Hamilton Heights had one of its best Homecomings in recent years Friday night, as the Huskies cruised past visiting Northwestern 42-7 in their Hoosier Conference East Division opener.
With the win, Heights improved to 3-1 overall, its best start since the 2016 season, “and it feels pretty good,” said Huskies coach Jon Kirschner.
Kirschner credited his team with overcoming any mistakes it may have made during the game, leading to the convincing win.
“We all make mistakes, we got to be able to rise from those mistakes,” said Kirschner. “And in a lot of facets in the game tonight, when it mattered the most, we were able to overcome those mistakes, whether it be defense, getting a big turnover.”
Heights trailed 7-0 after the first quarter, but didn’t allow the Tigers to score again. Meanwhile, the Huskies poured in 21 points in the second period. Chance Yeager started things off with a five-yard touchdown run, then Gavin Bramel caught a pair of touchdown throws from Guy Griffey. All that led to a 21-7 halftime lead for Heights.
Yeager struck again in the third quarter, punching the ball in from the two-yard line. In the fourth quarter, Bramel and Griffey connected for another touchdown pass play, then Owen VanHaaren streaked 52 yards to complete the Huskies’ scoring. Jonathan Glenn made all six extra-point kicks.
“Kudos to Northwestern,” said Kirschner. “He’s got his kids playing hard. They’re well-coached. They’re going to be good down the road. At the end of the day with us, we’ve got to improve on silly mistakes. But again, I’m not going to take anything away from a 42-7 victory on Homecoming. It’s conference victory No. 1.”
Griffey had an outstanding game, going 15-of-21 for 236 yards and the three touchdowns. Bramel totaled seven catches for 121 yards. Trey Ehman led the rushing with 73 yards, while VanHaaren totaled 59 yards.
Heights goes back on the road next week to continue division action, playing at Western next Friday.
HAMILTON HEIGHTS 42, NORTHWESTERN 7
Score by Quarters
Northwestern 7 0 0 0 – 7
Heights 0 21 7 14 – 42
Team Stats NW HH
First Downs 14 14
By Rush 5 5
By Pass 9 9
By Penalty 0 0
Rushes-Yards 35-67 31-186
Yards Passing 206 234
Comp-Att-Int-TD 12-18-1-0 15-21-2-3
Fumbles-Lost 2-2 0-0
Penalties-Yards 7-50 2-20
Punts-Average 2-15.5 1-33.0
Heights Scoring
Second Quarter
10:30 – Chance Yeager 5-yard run (Jonathan Glenn kick)
4:29 – Gavin Bramel 28-yard pass from Guy Griffey (Glenn kick)
0:29 – Bramel 10-yard pass from Griffey (Glenn kick)
Third Quarter
5:45 – Yeager 2-yard run (Glenn kick)
Fourth Quarter
8:07 – Bramel 4-yard pass from Griffey (Glenn kick)
0:33 – Owen VanHaaren 52-yard run (Glenn kick)
Heights individual stats
Rushing: Trey Ehman 13-73, VanHaaren 2-59, Yeager 13-50, Griffey 3-4.
Passing: Griffey 15-21-236.
Receiving: Bramel 7-121, Isaac Tuma 2-25, Ehman 2-22, Vincent Harley 2-21, Harrison Hochstedler 1-39, Jaylyn Pugh 1-6.