The Hamilton Southeastern football team sings the school song after its Homecoming win over Zionsville Friday night at Reynolds Royals Stadium. Southeastern is now 3-3 overall and 2-2 in the Hoosier Crossroads Conference. (Reporter photo by Richie Hall)
by
Richie Hall
Sports Editor
Hamilton County Reporter
Hamilton Southeastern played well from start to finish Friday night, and the result was a well-deserved win.
The Royals beat Class 5A No. 8 Zionsville 30-14 in their Homecoming game at Reynolds Royals Stadium. The victory pulled Southeastern’s record back to even at 3-3, and also put the Royals in the Hoosier Crossroads Conference chase at 2-2.
“I’m just happy our kids get positive results, because they’re working really hard,” said HSE coach Adam Morris. “Whether we would’ve won today or not, they’re doing a great job in the weight room. I do think we’re having good practices.”
The Royals left little doubt this game would be a positive result, as they scored the first 17 points of the game. The first six points came from an 8-yard touchdown reception, a perfect throw from Kody Sparks to Nate Haas.
Mitch Hebenstreit followed that up with an extra point. He would follow that up early in the second quarter with a 29-yard field goal to put Southeastern up 10-0. That lead became 17-0 late in the quarter when Matt Harris ran in to the end zone from 13 yards.
The Eagles got on the board with 1:06 left Gus Baumgartner ran the ball in from the 1-yard line. But the Royals quickly got the ball down the field, and got some points when Hebenstreit nailed a 26-yard field goal as the halftime clock ran out. That put HSE ahead 20-7.
“I was really proud of how we started the game,” said Morris. “Defensively, getting some stops. That’s a really, really good offense. I thought we did a good job keeping them in front of us.”
The Royals continued to cruise through the second half. Harris scored a second touchdown when he punched the ball in from the 2-yard line midway through the third period. In the fourth quarter, Hebenstreit kicked in another field goal, this one from 27 yards. Hebenstreit’s final total: 3-for-3 field goals, 3-for-3 extra points.
Zionsville scored again late in the fourth quarter when Jordan Hull took a 54-yard pass into the end zone with 4:12 left.
Harris finished the game with 195 yards rushing, plus the two TDs. Harris’ play fits perfectly with what Morris wants the Royals’ identity to be: Pound the football.
“Now that’s obviously who Matt is,” said Morris. “He’s a big, strong kid. He runs hard. But that’s what our identity’s going to be. We’re going to spread people out, but we still want to be a power team and run the football.”
Sparks finished the game completing 14 of 22 passes for 125 yards. Ben Boysen had six catches, with Haas making five, including the score.
Southeastern goes back on the road next week, playing Noblesville.
“The goal is to be as good as we can at the end of the season, so we can go compete in the post-season, and I think today we took a step forward,” said Morris. “There’s a lot of football left. Noblesville’s a really good, a really improved, physical team. It will take our best game to win.”
Part of the Nickel Plate Rail Line, planned for conversion to a trail (Photo from the City of Fishers)
Mayor Scott Fadness said his 2019 budget plan will fund the first phase of the Nickel Plate Trail, and feedback sessions are planned to get ideas from the public on the details. Fadness told the Fishers City Council Monday night that the first phase will encompass the trail from 106th Street to 126th Street.
The Fishers Nickel Plate Trail Master Planning Committee, chaired by City Councilman John Weingardt and local resident Amanda Welu, is looking for public comments on what to do with the public space that is part of the planned trail.
“We are encouraging our residents to be bold, be original and be heard,” said John Weingardt, Co-Chair and Council member said in a city news release. “It is a blank slate right now, and I can’t wait to see what this community working together can dream.”
The Track-To-Trail campaign is asking for comments on a kick-off weekend that includes:
· Four Day Ray Happy Hour — Friday, September 28th, 4 to 6pm
· Movies in the Park at the Amp — Friday, September 28th, 7 to 10pm
· Fishers Farmers Market — Saturday, September 29th, 8am to Noon
· Brooks School Park — Sunday, September 30th, Noon to 3pm
The kick-off weekend starts a month-long period where the committee will be seeking public input.
Focus groups with educators, students, entrepreneurs, artists and public safety officials will be a part of the process. Neighborhoods and businesses along the trail will also be asked for their ideas.. Throughout the month, people will be able to submit their suggestions online or via mail. This phase of the master plan will conclude with a Community Conversation at Delaware Twp. Community Building on Tuesday, October 30th, 7 – 9 pm.
