Heights fights for division win over Lewis Cass
Hamilton Heights got a hard-fought division win on the road Friday, as the Huskies beat Lewis Cass 27-20 in a Hoosier Conference East Division game.
The Kings led 6-0 after one quarter, although Heights did not make it easy: The Huskies made an early goal-line stand, with Cass starting on its eight-yard line, but Heights holding the Kings to just one yard.
The Huskies’ offense got going in the second quarter with two touchdowns. Trey Ehman broke the ice with a six-yard touchdown run early in the period, then Bodie Derrer scored on a 10-yard run with 3:50 left in the half. Teigan Scoles made both extra-point kicks, and Heights led 14-6 at the break.
“We were able to get things going in the second quarter,” said Huskies coach Jon Kirschner. “We put two nice drives together. Our defense did some really good stuff in the first half.”
The third quarter was uneventful until the end. Cass punched the ball in from the one-yard line with five seconds left. But on the kickoff, Heights’ Jaylyn Pugh received the ball and cruised 78 yards into the end zone. Scoles made the extra-point kick, and the Huskies held a 21-12 lead.
“We played with some real grit tonight against a quality opponent,” said Kirschner. “All three phases of our football team at some point tonight stepped up in a huge way to turn the game in our favor.”
Heights essentially put the game away when Derrer threw a 56-yard touchdown pass to Tyler Champion with 6:05 left to give the Huskies a 27-12 lead.
“It was a beautiful pass by Bodie and a great catch and finish by T.C.,” said Kirschner.
Derrer finished the game 11-of-18, totaling 142 yards.
“Bodie threw some pretty nice balls tonight,” said Kirschner. The coach noted that Derrer had time to throw, and gave credit to the offensive line, saying that the “o-line gave him that time.”
The Kings scored again on a short pass with 2:47 left, but Heights got the first downs it needed to clinch the game. Ehman helped out with some big runs; he totaled 162 yards.
“He was just dragging people tonight,” said Kirschner.
The Huskies finished 3-1 in East Division play and will take on Lafayette Central Catholic next week in the conference crossover game, playing for third place. Heights is 6-2 overall.
HAMILTON HEIGHTS 27, LEWIS CASS 20
Score by Quarters
Heights 0 14 7 6 – 27
Lewis Cass 6 0 6 8 – 20
Team Stats HH LC
First Downs 17 10
By Rush 11 7
By Pass 6 3
By Penalty 0 0
Rushes-Yards 40-177 41-175
Yards Passing 142 83
Comp-Att-Int-TD 11-18-0-1 6-17-0-1
Fumbles-Lost 3-3 1-1
Penalties-Yards 2-15 5-36
Punts-Average 2-14.5 5-33.0
Heights Scoring
Second Quarter
10:12 – Trey Ehman 6-yard run (Teigan Scoles kick)
3:50 – Bodie Derrer 10-yard run (Scoles kick)
Third Quarter
0:00 – Jaylyn Pugh 78-yard kickoff return (Scoles kick)
Fourth Quarter
6:05 – Tyler Champion 56-yard pass from Derrer (kick failed)
Heights individual stats
Rushing: Ehman 29-162, Derrer 6-10, Owen VanHaaren 3-4, Eric Balcom 2-1.
Passing: Derrer 11-18-142.
Receiving: Champion 5-95, Cooper Vondersaar 3-16, Pugh 2-21, Evan Tilton 1-10.