The REPORTER
Hamilton Southeastern sprinted to the finish line in its Hoosier Crossroads Conference game with Franklin Central on Friday.
The Class 6A No. 5 Royals beat Franklin Central 19-3. It was slow going for the first three quarters, as neither team could get into the end zone. But Southeastern stepped it up in the fourth period, grabbing two touchdowns and setting itself up for a big date with Brownsburg next week.
Hugo Belmonte provided the Royals’ points during the first half. He made last-minute field goals in both the first and second quarters; the first one from 28 yards and the second from 32 yards. The Flashes made a field goal in between, so Southeastern went into halftime with a 6-3 lead.
The Royals finally broke through early in the fourth quarter, when Chandler Weston made an eight-yard run into the end zone. The defense then pushed Franklin Central back 12 yards on a fourth-and-7 play, giving HSE the ball in excellent field position.
The Royals needed only two plays, with Jalen Alexander rushing in for a 10-yard touchdown to finish the job. Belmonte made the extra-point kick. Southeastern’s defense also stepped up, as Braden Myers made an interception late in the quarter to ice the game for HSE.
Southeastern’s Braden Myers (9) made a fourth-quarter interception to help ice the game for the Royals. At right for HSE is Jack Osiecki. (Julie Brown)
Alexander totaled 116 yards rushing to lead Southeastern.
The Royals are 5-1 in the conference and 7-1 overall. Southeastern travels to Brownsburg next week for a game with the unbeaten Bulldogs.
HAMILTON SOUTHEASTERN 19, FRANKLIN CENTRAL 3
Score by Quarters
Franklin Central 0 3 0 0 – 3
Southeastern 3 3 0 13 – 19
Team stats FC HSE
First Downs 9 12
Rushes-Yards 25-35 44-189
Passing Yards 149 29
Comp-Att-Int-TD 14-32-1-0 5-15-1-0
Fumbles-Lost 2-2 0-0
Penalties-Yards 2-10 0-0
Punts-Average 6-31.0 7-37.0
Southeastern Scoring
First Quarter
0:07 – Hugo Belmonte 28-yard field goal
Second Quarter
0:18 – Belmonte 32-yard field goal
Fourth Quarter
9:33 – Chandler Weston 8-yard run (pass failed)
7:37 – Jalen Alexander 10-yard run (Belmonte kick)
Southeastern individual stats
Rushing: Jalen Alexander 24-116, Weston 8-39, AZ Wallace 12-34.
Passing: Weston 5-15-29.
Receiving: Donovan Hamilton 2-12, Liam Boyd 1-10, Kameron Anthony 1-8, Silas Newton 1-minus 1.