“There are 4.5 miles of future trail in Fishers. Our goal is to create a one-of-a-kind experience, a new kind of public space that happens to have a trail running through it,” said Amanda Welu, Co-Chair and Owner of DELV Design.
When the shooting happened last spring at Noblesville’s West Middle School, during the live television coverage, you may have have seen units from Fishers and other surrounding communities responding to the scene with police & fire personnel.
Public safety agencies have always been prepared to help each other in a time of crisis. Now, several agencies are preparing to formalize that relationship with a training exercise. According to Fishers Police, this exercise will happen September 18th, 19th, 20th, and 22nd.
First Internet Bank and the Hamilton Southeastern Schools have offered to allow their buildings to be used in this exercise. 85 public safety people will be involved in this exercise each day.
If you see public safety personnel in large numbers one of these days, you may be witnessing a drill, not a genuine emergency.
Here are more details about the upcoming exercise:
September 18th, 19th 20th
Look for the exercise in the area of First Internet Bank, 2pm-5pm each of the three days
September 22nd
Hoosier Road Elementary School will be the site of this exercise. Look for this from about 2pm to 5pm.
“This collaborative effort between Fishers public safety, residents, and business partners is a great example of our unwavering determination to keep Fishers a safe place to live, work, and play”, said Fishers Police Chief Ed Gebhart in a police department news release.
Muzaffar Ahmad has a story to tell. As a Muslin raised in Pakistan, his brother was killed by an Islamic extremist. Mr. Ahmad now lives in Fishers with his wife and family, telling his story and working with others in the local community to promote peace and to find common ground among all people in Fishers belonging to a house of worship. He wants to tell his story to those in Fishers willing to listen. i spoke with Mr. Ahmad for this podcast interview that I believe you will find fascinating….
The local Fishers tech firm Emplfy, founded by Santiago Jaramillo and Adam Weber, has attracted $7.5 million in venture capital funding. According to a story written by Samm Quinn of the Indianapolis Business Journal (IBJ), the local company will use the money to expand its operation.
You can read Samm Quinn’s story on the IBJ Web site at this link
(NOTE: This is a commentary written by Fred Swift of the Hamilton CountyReporter. The views expressed are those of Fred Swift and do not necessarily reflect the views of LarryInFishers.com. This opinion piece is posted here as part of a partnership between the Reporter and LarryInFishers.com)
Hamilton County Republicans brought out an all-star cast of candidates for their annual Fall Dinner Wednesday night. Held at the 502 East Event Center in Carmel, about 350 of the party faithful welcomed U.S. Senate candidate Mike Braun along with a host of other state and local GOP candidates for election on Nov. 6.
Braun, a successful Jasper businessman, says Republicans are in a position to pick up seats in the Senate which now has a razor thin GOP majority, 51-49. But, the outcome of several races including his own will depend on funding, the candidate says. Currently, Democrats are outspending Republicans.
The big news of the evening was Braun’s disclosure of results of a new Fox News poll that shows him slightly ahead of incumbent Democrat Joe Donnelly by a 45-43 percent margin, with the remainder undecided. The candidate believes “we’re in good shape” at the moment, but the lead is within the margin of error, and there are 53 days left before Election Day.
Braun said an “ace in the hole” that his campaign enjoys is the continued movement of former conservative Southern Indiana Democrats to the Republican Party, a shift that demographers have noted in recent years.
Nevertheless, Hamilton County is seen as a major battleground. Polling in past years has shown that when a GOP candidate for statewide office wins 65 percent or more of the vote here, he or she will win statewide.
County Chairwoman Laura Campbell noted that Democrats are contesting the GOP in 30 races in Hamilton County this year which presents an unusual challenge. In most elections there are few Democrats on the local ballot.
Most GOP candidates for county and township office were present at the annual rally and fundraiser, and were introduced along with current officeholders.
Also in the house with several young friends was a hard-charging and optimistic high school student, Chris Elmore, who volunteers for the party and is a leader in Young Republicans. Looking well into the future, Chris hopes to run for U.S. President in 2044. His card is found on his Facebook page. If his plans work out, folks can say they read about it here first.
Thursday afternoon marked the end of the Hamilton County Council 2019 budget hearings. According to my news-gathering partners at the Hamilton County Reporter, councilors are poised to approve spending of just under $100 million.
“I’d like to commend our Council for doing a great job,” Council President Steve Schwartz said. “There are seven different viewpoints on this Council and a lot of passion in the decision-making process, but overall I’m happy with the outcome. We spend very wisely.”
