Westfield took a big step in the Hoosier Crossroads Conference race on Friday, beating Hamilton Southeastern 34-14 in a battle of ranked HCC teams at the Royals’ TCU Field.
The Class 6A No. 2 Shamrocks scored first, with Jackson Wasserstrom catching a 58-yard pass from Maximus Webster for a touchdown just over two minutes into the first quarter. But 6A No. 7 Southeastern finished the period with a flourish, finding the end zone twice on rushing plays. Louden Sundling punched the ball in from the one with 3:39 left, then Sam Jacobs took off on a 26-yard scoring run at the end of the quarter.
The ‘Rocks took the lead back in the second period with two touchdowns. Micah Hauser barreled in from the one to tie the game, then Dillon Theineman recovered a blocked punt in the end zone to move Westfield ahead 21-14. Shamrocks coach Jake Gilbert said that was “the biggest play of the game.”
Gilbert said after the Royals scored their touchdowns, his defense adjusted and played stronger in the second half.
“We were able to get the lead and force them to throw,” said Gilbert. “They have a great rushing attack, so it helped that we had a lead and dictated to them a little bit.”
Hauser put in two more touchdowns in the second half on short runs, jogging in from the three in the third quarter and from seven yards out in the fourth.
“Micah was his usual self,” said Gilbert. “Had a few big-time runs that moved the chains, made a ton of tackles.”
Blaine Wertz scored for HSE with under two minutes in the fourth quarter, catching a 16-yard pass.
“We were moving the ball effectively and efficiently,” said Royals coach Michael Kelly. “I think we had over 200 yards rushing. Against their defense, that’s pretty good. We had some negative plays that created too many challenges to overcome.”
The Royals totaled 209 yards rushing; Wertz led that category with 60 yards.
Caleb King made four extra-point kicks for Westfield, while the Royals’ Alex Geroulis made all three of his attempts.
Wasserstrom made six catches, totaling 126 yards. Gabe Aramboles had three receptions. Webster finished the game 13-of-17, totaling 212 yards. Hauser finished as the leading rusher with 78 yards.
“Jackson Wasserstrom was amazing,” said Gilbert. “He made a few tremendous catches.”
“Maximus was excellent,” said Gilbert. “Gabe Aramboles played a great game. The O-line held up against a really good defense, which was big.”
Jacobs went 7-of-13 for Southeastern, finishing with 94 yards.
“They’re a great football team,” said Kelly. “They’re physical offensively and defensively. The challenge for us was, they were able to come up with some big third-down conversions. We couldn’t get off the field.”
Westfield is now 3-0 in the conference and tied with Brownsburg for first place. The two teams will meet next Friday at the Shamrocks’ Riverview Health Stadium. Westfield is 4-1 overall.
“We got a really tough one next week, but we had to win this one first,” said Gilbert.
Southeastern is 2-1 in HCC play and 4-1 overall. The Royals play at Zionsville next Friday.
WESTFIELD 34, HAMILTON SOUTHEASTERN 21
Score by Quarters
Westfield 7 14 7 6 – 34
Southeastern 14 0 0 7 – 21
Team Stats WHS HSE
First Downs 20 23
By Rush 10 15
By Pass 10 6
By Penalty 0 2
Rushes-Yards 32-129 45-209
Yards Passing 212 124
Comp-Att-Int-TD 13-17-0-1 12-23-1-1
Fumbles-Lost 0-0 0-0
Penalties-Yards 10-68 5-41
Punts-Average 3-33.3 4-31.5
Scoring
First Quarter
WHS, 9:48 – Jackson Wasserstrom 58-yard pass from Maximus Webster (Caleb King kick)
HSE, 3:39 – Louden Sundling 1-yard run (Alex Geroulis kick)
HSE, 0:00 – Sam Jacobs 26-yard run (Geroulis kick)
Second Quarter
WHS, 6:33 – Micah Hauser 1-yard run (King kick)
WHS, 4:32 – Dillon Thieneman blocked punt recovery in end zone (King kick)
Third Quarter
WHS, 9:37 – Hauser 3-yard run (King kick)
Fourth Quarter
WHS, 5:33 – Hauser 7-yard run (kick failed)
HSE, 1:58 – Blaine Wertz 16-yard pass from Jacobs (Geroulis kick)
Westfield individual stats
Rushing: Hauser 17-78, Trevon Hatchett 6-27, Webster 4-14, Gabe Aramboles 2-7, Ja’Veyon Averitte 3-3.
Passing: Webster 13-17-212.
Receiving: Wasserstrom 6-126, Aramboles 3-35, Nic Depasquale 1-23, Hatchett 1-18, Ian Bruch 1-7, Hauser 1-3.
Southeastern individual stats
Rushing: Wertz 18-60, Jacobs 6-55, Ty Bradle 11-55, Owen Jones 8-36, Sundling 2-3.
Passing: Jacobs 7-13-94, Bradle 5-10-30.
Receiving: Clayton Wilke 4-19, Will Gerig 3-23, Wertz 2-17, Blake Ruhnow 1-43, Donovan Hamilton 1-12, Dylan Conner 1-10.