Zionsville pulled away from visiting Fishers on Friday, with the Eagles scoring 24 second-half points to beat the Tigers 38-7 in their regular-season and Hoosier Crossroads Conference finale.
The game started out “very competitive,” said Fishers coach Curt Funk, with both defenses playing strong. But Zionsville’s Colin Price broke out for a 65-yard run to score the game’s first touchdown.
The Eagles added a second touchdown with less than a minute to go in the second quarter on a short pass. Still, the Tigers were only down 14-0 at halftime.
“But unfortunately, our first drive stalled and we were playing catch up the rest of the night,” said Funk.
Zionsville scored two touchdowns in the third quarter to go up 28-0 before Fishers got on the board. Lucas Prewitt and Landon Morris teamed up for a 39-yard pass play score, with Justin Sharkey kicking the extra point. The Eagles finished the fourth quarter with a 13-yard passing touchdown and a field goal.
Prewitt had another solid game, going 16-of-32 for 161 yards. Jeffrey Simmons made seven catches, while Morris totaled three. Carson Dunn led the rushing with 52 yards. Grady Stanley led the Tigers’ defense with eight tackles, followed by Seth Dunnuck with six stops.
“We just got to eliminate our penalties and keep working to improve every day and we have two weeks to regroup and refocus and start a new beginning in the playoffs,” said Funk.
Fishers finished 2-5 in HCC play and 2-7 overall. The Tigers are off until Oct. 30, when it hosts Hamilton Southeastern in the semi-finals of Class 6A Sectional 4.
Members of the Fishers City Council will vote on an economic development package for INCOG BioPharma. The firm plans to construct a 50,000 square-foot manufacturing facility in Fishers by investing $60 million.
Along with incentives from the State of Indiana, the city is offering a 13-year personal
property and 1-year real property tax abatement, if the council approves at its Monday night meeting.
INCOG says it will hire about 150 new full-time employees by 2024, and a total of 260 full-time workers by 2029 at an average annual salary of $83,200, according to the city council action form.
The announcement was made Thursday morning about INCOG BioPharma’s Fishers plans.
Hamilton Southeastern (HSE) School Board members were presented with a 2021 spending plan totaling $259.25 million dollars, a 3.37% increase over the 2020 budget. Chief Financial Officer Cecilie Nunn told the board the student population number is down about 400 this school year, mostly at the kindergarten level. Nunn attributes the decline to COVID.
Since state funding is largely tied to the number of students enrolled, there will be a deficit in the education fund provided by the state. Nunn says a budget study task force would be formed, essentially the same group used in previous years to close budget deficits. Nunn did not indicate how large she expects the shortfall in the education fund to be.
The school district will receive more than $22 million in 2021 from a referendum, passed in 2016 and enacted in 2017, that will expire at the end of calendar year 2023. Nunn says the board will need to begin the process of deciding whether to ask the voters to renew the current referendum rate or ask for another amount. The referendum money goes to pay staff salaries and benefits.
The 2021 school property tax rate is projected to decline one-half of one percent compared to 2020….at 1.245. The drop is due to an increase in property valuations, according to Nunn.
The board was reminded that the state legislature will be enacting a two-year state budget in the 2021 session and the money for education will not likely be known until April next year.
No one chose to speak at the budget public hearing, as no one spoke at the public hearings for two bonds funding renovation and maintenance projects for school buildings.
The board is slated to enact the 2021 budget at the October 28 meeting.
I recall interviewing Fishers Mayor Scott Fadness as 2020 was beginning. Of course, neither of us could envision the challenges of the COVID-19 virus at that time. But the mayor seemed to indicate 2020 would be a quiet year on the local economic development front.
After all, the massive development reshaping downtown Fishers was well underway and would be under construction during 2020. The Nickel Plate Trail and the underground tunnel beneath 116th Street was moving along. The Geist Waterfront Park continues to acquire the needed permits and move through other legal hoops as that plan moves along.
I thought in the back of my mind that Scott Fadness was not likely to stay in place for long. Thursday morning, that hunch was confirmed.
INCOG BioPharma Services will be constructing a manufacturing facility in Fishers. By 2024, 150 new jobs will be part of the operation, and will be “high-wage,” according to a news release from the State of Indiana and the City of Fishers. The biopharmaceutical firm plans a $60 million investment in the Fishers project. Ground breaking is expected late this year, with an opening date projected for the first half of 2022.
The Indiana Economic Development Corporation (IEDC) is offering INCOG BioPharma Services up to $2.5 million in conditional tax credits based on its creation plans. These tax credits are performance-based, meaning the company is eligible to claim incentives once Hoosiers are hired. The IEDC will also provide up to $200,000 from the Industrial Development Grant Fund to support on-site infrastructure improvements. The city of Fishers will consider additional incentives at Monday night’s city council session, and Duke Energy incentives will offset a portion of the project’s energy costs.