The proposed budget includes 20 new full-time positions, one each in the Coroner’s Office and Parks and Recreation Department, two in the Prosecuting Attorney’s Office and 16 new sheriff’s deputies to staff the new jail expansion. A new part-time employee has also been added to help with Veteran Services.
The proposed budget also includes raises for county employees as well as $1.3 million to support 11 not-for-profit agencies within Hamilton County.
Beaver
“Our expenditures will meet our revenues in the coming year,” said Vice President Brad Beaver. “We were presented with budget requests from every department in the county. This is the best budget we could afford without going in the red.”
Beaver will become Council President in January.
The Council is scheduled to formally adopt the proposed budget at a special meeting on at 8:30 a.m. on Monday, Oct. 15 in Conference Room 1A. Once approved it will be sent to the State of Indiana for approval before going into effect on Jan. 1, 2019.
Fishers’ Emmanuel Davis makes an interception for the Tigers during their game with No. 2-ranked Brownsburg Friday at Reynolds Tigers Stadium. Fishers hung with the Bulldogs, eventually falling 27-20. (Reporter photo by Kirk Green)
Hamilton County Reporter
Fishers went toe-to-toe with the No. 2-ranked team in Class 6A Friday night.
The Tigers hung with Brownsburg for almost a full three quarters at Reynolds
Tigers Stadium, but the Bulldogs scored consecutive touchdowns in the late third
period and early fourth to pull away and get a 27-20 Hoosier Crossroads Conference
victory. The win keeps Brownsburg unbeaten at 5-0, while Fishers falls to 1-4.
The Tigers’ Dylan Scally got the first points of the game, as he punched the ball
in from the 1-yard line early in the first. The Bulldogs answered with a 1-yard run of their
own late in the period.
Collin Statz then stepped up for Fishers, hauling in a 61-yard touchdown pass from
quarterback Marcus Roux with 3:42 left in the half. As he did after the Tigers’ first TD,
Jack Phillips made the extra point kick.
Brownsburg scored a couple minutes later, but missed its extra point attempt, and
Fishers went into the locker room ahead 14-13.
Phillips nailed a 26-yard field goal midway through the third to move the Tigers
ahead 17-13. But the Bulldogs took the lead on a fumble recovery touchdown, then
scored early in the fourth when Donny Marcus ran in from 47 yards. That made the
score 27-17; Phillips made a 24-yard field goal with 7:15 left in the fourth, but Fishers
would get no closer.
Roux went 10-for-25, totaling 169 yards over the air. Statz caught five of those
receptions for 115 yards, including the long touchdown score. Scally led the Tigers’
rushing with 22 yards in 14 carries.
The victory keeps Brownsburg on top of the HCC standings at 3-0, while Fishers falls
to 0-3. The Tigers will play Avon, the No. 5-ranked team in 6A, next Friday at the
Orioles’ field.
Hamilton Southeastern’s Jackson Lantz makes a catch in the fourth quarter. (Reporter photo by Richie Hall)
The weather conditions were back to normal as Hamilton Southeastern visited
Westfield on Friday night. As we recall, last week’s continuous rain didn’t help the Shamrocks, as the dropped a key road game at Noblesville.
This week’s weather would work in their favor and they were back on their home turf,
outlasting Hamilton Southeastern 34-27.
Westfield was able to drive clear down to the Royals’ three-yard line on the opening
drive before HSE’s defense held strong, resulting in a 20-yard Alex Bales field goal,
putting the Shamrocks up 3-0 early.
The host Shamrocks quickly added to their side of the scoreboard when left cornerback
Franklin Bohannon jumped the route of an HSE receiver, taking it back to the house for an interception return touchdown, bumping Westfield’s lead to 10-0.
On the fourth play of the next HSE series, Matt Harris made it look way too
easy, busting through an open hole in his offensive line sprinting 46-yards for a TD
to get the Royals on the board.
This was a game that looked like there could be a lot of scoring and that became
clearer in the middle of the second quarter.
After forcing a three-and-out, Southeastern took over at Westfield’s 47 and took
advantage of the situation of a shorter field.
With 2nd and four at the 29, senior tailback Lance Stephens found a huge hole for a
29-yard touchdown run, putting the Royals on top for their only lead of the night, 14-10.
Westfield wasted no time in getting the lead right back. On the first play of the
ensuing drive, Camden Simons connected with Patrick Beam on a post route for a
77-yard TD strike. That became the second lead change of the first half with the Shamrocks
back in front now, 17-14.
