Hamilton Southeastern coach Michael Kelly kept it simple when he explained the difference in the Class 6A No. 6 Royals’ win over Franklin Central on Friday: It all came down to turnovers.
Southeastern forced four turnovers by the Flashes, and the Royals didn’t turn the ball over at all. Southeastern’s offense then got going in the fourth quarter, with the Royals eventually winning the Hoosier Crossroads Conference game 35-7.
It was a solid win for HSE against an improved Franklin Central team that had come into TCU Field on a three-game win streak. Kelly called the Flashes “a very good team.”
“We held their running down a little bit, which was nice to see,” said Kelly. Southeastern held FC to 52 yards rushing.
The Royals led 13-7 at halftime, with Blaine Wertz scoring two second-quarter touchdowns. Wertz’s initial score was on a two-yard run early in the period, and the senior then streaked in from 14 yards with under a minute left in the half.
Southeastern poured in 22 points in the fourth quarter. Wertz struck again just four seconds into the period, scoring on a five-yard run. Ian Bucher caught a two-point conversion pass from Sam Jacobs, putting the Royals ahead 21-7.
Wertz added one more touchdown on a three-yard run a couple minutes later. Jacobs completed the scoring with 8:21 left with a four-yard run. Alex Geroulis kicked four extra-point kicks.
Kelly said the HSE defense “really made it easy for us” during the game.
“Had a couple turnovers, had a punt block in the first half that gave us some really short fields,” he said.
“So we can thank them for three of the scores tonight,” said Kelly.
Jacobs finished the game 9-of-20 for 154 yards, while Wertz’s 95 yards led the rushing.
The Royals are 5-1 in HCC play and 7-1 overall. Southeastern finishes the regular and conference seasons next week at Brownsburg.
HAMILTON SOUTHEASTERN 35, FRANKLIN CENTRAL 7
Score by Quarters
Franklin Central 0 7 0 0 – 7
Southeastern 0 13 0 22 – 35
Team Stats FC HSE
First Downs 13 16
By Rush 5 8
By Pass 6 8
By Penalty 2 0
Rushes-Yards 37-52 39-177
Yards Passing 126 188
Comp-Att-Int-TD 9-18-3-0 10-22-0-0
Fumbles-Lost 1-0 0-0
Penalties-Yards 3-23 6-50
Punts-Average 7-31.1 4-40.5
Southeastern Scoring
Second Quarter
9:23 – Blaine Wertz 2-yard run (Alex Geroulis kick)
0:46 – Wertz 14-yard run (kick failed)
Fourth Quarter
11:56 – Wertz 5-yard run (Ian Bucher pass from Sam Jacobs)
9:22 – Wertz 3-yard run (Geroulis kick)
8:21 – Jacobs 4-yard run (Geroulis kick)
Southeastern individual stats
Rushing: Wertz 19-95, Jacobs 7-59, Owen Jones 11-20, Jalen Alexander 1-4, team 1-minus 1.
Passing: Jacobs 9-20-154, Bradle 1-2-34.
Receiving: Will Gerig 4-40, Donovan Hamilton 3-75, Clayton Wilke 1-43, Charlie Irish 1-19, Wertz 1-11.