By CRAIG ADKINS
For The Reporter
Carmel
The ‘Hounds will hit the road to the lower west side of Indianapolis to face one of their bigger rivals from their days in the MIC. Carmel faces second-ranked Ben Davis (5-1). They Greyhounds are aiming for their fourth straight win in the series, but that won’t be an easy task by any means. The Giants have proven to be one of the top teams in the state and have already hung tough with IMG Academy (FL), one of the top teams in the country. Carmel is 7-5 in the last 10 years, including playoffs, but BD holds a slight edge at 20-18 in the all-time series.
Class 6A ninth-rated Carmel took down North Central last Friday, 27-6 at home. Running back Norvil Tucker found his way to three rushing touchdowns to pace the ‘Hounds with 141 yards on 12 carries. A couple of field goals by placekicker Lukas Krishtanmoorthy and the Greyhounds were in complete control of the Panthers and on their way to their fourth win of the season.
Tucker is starting to open the Carmel running game up, along with Alijah Alfayyad. Tucker’s yards against North Central almost doubled his season total, bringing him to 252 yards on 40 carries. Alfayyad makes for a great senior backfield duo with 156 yards on 27 rushes himself.
Nathan Rodgers leads the receiving corps with 145 yards on 21 catches. Artemas Bryant is top five in the county with 57 tackles (37 solo). Charles Marsh (52) and Jimmie Winbush (42) are just behind Bryant to lead the ‘Hounds on defense.
Fishers
The Tigers get to stay home for the second week in a row and will face the 14th-ranked Franklin Central Flashes (4-2, 2-2 Hoosier Crossroads Conference). The Flashes have now won two in a row against Avon and Noblesville and are right in the middle of the Hoosier Crossroads Conference standings, tied with Fishers. Since FC joined the HCC, the AP No. 6 Tigers are 5-0 against the Flashes.
Steady at No. 8 in 6A coaches poll, Fishers (4-2, 2-2 HCC) ended their two-game losing skid last week, after starting the season 3-0, with a 21-13 home victory over Avon. Quarterback Bennett Gorak had quite the night against the Orioles, throwing 16-for-24 for three touchdowns and 253 yards. JonAnthony Hall caught seven of those for 163 yards to extend his county lead in receiving yards. Sekai Bogle led the ground game with 57 yards on 16 carries that was without leading rusher Khobie Martin.
Gorak leads the county with 1,349 passing yards, completing 63.9 percent of his passes for 11 touchdowns. Martin is still in the top five in rushing with 768 yards and 12 scores, despite not playing against Avon. JonAnthony Hall continues to lead the county with 41 receptions and 673 yards, scoring three TDs. Noah McPeek has five touchdowns in his 22 catches that total 255 yards. Carter Imes heads up the Tiger D with 44 tackles, nine for a loss (three sacks), while Jacob Prewitt solidly contributes with 41 tackles (29 solo).
Guerin Catholic
The Golden Eagles take a trip southwest near Terre Haute on Friday to face the Northview Knights (5-1). The Knights head into this week tied at No. 17 in the IFCA for Class 4A. Northview had their five-game winning streak snapped last week with a loss at Terre Haute South (36-27). Guerin Catholic hopes to end their two-game slide of losses to Roncalli and Bishop Chatard in consecutive weeks. GC leads the series 2-1, most recently with a 59-35 home win last year.
Guerin Catholic (4-2 0-2 Circle City) stays at No. 2 in the 3A Coaches poll this week, despite two losses in a row, but dropped to No. 5 in the AP. The Golden Eagles lost a tough CCC game at home last week against No. 1 Bishop Chatard in overtime, 13-7. Peter Rooney ran for 103 on 27 carries and quarterback Ryan Zimmerman accounted for the lone Guerin touchdown on a one yard run in the third period. Zimmerman is approaching the 1,000-yards mark on the season with 941 yards through the air on 80- of-157 passing with nine touchdowns. Rooney leads the backfield with 614 yards on 112 runs and three scores. Alex Gibbs is tops for receiving with 376 yards on 26 catches and four TDs, but also is a rushing asset with 144 yards and three rushing touchdowns.
Hamilton Heights
The Huskies have quickly turned themselves into a team to watch in 3A this season. September has been a month to remember for Heights and it could get better this week. In four games this month so far, they have managed to keep Lafayette Central Catholic, Northwestern, Western and Twin Lakes scoreless by a count of 134-0. Looking to keep that hot trend going into their fifth game of the month, they make a short road trip north to face the struggling Tipton Blue Devils (1-5, 0-1 HC East). Tipton has only managed to score 34 in its four games this month.
AP No. 4 Heights (6-0, 2-0 HC East) are off to their best start since they were 6-0 in 2011 before two losses in a row. They went 12-0 to start 2010 and did not lose until regional at Bishop Chatard. The IFCA ninth-ranked Huskies had no troubles at all with Twin Lakes for a homecoming win last Friday in a 45-0 blowout. Owen VanHaaren added another 103 yards to his season total on 20 carries and two touchdowns. Bodie Derrer ran for a 15-yard touchdown and threw for two, both into the trusty hands of Tyler Champion, giving him four grabs for 89 yards on the night. Derrer was very effective, going 16-for-21 for 223 yards. Dean Mason ran back an interception 30-yards for a score to highlight the defense.
