By RICHARD TORRES
For The Reporter
ARCADIA – Two words were echoed as the Class 3A fifth-ranked Hamilton Heights Huskies broke their final huddle to head to the locker room Friday night, and coach Jon Kirschner used them both repeatedly.
The first was pride. The second didn’t trail far behind.
“They had fun. They had a blast. They loved football. I know it’s always fun when you’re winning, but it was that way last year, too, for these seniors. They were that way as sophomores. It’s been a mentality with them to have fun,” Kirschner said. “That’s why we are where we are, and they’ve trusted the process.”
Where the Huskies (11-1) finished the 2023 season was in the sectional title game against defending 3A state champion Bishop Chatard, a destination Hamilton Heights hadn’t reached since 2014.
A prolific 11-0 entering the sectional final, the Huskies posted their longest winning streak since the 2012 team won 13 straight. Their 11-0 run marked the best start without a loss since the 2010 program went 12-0 before losing to Chatard in the regional final.
History, it seemed, would repeat despite a stout defensive effort by the Huskies, as top-ranked Bishop Chatard advanced, 28-8, to secure its second consecutive sectional title and 31st overall.
While the host Huskies’ bid at perfection closed along with their pursuit of the program’s first sectional championship since 2012, coach Kirschner’s showed their grit.
“I’m beyond proud. This group has stuck together, these 19 seniors. They followed the process for four years to be able to put themselves in position to win tonight,” Kirschner said.
In the first quarter, the Huskies won the battle initially, forcing the Trojans (12-0) to punt on their first possession to open the game.
Hamilton Heights’ defense, which ranked ninth in the state with 10.08 points allowed per game, forced a turnover on downs on Bishop Chatard’s ensuing possession on fourth-and-10 from the Huskies’ 23-yard line.
However, the Trojans regrouped and scored twice before halftime and twice more in the third quarter to take a commanding 28-0 lead before the Huskies could respond offensively.
“We executed our defensive game plan. We were able to do some things that would dictate where we wanted them to be offensively to play into our hands. Their defense is very good. They’re a talented football team, so offensively, we just couldn’t get much going,” Kirschner said. “But defensively for a while, we hung with them.”
The Trojans rushed for 228 yards on 42 carries and three touchdowns, including a pair by Daniel Shaw. Daniel Adams added the third rushing score, while quarterback Aidan Arteaga completed 11 of 26 passes for 156 yards and a touchdown.
Arteaga’s touchdown screen pass to running back Riley Kinnett gave Chatard a 7-0 lead late in the first quarter and kicked off the Trojans’ wave of 28-unanswered points. Arteaga completed 11 of 26 passes for 156 yards to nine different targets.
The Huskies defense stymied the Trojans’ offense into three punts and six turnovers on downs, but in response Chatard’s seventh-ranked defensive unit (8.75 ppg allowed) forced seven punts and four turnovers.
Hamilton Heights turned the ball over on fourth-and-1 during their first offensive series at Chatard’s 26. A forced fumble and sack by Chatard’s Matthew Woods on a first-and-10 at the Huskies’ 43 halted Hamilton Heights fifth drive.
Two second-half interceptions off of senior quarterback Bodie Derrer didn’t lead to Chatard points, but it kept the Huskies from generating any momentum until the final 7 minutes of the fourth quarter.
Hamilton Heights was averaging 32.2 points scored per game. Against Chatard, the Huskies’ running game netted negative yardage and Derrer was capped at 121 yards on 14 of 33 completions.
Derrer broke the Trojans’ shutout attempt in the fourth quarter with a chuck yardage completion for 37 yards to Cam Fleming on first down to open their scoring drive from Chatard’s 40.
Two plays later, Derrer rushed into the end zone for a 3-yard touchdown, and Eric Balcom converted a two-point run with 6:11 remaining.
Prior to the score, the Trojans tried to initiate a mercy-rule running clock, but they failed three consecutive possessions, including two turnovers on downs in Hamilton Heights’ red zone.
“Obviously, it didn’t turn out the way we wanted, but we fought to the bitter end. I am very proud of how we stayed fighting,” Kirschner said. “Some teams might have rolled over, and they won’t. That’s not who they are, and that showed.”
The Huskies were playing shorthanded with leading wide receiver junior Tyler Champion (645 yards, seven TDs), senior defensive back Eli Millsaps, junior defensive end Michael Cain and senior defensive lineman Kendall Flanders out.
The finale, however, does nothing to tarnish the strides taken by the Huskies, which were 8-3 last season, 6-4 in 2021 and posted no more than nine wins since 2014 until now.
“I could go down the list. Five consecutive games with shutouts, a school record. Tied the school record for most shutouts in a season. First time we’ve been in a sectional championship in nine years,” Kirschner said. “We hadn’t scored a special team’s touchdown in six or seven years, and we scored five this year. It was this group.
“In a nutshell, I couldn’t be happier for what we’ve done. They put us on the map.”
BISHOP CHATARD 28, HAMILTON HEIGHTS 8
Score by Quarters
Bishop Chatard 7 7 14 0 – 28
Hamilton Heights 0 0 0 8 – 8
Team stats BC HH
First Downs 15 8
By Rush 7 1
By Pass 8 5
By Penalty 0 2
Rushes-Yards 44-172 20-minus 3
Passing Yards 188 120
Comp-Att-Int-TD 14-38-0-0 13-34-2-0
Fumbles-Lost 0-0 2-1
Penalties-Yards 5-35 6-50
Punts-Average 3-26.0 8-44.1
Heights Scoring
6:11 – Bodie Derrer 3-yard run (Eric Balcom run)
Heights individual stats
Rushing: VanHaaren 10-23, Balcom 5-minus 2, Derrer 5-minus 25.
Passing: Derrer 13-34-120.
Receiving: Cam Fleming 6-80, Dre Chandler 3-18, Jaylyn Pugh 2-10, Conor Baumann 1-8, VanHaaren 1-4.