Northwestern.
Heights (4-0, 1-0 Hoosier Conference) went up in the AP poll to No. 8 and sit at 14th in the Coaches poll this week. The Huskies will try to stay unblemished again this week as they hit the road again and face the Western Panthers (2-2, 0-0 HC) in an East Division showdown. Western has won three in a row in the series, but the Huskies hold a slight 13-12 edge overall.
Hamilton Heights quarterback Bodie Derrer is third in the county with six TD passes and 662 yards, while completing 62 percent of his passes. Owen VanHaaren is sixth with 402 yards on 90 rushes and two touchdowns. Tyler Champion has caught the fourth most passes (17) for 243 yards and a score, while Keaton Weaver has snagged 10 for 197 yards and three touchdowns. Ethan Millsaps leads the Husky defense with 36 tackles (22 solo), with Michael Cain (5) and Dean Mason (4) being first and second among county sack leaders.
Hamilton Southeastern: The Royals are proving that they are a force to be reckoned with. Last Friday, HSE took home the Mudsock for the fourth straight year with a 35-34 road win at Fishers in overtime.
Hamilton Southeastern (4-0, 2-0 HCC) is another team that’s cemented their ranking in both polls at No. 4 in 6A. The Royals face another undefeated team in league play this week when it will host No. 5 Westfield (4-0, 2-0 HCC). The regular season has been split 5-5 in the last 10 years, but the Royals have won two of the last three playoff matchups.
Chandler Weston is tied for first in the county with seven touchdown passes, but leads with 67.9 percent completions and 561 yards. Jalen Alexander is second with 50 carries and 535 yards and seven scores. Donovan Hamilton is third in receiving with 18 and 331 yards and three touchdowns. Judah Parker heads up the HSE defense with 37 tackles (2.5 for a loss). Sacks by Jack Osiecki (4) and Brody Carlson (3) also help pace the defense.
Noblesville: The Millers would love nothing more than to get a Homecoming win this week. After losing late on the road at Westfield last week (28-21) and a big home loss two weeks ago to Fishers (48-22), Noblesville is hungry to get back to winning.
Noblesville (2-2, 0-2 HCC) faces the Zionsville Eagles (3-1, 1-1 HCC), who are now ranked 14th in 6A. The Millers have lost six regular season matchups in a row in the series, but were able to grab a sectional win last year over the Eagles. Zionsville leads the overall series 19-4.
Jacob Baker has thrown for 511 yards and five touchdowns. Logan Shoffner is fourth in the county with 480 yards on 43 carries and six scores. Shoffner has also caught seven for 167 and two touchdowns. Gage Gulley provides good depth with 205 yards rushing and three touchdowns. Austin Hastings is second in the county to lead the defense with 46 tackles (21 solo).
Sheridan: The Blackhawks have burst into Hoosier Heartland Conference play with avengeance, shutting out both opponents by a combined 85-0 the past two weeks. Wins at Tri-Central (28-0) and at home against Clinton Central (57-0) have Sheridan rolling to three victories in a row now.
Sheridan (3-1, 2-0 HHC) is ranked No. 7 in both the AP and IFCA polls in Class 1A. The Blackhawks host the Clinton Prairie Gophers (4-0, 2-0 HHC) in a big top 10 matchup on Saturday. The Gophers are No. 8 in the IFCA and ninth in the AP poll. This will be Sheridan’s 100th football homecoming on Sept. 16.
Eli Kolb ranks fifth in the county in rushing with 43 totes for 414 yards and seven touchdowns. Parker Williams is third in tackles with 41 (23 solo), while Zach Bales is fifth with 39 (24 solo) and three sacks.
Westfield: The ‘Rocks are clicking on all cylinders and have rolled out to four straight. After two consecutive one-point wins over Lawrence Central (59-58 OT) and Zionsville (28-27), Westfield took down Noblesville 28-21 last week.
The Shamrocks (4-0, 2-0 HCC) are ranked No. 5 in both the AP and IFCA polls. In a top five matchup on the road at No. 4 HSE, Westfield is looking to turn the winning trend back its way in the series. Going 5-5 against the Royals in the last 10 years in the regular season just shows the grit and toughness of this HCC battle.
Jackson Gilbert has completed 64 percent of his passes for 714 yards and seven touchdowns. Kendall Garnett has 388 yards on 83 carries and four scores in the backfield. Gabe Aramboles is second in the county with 18 receptions for 295 yards and two TDs. Mikeah Webster leads the way on defense to lead the county with 48 tackles (4.5 for a loss), while Anthony Feltrinelli has 39 stops (33 assists).
