by
Rich Torres
Hamilton County Reporter
RICH TORRES
FISHERS – The opportunity was there for a potential upset on Friday night.
Hamilton Southeastern built a 6-0 lead late in the first quarter and lurked around the red zone six times during the Sectional 5 semifinals against Class 6A No. 4 North Central, but the Royals struggled to capitalize, losing 41-12.
“That score is not what the football game was. I thought our kids battled,” HSE head coach Adam Morris said. “The turnovers at the end definitely killed us, but I thought we came out and started the game well.”
The Royals (3-7) opened with a chance to play spoiler against the Panthers (8-2), who were searching for their first sectional win since 2013.
A botched North Central punt that was blocked by the Royals during the first series gave HSE a first-and-10 from the Panthers’ 17. The possession ended in an interception.
North Central lost a fumble on its next offensive series at HSE’s 46, which led to an HSE punt. A second consecutive lost fumble by North Central on its own 23 supplied HSE with a touchdown drive, but the final three opportunities equated two field goals and a turnover.
“At the end of the day, we had plenty of opportunities with the ball in their territory and just didn’t come away with enough points,” Morris said.
The Panthers turned the ball over three times with two fumbles and an interception by John McCall in the third quarter. An inadvertent kneel down by North Central’s kicker on a punt attempt early in the second quarter put HSE on the Panthers’ 15, but again, the Royals came up empty.
The series ended with a turnover on downs as HSE failed to convert a fourth-and-17 from North Central’s 22 with 5:51 left in the half.
The Royals’ first of three turnover on downs kept the door open for North Central, and the Panthers awoke, outscoring HSE 21-3 through the final 30 minutes.
North Central quarterback Liam Thompson completed 18 of 31 passes for 253 yards and three touchdowns, while senior playmaker Tre’von Elliott erased HSE’s short-lived 6-0 lead.
Elliott put North Central up 7-6 with a 30-yard touchdown pitch-and-catch and widened the margin 14-6 with a 66-yard punt return for a score with 1:12 left in the first quarter.
“They’re a really good offense. That quarterback is as good as you’re going to find in Indiana,” Morris said. “I thought in the first half, we did a great job of getting off the field on third down. In the second half, they converted some crucial third downs, and that broke us.”
HSE used McCall’s first-quarter fumble recovery to go up 6-0 after an eight-play drive, spanning 23 yards capped by a 2-yard run from Matt Harris, who finished with 65 yards on 25 carries.
Mitch Hebenstreit split the uprights with a pair of field goals, measuring 23 and 27 yards to cut the deficit 14-9 and 21-12, respectively. The senior nearly sliced North Central’s lead before halftime as he narrowly missed a 44-yarder with the Panthers in front 21-9.
Turnovers, however, hurt the Royals.
North Central scooped up an HSE fumble and collected three interceptions with the last one returned 30 yards for a touchdown to finalize the tally late in the fourth quarter.
North Central had four receivers with 40 or more yards led by Richard Hamilton, who hauled in two passes for 72 yards and a 63-yard touchdown. Elliott did his damage with seven receptions for 69 yards.
“(Elliott) has been great all year. We just spent the last two weeks talking about keeping the ball away from him and how good of a returner he is, and he still got us,” Morris said. “He got us twice. He’s special. He’s about as dynamic as you’re going to find in Indiana with the ball in his hands.”
The Royals turned the ball over on four of their final five possessions, ending their season in game No. 10 for a sixth straight season.
“I think before our program moves on to next year, we have to tell our seniors how much we care for them and how much they’ve done for us,” Morris said. “We are a young football team, and we’re going to have a lot of players back, but this ain’t golf. You don’t get better with age. We have to get in the weight room and get ready for next year. Just another step ahead.”
A lesson his players can learn from North Central, Morris emphasized. The Panthers haven’t won a sectional title since 1993 and posted their first winning season in 12 years.
“Those kids are confident. You can tell they’re a team that’s worked to have success,” Morris said. “That senior class has been through the fire and put the work in, and they’re reaping the benefits of it. That will happen for our kids, too, down the road.”