by
Craig Adkins
Hamilton County Reporter
In the 2019 meeting of Hoosier Crossroads Conference rivals Noblesville and Hamilton Southeastern, it became a game where holding onto the football for lengthy periods of time was going to pave the way to victory. That’s exactly what happened on Friday night
as the host Royals took down the Noblesville Millers 35-7.
The Royals got off to a great start and never looked back, easing their way to another HCC win on what was a “Pink Out” in support of breast cancer awareness night.
On an opening drive of 62 yards that took nine plays and 3:40 off the first quarter clock, Blaine Wertz made his way to the end zone from 22-yards out for an early 7-0 HSE lead.
The Millers were forced to punt after four plays on their first drive and that allowed HSE to get back at it offensively.
This time they marched 80 yards in 4:44, capping the 10-play drive off with a six-yard touchdown pass from Andrew Hobson to Tony Myers and just like that, the Royals were out to a two-score 14-0 advantage late in the first.
“Even when we have had our struggles, I’ve always felt like offensively the capability and potential was there,” said Hamilton Southeastern head coach Adam Morris about his offense after Friday night’s win over Noblesville.
“Our coaches on that side of the ball are unbelievable. We have some really good pieces on the perimeter. Up front on the offensive line, I think you’re just seeing them gel each week and get better each week,” said Morris, continuing to compliment his offense and his coaching staff.
The Royals’ third series got all the way down to the Miller 15, but resulted in a 32-yard field goal attempt by placekicker Alex Geroulis just wide of the left upright.
Noblesville punted back to HSE once again and two plays later, Aidan Richardson intercepted a Hobson pass to the Royals’ 37.
The Millers couldn’t even get a drive started, as tailback Shawn Kinslow fumbled and the ball was recovered by defensive tackle Evan Lantz.
This gave Southeastern the ball at its own 31, and the Royals had one thing in mind and that was to score before halftime.
It didn’t take them long and the drive really accelerated when the Royals faced adversity heading to the final minute.
With 49.9 seconds until halftime, it was 4th and 15 at the Miller 37. Hobson threaded a pass down the home sideline for a 31-yard completion to DeAndre Rhodes, who kept both toes inbounds, completing a spectacular catch.
“I think the play right before the half was the most important one of the game,” added Morris on Rhodes’ tight-wire sideline grab.
“Completing that ball down here, getting some more points on the board before halftime really changed the game,” stated Morris on how that fourth down conversion changed the game completely.
John McCall came in a punched it in from three yards away to give Southeastern a 21-0 halftime cushion.
“They did a good job. They speed it up in certain situations and play the tempo of that a little bit. There were third downs where we just couldn’t get off of the field,” said Noblesville head coach Justin Roden on the HSE offense’s ability to control the tempo and simply wear down his defense.
Noblesville would fumble again just a few plays into their first series of the second half. Elijah Butler put the ball on the turf and Evan Lantz pounced on it for the second time of the night.
The Royals wasted no time at all on the following drive and they didn’t need a whole lot of room, starting from the Noblesville 39. Hobson would toss his second touchdown pass on the night, this time to Rhodes for a 15-yard end zone grab, pushing it to a four-score game at 28-0.
Late in the third, McCall would plunge in for a two-yard rushing touchdown that would make it a 35-0 count with 4:01 left in the quarter.
At this point, according to new IHSAA rules, the remainder of the game would involve a running clock, because a particular team leads by 35-plus points.
This would be the point where the game was out of reach for a Noblesville
comeback.
The Millers would substitute Alex Zavac back in at quarterback for the rest of the game. He would complete two of his four pass attempts, including one for 42-yards up the visiting sideline to Jayden Barrett that accounted for the lone Miller score on the night, making the final score a 35-7 win for Hamilton Southeastern.
“We’ve got to go back and improve our response to things,” stated Roden on his team’s reaction to situations that frustrated the Millers.
“That’s what young and inexperienced teams do when they get put in a corner, they don’t respond like champions do. Champions find a way to overcome that adversity. That’s a really good football team,” Roden continued on how Noblesville needs to find ways to bounce back in the coming weeks.
The Millers will have to figure themselves out quick, as Noblesville (1-6, 1-4 HCC) hosts Brownsburg (5-2, 4-1) next week for Senior Night. The Bulldogs cruised 54-14 over Zionsville at home last night.
Jayden Barrett led the Millers on the ground with 50 yards on 10 rushes and he also caught one pass for 42-yards and a touchdown.
Hamilton Southeastern (4-3, 3-2) gets to stay home next week and host Franklin Central (3-4, 1-4) for the Royals’ Senior Night. The Flashes were blanked on Friday at Fishers, 23-0.
The Royals’ passing attack was highlighted by a 15-for-21 performance for Andrew Hobson for 227 yards and two TD passes while tossing an INT. DeAndre Rhodes caught five of those passes for 100 yards and a score, while Blaine Wertz muscled 53 yards on 17 carries and
a TD. John McCall also scored two times inside the five-yard line.
