By RICHIE HALL
ARCADIA – Hamilton Heights was dealt a tough Homecoming loss Friday night, dropping a Hoosier Conference East Division game to Western 35-14.
The Panthers came into the game with a deceiving 1-3 record, as they had played several tough teams leading up to their date with the Huskies. Western also has an outstanding runner in Mitchell Knepley, who got his team on the board just two minutes into the game with a two-yard touchdown run.
Knepley would go on to score all five of the Panthers’ touchdowns, getting his fifth on a 47-yard run in the third quarter.
“We felt very good about the week of practice we had,” said Heights coach Jon Kirschner. “We felt good about our game plan going in. We had an amazing week of practice. Bottom line is, they outplayed us. That’s the deal. They outplayed us and we’ve got to get back to work. We got to get back in the film room tomorrow morning, figure out where things went wrong and fix it.”
The Huskies scored both of their touchdowns in the fourth quarter, doing so both times on fourth down. Heights had made its way to the Panthers’ 1-yard line at the end of the first quarter, and started the second period by going for it. Trey Ehman had no trouble punching the ball in to score, and Teigan Scoles followed that with an extra-point kick.
Knepley put in two more touchdowns in the second quarter to gave Western a 28-7 lead. The Huskies cut into that advantage with a frantic fourth-down conversion. Heights had first and goal at the Panthers 8, then Bodie Derrer ran to the 2-yard line. He was pushed back to the 12 on second down, but made up the distance on third down, giving the Huskies fourth-and-2 with seconds left.
Derrer quickly lined everyone up, found Tyler Champion on the right side of the field. Champion caught the pass and strolled into the end zone. Scoles made the extra-point kick. It was 28-14 at halftime, but Western would not allow Heights to get any closer.
“We had signs of really good stuff, but we just could not get any consistency, and with the effort level that they were playing at, we struggled at times,” said Kirschner.
Derrer finished the game 17-of-29, totaling 178 yards. Champion had six receptions, while Cooper Vondersaar made three catches. Ehman led the rushing with 69 yards.
Heights is 1-1 in the division and 3-2 overall. The Huskies go on the road next week to take on Twin Lakes.
WESTERN 35, HAMILTON HEIGHTS 14
Score by Quarters
Western 14 14 7 0 – 35
Heights 0 14 0 0 – 14
Team Stats WE HH
First Downs 18 14
By Rush 16 6
By Pass 1 8
By Penalty 1 0
Rushes-Yards 48-377 24-70
Yards Passing 41 178
Comp-Att-Int-TD 1-2-0-0 17-29-0-1
Fumbles-Lost 1-0 0-0
Penalties-Yards 1-10 2-20
Punts-Average 0-0.0 3-38.0
Heights Scoring
Second Quarter
11:55 – Trey Ehman 1-yard run (Teigan Scoles kick)
0:04 – Tyler Champion 2-yard pass from Bodie Derrer (Scoles kick)
Heights individual stats
Rushing: Ehman 12-69, Owen VanHaaren 2-17, Eric Balcom 1-3, Derrer 9-minus 19.
Passing: Derrer 17-29-178.
Receiving: Champion 6-85, Cooper Vondersaar 3-31, Jaylyn Pugh 2-16, Kaleb Murry 2-13, Keaton Weaver 2-13, Evan Tilton 1-18, VanHaaren 1-2.