Hamilton County Reporter
Hamilton Southeastern fought to the finish for a 39-28 victory at Avon Friday in the Hoosier Crossroads Conference opener for both teams.
The Royals were in the driver’s seat during the first half, at one point leading 25-0. The Orioles, as expected, made a furious comeback to take the lead in the fourth quarter. But Southeastern held firm, scoring two touchdowns to get the lead back, then its defense sealed the game by making an interception.
“They came back in the third quarter,” said HSE coach Michael Kelly. “We were able to battle back and regain the lead.”
Southeastern led 5-0 after the first quarter. Alex Geroulis got the Royals on the board with a 23-yard field goal, then Southeastern’s defense made a safety.
That was the prelude to a big second period for the Royals. John McCall punched the ball into the end zone from the one-yard line, then connected with Martice Taylor on an eight-yard pass play touchdown. Jace Alexander ran the ball in to score from the eight-yard line. Avon scored late in the second quarter, but still, HSE led 25-7 at the break.
The Orioles came blasting back in the third quarter, cutting the Royals’ lead to 25-20. Avon then took the lead, scoring a touchdown and making a two-point conversion to jump ahead 28-25 with 7:34 left.
It took Southeastern a few minutes to get the lead back, but it did. Blaine Wertz scored on an 18-yard run, and Geroulis’ kick put the Royals up 32-28. Southeastern made a defensive stop to get the ball back, and that resulted in a six-yard TD run by McCall. Avon had one more try, but Gio Ragland intercepted the ball to end the game.
Kelly said he was “very proud” of the way his team fought, noting that some teams fold when that happens. But the Royals never gave up.
“We’re going to come back and fight, and fight we did,” said Kelly.
Wertz finished the game with 126 yards rushing, while McCall completed 9 of 15 pass attempts for 75 yards. Taylor had five receptions.
On defense, Nate Haas had eight tackles, with Jackson Constantine making six. Evan Sherrill helped out with two sacks.
Kelly also said Evan Charles “had a heck of a game.”
“I think our defense is just playing unreal defense right now,” said Kelly.
The Royals are 2-1 and will host Fishers next Friday in the Mudsock game.