Royals knock off No. 1 Bulldogs

The REPORTER

In the span of 13 seconds, Hamilton Southeastern’s Mason Alexander flipped the script.

The Royals were trying to hold off a furious comeback by Class 6A No. 1 Brownsburg in the fourth quarter Friday night. Southeastern led the Bulldogs 20-0 at halftime, but Brownsburg blasted back to tie the game at 23-23 with 6:02 left in the game.

That’s when Alexander stepped up. He caught the Bulldogs’ kickoff and began running, and running, and running some more until he had run 93 yards into the end zone. That put Southeastern back in the lead, and the Royals would stay ahead until the end of the game, which HSE won 30-23.

“He had a nice play,” said Royals coach Michael Kelly. “He did a nice job. Guys did their job.”

It was a remarkable victory for Southeastern, who upended Brownsburg’s quest for an unbeaten record in the final week of the regular season.

“They were ecstatic,” Kelly said of his team. “It’s not every day you get a chance to play the No. 1 team in the state. Our season’s been ebbs and flows and they found a way to get it done.”

The Royals quickly got out to a 10-0 lead. Hugo Belmonte kicked a 25-yard field goal for HSE’s first points. Southeastern recovered a fumble on the kickoff return, and Carter Reed cashed that in immediately, scoring on a 10-yard run. Belmonte’s kick put the Royals up 10-0.

Reed began the second quarter by punching the ball in from the one-yard line. Belmonte made that extra-point kick, then finished the half with a last-second field goal. Southeastern enjoyed a 20-0 lead at halftime.

Brownsburg got on the board with a 39-yard TD pass midway through the third quarter. Belmonte later nailed a third field goal, this one from 31 yards, keeping the Royals up 23-7 going into the fourth period.

The Bulldogs quickly scored two touchdowns and made successful two-point conversions after each TD, tying the game at 23-23.

But after Alexander’s game-changing kickoff return touchdown, there would only be one more point scored: Belmonte made his third extra point of the night. Southeastern’s defense stepped up one more time as Kian Kelly intercepted the ball with three and a half minutes left. The Royals stayed on the ground after that, making two more first downs to clinch the game.

“I thought they played hard,” said Kelly. “They got after it and I was pleased with their effort for sure.”

Weston finished the game 13-of-21 for 141 yards, with Liam Boyd making six catches.

Southeastern finished HCC play 4-3 and is 6-3 overall. The Royals have next week off, then start play in Class 6A Sectional 4 with a semifinal trip to Homestead.