VanHaaren’s 103 against Twin Lakes gives him 600 on the season to average 100 yards per game. Derrer is now the third county quarterback to cross the 1,000-yard barrier with 1,015 yards passing on 77-for-117 for 65.8 percent and nine touchdowns. Champion is top 10 in the county with 403 receiving yards, catching 28 passes and scoring four times. The Huskies defense is second in the entire state, holding opponents to 4.3 points per game, thanks in big part to those four consecutive shutouts.
Hamilton Southeastern
HSE will stay home to host Noblesville (3-3, 1-2 HCC) this week. The Royals keep their No. 5 spot in both polls with the win over Zionsville. Southeastern has won four in a row, nine of the last 10 and has a commanding lead in the all-time matchups with a 31-7 record against the Millers.
The Royals got back to winning football last week after Westfield snapped their four-game winning streak to begin the season. Down 14-0 at Zionsville, HSE came storming back with 17 points in the second. The two touchdowns were of the passing variety to Donovan Hamilton from Chandler Weston and Hugo Belmonte booted a field goal to end the half up 17-14. Outlasting the Eagles 17-10 in the second half, HSE won going away on the road, 34-24. Weston completed 13-of-18 for 285 yards, connecting on eight of those for 225 yards to Hamilton.
Chandler Weston is fourth in the county with 1,007 passing yards, completing 65.3 percent of his throws and has 12 touchdown passes. Jalen Alexander (691 yards) leads a solid backfield pair with AZ Wallace (232) and they combine for 12 rushing touchdowns between them. Donovan Hamilton leads all county receivers with 701 yards on 33 receptions and has eight scores. Judah Parker paces the Royals’ defense with 56 tackles (41 assists). Jack Osiecki has 45 stops (27 assists), along with five sacks and right behind him with 44 (33 assists) is Nate Ingalls.
Noblesville
The Millers hit the road for the third time in four weeks on Friday when they meet up with Hamilton Southeastern for the 39th time. As stated above, the Royals have a stronghold on the all-time series, winning 31 of the 38 games, nine of the 10 and more importantly, four straight.
Noblesville (3-3, 1-3 HCC) dropped their second in a row and third in its last four. Last week, the Millers fell on the road in a heartbreaker at Franklin Central in overtime, 28-27. Leading 14-7 after one with Jacob Baker and Gage Gulley scores, the Flashes tied it 14-14 at half. Logan Shoffner scored in the third, but FC came back to tie it again early in the fourth, sending it to OT at 21-21. After Franklin Central scored first on their overtime possession, Gulley scored, but the Millers failed to convert the two-point attempt, giving the host Flashes a 28-27 overtime win.
Shoffner sits at third in the county with 675 rushing yards on 74 carries, good for seven touchdowns. The senior speedster also has caught 12 for 270 yards and two scores. Gulley is eight with 387 yards on 66 runs with six scores, while Gabe Bellan is 10th and has 245 on 64 totes and has scored four times. Jacob Baker has completed 55 percent of his passes for five touchdowns and 614 yards. Austin Hastings leads the county with 67 tackles (27 solo). Corbin Hornickel helps anchor the defense with 47 tackles (4.5 for a loss).
Sheridan
The Blackhawks will stay home on Friday to face a down Delphi (2-4, 2-2 HHC) team. The Oracles started off the season 0-4, but have since won two in a row over Tri-Central and Clinton Prairie. Sheridan has an 11-4 advantage in the 15 meetings with Delphi, including 10 of the last 11. The Oracles haven’t won against the ‘Hawks since 2002.
No. 7 Sheridan (5-1, 4-0 HHC) are one of the hottest teams in Class 1A and they keep proving it from week-to-week. Last Friday was no different than the previous four, as Sheridan cruised to a road win at Taylor, 56-6. It was a comfortable road atmosphere from the kickoff, as everything went right as the Blackhawks had no issues in a rout of the Titans. Eli Kolb had 73 yards on just three carries. Nolan Page caught two passes from Owen Bell for 101 yards and a score and also ran back an interception 90 yards for another.
Kolb is sixth in the county with 560 rushing yards and 12 touchdowns. Bell has become a big bright spot at quarterback, completing 75 percent of his passes for 222 yards and four touchdowns. Trent DeCraene now has 12 receptions for 175 yards, scoring four times.
Westfield
The ‘Rocks will be another team in the county that will be on the road this week at a struggling Avon (0-6, 0-4 HCC). The Orioles played two of their better games the past two weeks, losing narrowly to Franklin Central (31-28) and at Fishers (21-13). Westfield has a tough task, as they are just 6-17 against Avon, but they have won three in a row in the series.
AP No. 7 and IFCA sixth-ranked Westfield (5-1, 3-1 HCC) had its toughest contest of the season last week in a battle of unbeatens. Brownsburg went up 21-0 through one period last week and had the Shamrocks on their heels all night on the way to a 37-7 win for the Bulldogs. Kendall Garnett highlighted the running game with 79 yards on 18 carries, while Maximus Nosler caught four passes for 73 yards and the lone ‘Rocks touchdown.
Jackson Gilbert is second in the county with 1,028 yards for 63.2 percent completed and 10 touchdowns. Garnett has carried 119 times for 556 yards and four scores. Gabe Aramboles leads the receiving corps with 332 yards on 25 catches and two TDs. Nosler is right behind with 328 yards on 22 grabs and has scored three times. Mikeah Webster leads the Shamrock D with 66 tackles (53 assists, six for a loss), while Anthony Feltrinelli has 52 (46 assists).
