This week’s Sheridan victory wasn’t nearly as dramatic as last week’s Sheridan victory.
But it was an exciting game for Blackhawks fans as they celebrated Homecoming. Sheridan put on a show, winning a shootout with Clinton Prairie 47-38 at Bud Wright Stadium. The win keeps the Class 1A No. 10 Blackhawks unbeaten in the Hoosier Heartland Conference at 4-0, and puts Sheridan at 4-1 overall.
The ‘Hawks led 14-13 after the first quarter, with Cameron Hovey and Silas DeVaney both scoring touchdowns. The difference turned out to be the second period, where Sheridan scored again on a two-yard run by Hovey, while shutting out the Gophers in the quarter. Sheridan thus led 20-13 at halftime.
“We actually just sit and talked,” said Wright about what happened in the Blackhawks’ locker room during the break. “Some of them were out with the Homecoming stuff, and we just sit and talked. We told them what we got to do to win it. We had to get a little bit more aggressive, a little bit more physical.”
Hovey definitely got aggressive in the third quarter, as he scored two more touchdowns on long runs. That kept Sheridan ahead 33-26 at the end of the period. Hovey then got two more scores in the fourth quarter, giving him a total of six touchdowns on the night. After the first TD of the period, Silas DeVaney found Keenan Warren for a two-point conversion pass.
Hovey finished the game with 344 yards rushing on 53 carries. He also kicked three extra points.
“We prepared hard, played hard and it paid off,” said Hovey. “We knew it wasn’t going to be an easy win.”
DeVaney made 4 of 5 passes for 87 yards. Gavin Renners led the receptions with three.
Sheridan remains on top of the HHC standings at 4-0. The Blackhawks’ win removed Prairie from the unbeaten ranks, leaving only Sheridan and Eastern (3-0) as the conference’s unbeaten teams. The ‘Hawks continue HHC play next week with a trip to Taylor.
SHERIDAN 47, CLINTON PRAIRIE 38
Score by Quarters
Prairie 13 0 13 12 – 38
Sheridan 14 6 13 14 – 47
Team Stats CP SHS
First Downs 18 24
By Rush 7 19
By Pass 8 4
By Penalty 3 1
Rushes-Yards 25-240 75-420
Yards Passing 175 114
Comp-Att-Int-TD 11-18-1-1 5-6-0-0
Fumbles 3-1 1-0
Penalties-Yards 6-30 9-85
Punts-Average 0-0.0 2-34.0
Sheridan Scoring
First Quarter
9:28 – Cameron Hovey 13-yard run (Hovey kick)
2:23 – Silas DeVaney 8-yard run (Hovey kick)
Second Quarter
3:28 – Hovey 2-yard run (kick failed)
Third Quarter
7:44 – Hovey 31-yard run (Hovey kick)
6:05 – Hovey 54-yard run (kick failed)
Fourth Quarter
8:17 – Hovey 1-yard run (Keenan Warren pass from DeVaney)
2:17 – Hovey 9-yard run (kick failed)
Sheridan individual stats
Rushing: Hovey 53-344, DeVaney 15-50, Evan Bourdon 6-26, Noah Ehrie 1-0.
Passing: DeVaney 4-5-87, Hovey 1-1-27.
Receiving: Gavin Reners 3-57, Warren 1-32, Christian Clausen 1-25.
Sheridan’s Cameron Hovey scored six touchdowns in the Blackhawks’ Homecoming win over Clinton Prairie. (Kirk Green)