Hamilton Heights football coach Jon Kirschner said that his team’s motto is “Husky Grit.”
“Even on kickoff, we yell ‘Husky grit,'” said the coach. “Our guy says ‘Husky’ and then everybody else yells ‘Grit.'”
That show of grit combined with a few other intangibles on Friday night, such as poise and discipline. All of it came together for the Huskies in a 21-20 win over Twin Lakes in Heights’ Senior Night game. It was also the seventh-place game in the Hoosier Conference playoffs.
Heights is a team that has never stopped fighting despite being about as banged up as a football team can be. Kirschner said of the 57 players on the roster, the Huskies average “maybe 37 in pads each day.” But Heights kept fighting, and got a well-deserved win out of it.
“We’re not the biggest, baddest dudes,” said Kirschner. “Don’t have to be. When we show poise and we’re disciplined with what we do when time is needed, we’re victorious. And that’s what we did tonight. Did we make mistakes? Sure we did. That’s life. At the end of the day, we stepped up, defense, offense, special teams stepped up when it was needed the most.”
Heights trailed 14-0 with 7:44 left in the second quarter, but roared back to tie the game in a span of 100 seconds. Tad Defoe made a 53-yard run to the end zone to get the Huskies on the board, then Isiah Campbell ran in from 25 yards a little over a minute later. Michael Lecher made both extra point kicks.
The Indians got back in front late in the third by punching the ball in from the 1-yard line. But a two-point conversion attempt failed, giving Heights an opening.
The Huskies found it in the first play of the fourth quarter. Kaleb Schakel ran the ball in from the 8-yard line to tie the game at 20-20. Then Lecher stepped up and made his third extra point kick of the night. Heights had the lead by one point.
Twin Lakes got the ball close to the end zone with around five minutes left in the fourth quarter, but the Huskies’ defense made big stops, culminating with senior Austin Stepp grabbing an interception. After that, Heights kept the ball on the ground, making solid runs and working the clock in a judicious manner until it finally hit zero.
Schakel finished the game with 102 yards rushing, with Campbell gaining 60 yards. Quarterback Isaac Wilson was 3-of-11 passing, with Camron Knott catching two of those passes.
The Huskies finished the regular season 2-7. Next up is a trip to North Montgomery next Friday for the first round of play in Class 3A Sectional 26.
Hamilton Heights students braved the cold and the rain, and gotten something to cheer about when the Huskies beat Twin Lakes 21-20 on Friday in their Senior Night game. (Richie Hall)