Greg Andrews of the Indianapolis Business Journal reports the the two founders of INCOG, Cory Lewis and Tedd Green, are ex-executives for the Cook Group in Bloomington.
Hamilton Southeastern (HSE) Schools Superintendent Allen Bourff painted a bleak COVID-19 picture for the school board Wednesday night, but the board followed his recommendation to bring grades 5 and 6 100% for in-person classes November 2, with the caveat that the decision could change if COVID-19 numbers increase.
Here are the numbers Dr. Bourff presented to the board:
–Monday through Wednesday this week, 125 students had close contact with students testing positive – 115 students had COVID symptoms – there were 12 positive student tests, with a total of 252 affected.
–All of last week, 250 students were affected by COVID.
–The district has seen an uptick in staff members impacted – 23 affected as close contact, 8 with symptoms and two positive test results.
Hamilton Southeastern Education Association President Janet Chandler presented survey results showing high levels of stress among the teaching staff.
But Dr. Bourff says the school corporation has some good news – the systems in place are reacting quickly when responding to the virus.
The HSE Royals varsity football game with Brownsburg has been cancelled this week. In a message sent to families with students at HSE High School, parents were advised there was at least one positive test for a football player, with many others identified as in close contact with at least one player testing positive for the virus. Due to the number of players in close contact, the decision was made to cancel this week’s game, according to the message.
The board voted unanimously to bring grades 5 & 6 in-person into classrooms 100% November 2, however, Dr. Bourff told board members the week following fall break will allow school officials to evaluate health data before following-through with the grades 5 & 6 decision.
Bourff also recommended providing the virtual option for parents choosing that method of instruction through the end of the second semester. The board approved that proposal on a 6-1 vote, with Sylvia Shepler saying her “no” vote was due to the lack of specificity on how virtual will work moving forward.
Once I let it be known there would be no school board candidate podcasts in this election cycle for HSE School Board from me, I received a message that some high school students were interested in taking on the job. I had a phone call from Izzy Alexander, a senior at Fishers High School, offering to handle the school board interviews. I offered to post them on my blog and handle the post-productions tasks.
A few weeks later, Izzy sent me 11 audio files with podcasts featuring all 11 school board candidates. Izzy’s brother Casey, a freshman at FHS, handled the interviews with Fall Creek Township candidates (5 in all) and Izzy took care of Delaware and Wayne Townships (6 total).
After receiving a ton of positive feedback on the job they did on those podcasts, I invited Izzy & Casey to join me on a podcast to discuss the experience of interviewing those on the ballot for the HSE School Board in 2020.
Hamilton Southeastern used an outstanding defensive performance to grab its third straight win on Friday.
The Royals beat Franklin Central on the road 14-7. The victory kept Southeastern tied for second place in the Hoosier Crossroads Conference at 5-1.
“I thought defensively we played tremendous. They’ve done a great job all year long, standing tall,” said HSE coach Michael Kelly.
Southeastern scored one touchdown in each of the first two quarters. Jace Alexander got the first one, getting the ball into the end zone on a two-yard run.
Blaine Wertz then stepped up early in the second quarter, running in from 14 yards to score. Alex Geroulis kicked both extra points. Kelly said that Alexander and Wertz were a “nice little 1-2 punch from both of those guys this evening.”
In the second half, the Royals’ defense held firm. The Flashes were threatening with around a minute to go in the fourth quarter, but Southeastern made a fourth-down stop to secure the win.
Louden Sundling led the Royals’ defense with eight tackles, including one for a loss, four assists and 1.5 sacks.
“Louden Sundling had a big game,” said Kelly. “Just played his tail off.”
Noah Wolf made six tackles and three assists, while JT Mutchner contributed five tackles, one assist and 0.5 sacks. Kelly also said that defensive backs Mikah Phillips and Gio Ragland came through for HSE “in a big way.”
Quarterback John McCall completed 12 of 25 passes for 147 yards, with Wertz catching three of those throws. Wertz also led the rushing with 105 yards.
The Royals improved to 6-2 overall. Southeastern hosts Brownsburg next Friday; both teams are 5-1 in HCC play.
Fishers’ Grant Shelton defends against Westfield’s Mason Piening during a Shamrocks’ offensive play. (Photo by Richie Hall)
by
Richie Hall
Sports Editor
Hamilton County Reporter
FISHERS – When Westfield took control of the Hoosier Crossroads Conference standings two weeks ago, coach Jake Gilbert spoke of taking advantage of opportunities when they present themselves.
The Shamrocks have indeed made the most of those opportunities, and received the fruits of that on Friday. Westfield, ranked No. 2 in Class 6A, clinched at least a share of the HCC championship by beating Fishers 45-6 at Reynolds Tigers Stadium.
