by

Richie Hall

Sports Editor

Hamilton County Reporter

Mudsock football games should be memorable, and Friday’s showdown between Hamilton Southeastern and Fishers definitely will be remembered.

The Royals won a tense 14-10 game over the Tigers at Reynolds Royals Stadium in conditions that ranged from light rain to heavy rain. Southeastern trailed at halftime, but scored on a resolute third-quarter drive, then held on in the fourth period.

“I’m just happy for our kids because they work so hard,” said Royals coach Adam Morris. “We just preach to them about culture and process and work. At some point, these kids need some results, keep believing, and at HSE, this is the biggest result we can get.”

It was a thrilling game, although not a pretty one. The only score in the first quarter was a safety by Fishers, awarded when a Royals snap went into the end zone.

Southeastern got on the board at the beginning of the second quarter. A huge pass from quarterback Kody Sparks to Ben Boysen moved the ball 32 yards, to the Tigers’ 2-yard line.

Royals running back Matt Harris carried the ball into the end zone on a 1-yard run seconds later. Mitch Hebenstreit followed it with an extra point kick.

The Tigers dominated the second quarter. Starting from its own 28 with 10:54 left in the period, Fishers ground the ball into Southeastern’s red zone. Dylan Scally and HL Lewis each made several runs during the drive.

The Royals managed to stop the drive on 4th-and-1, halting the Tigers’ at the 8-yard line. But Southeastern fumbled the ball on the first play, and Fishers got the ball back at the HSE 17. Scally used a series of short runs to move the ball to the 2-yard line, and quarterback Marcus Roux took it in from there to score. Roux then made a two-point conversion run to put the Tigers up 10-7, and that would be the halftime score.

“They did a great job, they came out, they ran the football,” said Morris. “I thought they were really patient. I thought we got a little impatient, maybe try to throw it. They just kept running it and had success.”

Both teams struggled with turnovers in the first half, but HSE was able to get things together in the second half. The Royals began the third quarter with a long drive of their own, starting at the 20 and ending with a touchdown.

Harris was again the star, running the ball on all but one of the plays in that drive. The only time Harris didn’t touch the ball was on a pass from Sparks to Jackson Lantz, but that was also a big play – a 17-yard pass to get the ball to the Fishers 5-yard line.

The Royals got to the 2, then were stopped a couple times. But on 4th-and-2, Harris stepped up again, punching the ball in. Hebenstreit made the extra point kick.

Neither team scored for the remainder of the game, although Fishers threatened on the next drive, getting all the way to HSE’s 3-yard line on fourth down early in the fourth quarter. But the Royals’ defense forced a fumble and recovered the ball. Both teams traded possessions for the remainder of the game.

“We just found a way to win,” said Morris. “It’s a classic game. We easily could’ve lost this one.”

Everyone earned their yards in this game due to the conditions. Harris finished with 65 yards in 25 carries, while Lance Stephens gained 23 yards on seven rushes. As for the Tigers, Scally ran 26 times for 103 yards, with Lewis getting 43 yards on 12 carries.

“We just told our kids ‘Hey, it’s just what this game is right now,’” said Morris. “We got to go run it and win it and we did.”

The rain didn’t allow for much passing, but both quarterbacks threw the ball well. Sparks was 3-of-6 for 45 yards, while Roux went 6-of-10 for 46 yards.

The win improved Southeastern to 2-2 overall and 1-1 in Hoosier Crossroads Conference play, while the Tigers are 1-3 overall and 0-2 in the HCC. The Royals play at Westfield next Saturday, with the Tigers hosting Brownsburg.

Here are more photos from the Mudsock Game, from Kirk Green of the Hamilton County Reporter: