Hamilton Heights was dealt a tough loss on Friday, as rival Tipton kicked a last-second field goal to beat the Huskies 24-21 at the Heights stadium.
The game was back and forth for the entire time. The Huskies spent most of the time in front, but the Blue Devils always would eventually answer.
“I thought they played very hard, physical football,” said Heights coach Jon Kirschner of his team. “We just came up short in the end. Tipton made some big plays. We knew going into it, it was going to be a war.”
The Huskies scored first, with Gavin Bramel catching a 45-yard touchdown pass from Guy Griffey less than two minutes into the game. After Michael Lecher’s extra-point kick, Heights held a 7-0 lead until the second quarter, when Sam Edwards and Drew Pearce combined for the first of their three touchdown passes for Tipton.
The Blue Devils scored at the 5:49 mark of the period. A minute later, Heights had the lead back, when Nate Hulen punched the ball in from the one-yard line. Lecher’s kick put the Huskies up 14-7, and that would be the halftime lead.
The third quarter was a rerun of the second: Edwards and Pearce scored on another pass play touchdown, Hulen answered for Heights with a short run. The Huskies led 21-14 after three.
Pearce caught a 67-yard pass from Edwards with 7:09 left to tie the game, and the score would be 21-all until Cole Jackson kicked a 25-yard field goal with two seconds left. That would be enough for Tipton to get the win.
Vincent Harley stepped in to the quarterback role for Heights later in the game and went 7-of-9 for 78 yards. Isaac Tuma had the most catches with three. Troy Ehman led the Huskies’ rushing with 32 yards.
“Unfortunately, a tight game didn’t go our way tonight,” said Kirschner. “Proud of how our kids played tonight.”
The loss brought Heights’ three-game win streak to an end and also pushed them back to a tie for second in the Hoosier Conference East Division with Western; both schools are 2-1 in division play. Tipton now leads the East with a 3-0 record.
The Huskies are 3-4 overall. Heights finishes division play at Lewis Cass next week.
TIPTON 24, HAMILTON HEIGHTS 21
Score by Quarters
Tipton 0 7 7 10 – 24
Heights 7 7 7 0 – 21
Team Stats TIP HH
First Downs 8 6
By Rush 4 4
By Pass 4 2
By Penalty 0 0
Rushes-Yards 31-123 31-68
Yards Passing 141 123
Comp-Att-Int-TD 12-18-0-3 8-14-2-1
Fumbles-Lost 0-0 1-0
Penalties-Yards 4-46 5-40
Punts-Average 5-25.8 4-24.5
Heights Scoring
First Quarter
10:19 – Gavin Bramel 45-yard pass from Guy Griffey (Michael Lecher kick)
Second Quarter
4:52 – Nate Hulen 1-yard run (Lecher kick)
Third Quarter
2:25 – Hulen 5-yard run (Lecher kick)
Heights individual stats
Rushing: Troy Ehman 16-32, Hulen 9-13, Griffey 1-10, Isaac Tuma 1-8, Vincent Harley 4-5.
Passing: Harley 7-9-78, Griffey 1-5-45.
Receiving: Tuma 3-38, Bramel 2-50, Devonte Henson 2-27, Tristen Ehman 1-8.
Hamilton Heights’ Gavin Bramel (83) grabs a pass late in the game. Also pictured for the Huskies is Cooper Vondersaar (5). (Bob Cross)