The ‘Rocks are 6-0 in the conference, just ahead of Brownsburg and Hamilton Southeastern, both of which are 5-1. This is the second time Westfield has won the HCC championship; the Shamrocks tied with Fishers for the conference title in 2013.
“We’ve been a really good practice team, and I’m just so happy that they’ve been rewarded, because they practice with discipline, they practice with competitiveness,” said Gilbert. “They’ve gotten better. We got off to a hot start, but we weren’t arrogant. We’ve been humble and hungry. I’m just so proud of our kids for finishing it. We’re not quite finishing it yet, but we’re HCC champs no matter what. I just couldn’t be happier with our players and coaches.”
Fishers gave Westfield an early scare by scoring the game’s first points. Jeffrey Simmons caught a 37-yard pass from Lucas Prewitt for a Tigers touchdown. But the Shamrocks responded right away, with Magwire Graybill blocking the extra-point attempt.
After that, Westfield took over. Junior quarterback Maximus Webster dominated the game, scoring four rushing touchdowns and passing for one more. Webster punched the ball in from the one-yard line with 3:51 left in the first quarter to get the ‘Rocks on the board, then rushed in for a 13-yard score late in the period.
“I knew we were going to be able to score,” said Gilbert. “Defensively, we have not started games well the last few weeks. We got to fix that. But we have absolutely adjusted and then played well.”
Webster wasted no time scoring in the second quarter, making a three-yard trip to the end zone just 25 seconds into the period. Micah Hauser added a one-yard TD run midway through the quarter, and the half ended with Webster finding Mason Piening for an eight-yard touchdown pass. After all that, Westfield held a 35-6 halftime lead.
“The usual suspects getting involved,” said Gilbert. “I thought Nic Depasquale had a good night tonight. I was happy with Reid Schepers. The O-line, as usual, did a pretty good job.”
Webster had one more touchdown to score, which he did early in the third quarter on a seven-yard run. Sean Sullivan made the extra-point kick, as he did for all six of the Shamrocks’ touchdowns. Webster’s score came at the 9:23 mark of the third and triggered a running clock for the remainder of the game.
Westfield wasn’t done yet. Midway through the fourth quarter, Frankie Ispen kicked a 22-yard field goal.
“She deserved that chance,” said Gilbert. “She’s been great at practice. Very competitive and had a great JV season. I wanted to get her three.”
Webster was nearly perfect, completing 15 of 16 pass attempts for 201 yards. He also rushed for 51 yards. Hauser led the ground game with 64 yards.
Depasquale made five catches, with Schepers and Piening both getting four receptions. On defense, Charles Dager made nine tackles, followed by Hauser with six and Kyle Pape with five.
Prewitt had a solid game for Fishers, going 11-of-15 for 109 yards. Landon Morris had four catches and Simmons finished with three. Carson Dunn led the Tigers’ rushing with 37 yards.
Evan Miller and Joey Slimak both had seven tackles for Fishers, with Curtis Kearshner making five, including 2.5 for a loss.
“We started out playing well,” said Tigers coach Curt Funk. “The game just slowly started slipping away from us there. We got behind and then offensively we had to get a little bit more aggressive and we just couldn’t convert some first downs. And unfortunately, when that happens against a good Westfield team, that score just slips away from you and things start to get out of hand.”
The Shamrocks are now 7-1 and overall and finish the regular season and HCC play by hosting Franklin Central next Friday. Fishers is 2-4 in the conference and 2-6 overall, and travels to Zionsville next Friday to finish its league and regular seasons.
HSE Schools Supt. Allen Bourff, on the most recent video
Hamilton Southeastern (HSE) School Superintendent Allen Bourff plans to place a recommendation before the school board October 14th to begin in-person learning 100% for grades 5 and 6, starting November 2nd. Dr. Bourff cited the experience so far with elementary students, up to grade 4, and believes that data can be used to expand the learning in-person in the traditional classroom.
November 2 was chosen as the date because it is one week after fall break and provides time to make the transition. Bourff said elementary staff and students have done a “commendable job” in handling the health and safety protocols.
There will be a second recommendation made to the board at the October 14 session, allowing virtual-only learning to be extended through the second semester for those families choosing that option.
Dr. Bourff commented that grades 7-12 will see a return to 100% in-person classes “as soon as safely possible.”
Bourff cited many challenges in bringing all grade 7-12 students back to the classroom 100%, but will recommend that action “when conditions within the schools and within the community indicate it is safe to do.”
School officials have received what Bourff describes as some “disturbing reports” of student stress in virtual learning. Professional support is available for students experiencing such stress. Contact administrators or counselors to ask for help.
Parents are encouraged by Dr. Bourff to thank a teacher. Classroom teachers are working under conditions never seen before and face challenges they must address as they go along.
You can view the entire video featuring Dr. Bourff at this link.