The Royals tied the game 17-17 with a 33-yard field goal from Mitch Hebenstreit,
but not before Harris carried the ball seven times for 82 yards in the second quarter
alone.
HSE was able to compete in this game simply because they were able to run the
football really well in the first half, but were only able to one touchdown on the ground
out of it
“I think that they were trying to take away the run, schematically, and we just felt
like we still wanted to run the football and set the tone. We felt like we did,” said
Hamilton Southeastern first-year head coach Adam Morris on the Royals rushing game.
Back and forth the game went once again.
Simons was showcasing his arm throughout the second quarter. This time,
junior wideout Dane Wheeler would be his go-to. Wheeler hauled in five of his nine
receptions in the second, totaling 66 yards, mainly on one particular drive down the
field.
“He struggled a little bit last week in the rain, but his entire life he’s completed, you
know close to 70 percent, so we’ve got all of the confidence in the world in him,”
Westfield head coach Jake Gilbert on his junior signal caller Camden Simons.
“Our receivers made plays in the passing game. I felt the protection was good and if
you let him sit there and get it done, then he’s gonna slice you up,” Gilbert continuing
to praise his standout quarterback.
The Shamrocks had a 2nd down and one at HSE’s 27. Simons went big, throwing a
corner route beautifully on-point, over the right shoulder to Wheeler for a 25-yard gain,
setting up a 1st and goal at the two. The next play, Eli Patchett dove into the end zone
from two yards away, giving the lead back to his ‘Rocks, 24-17.
Southeastern wasn’t done in the first half.
Junior QB Kody Sparks was able to complete three passes on the drive, the biggest
was a 39-yarder to 6-foot-6 sophomore receiver Landon Morris, tying the game at
half, 24-24.
The third quarter came down to who could take advantage of opportunities and that happened to be Westfield.
The Shamrocks were able to use their rushing game to eat up a lot of third period
clock and wear down the Royals defense, keeping them on the field as long as possible.
Bales added his second field goal of the night from 27 yards out to put Westfield
back on top for the rest of the night, 27-24 at that point.
“I thought they wore us down a little bit running the football in the third quarter,
that’s who Westfield is and they’re gonna be,” said Morris on how Westfield’s running
game ultimately wore down his defense in the third.
Westfield’s balance was really the story of the final two quarters. Both being able to
keep it going offensively and keeping Southeastern limited to just three second half
points was crucial in holding off the Royals.
“I thought our guys got stronger in the second half up front and our running backs,
gotta credit those guys for running hard. I thought we started to move dudes a little bit
better and I was pretty pleased with that for sure,” Gilbert continuing on the positives
from his offense as a whole against Hamilton Southeastern.
Eli Patchett would find the end zone for the final touchdown of the night of 21 yards,
for a 34-24 cushion. But, it was the previous play that set up Patchett’s TD that made a
difference. Simons found Wheeler for a 16-yard pick up down to the 21 that set up
the scoring play.
Southeastern was able to get a 22-yard field goal from Hebenstreit with 0:54 left to
cut it to 34-27, but it was too little too late.
The Royals’ Ben Boysen would catch the onside kick in mid air at the 50, but HSE
only got down to Westfield’s 37, ending the game on two incomplete Hail Mary
attempts, leaving Westfield with a 34-27 HCC victory.
Hamilton Southeastern (2-3, 1-2 HCC) hosts the Zionsville Eagles (3-2, (2-1 HCC)
next week. Zionsville blanked Noblesville on Friday, 24-0.
The Royals were highlighted offensively by tailback Matt Harris’ 24 carries for 257
yards and a touchdown, while Lance Stephens also had eight totes for 56 on the
ground for a TD and one catch for 18 yards.
Westfield (3-2, 2-1 HCC) will face their toughest test on the season yet when they hit
the road at 6A No. 2 Brownsburg (5-0, 3-0 HCC) next week. The Bulldogs won at
Fishers on Friday night, 27-20.
Camden Simons wound up passing 17-of-19 for 232 yards and a touchdown. He
connected with Dane Wheeler for nine of those for 113 yards and also a 77-yarder to
Patrick Beam. Eli Patchett finished with 14 rushes totaling 87 yards and two scores.
(Update posted 10pm 9/13) Eric Moeller contacted me to say that state law does not allow someone to have “dual lucrative” positions. After further review, Eric says he may not have been 100% accurate in his comments at the Finance Committee meeting about Jason Meyer’s situation.
Deputy Mayor Elliot Hultgren made what appeared to be a reasonable request to the City Council Finance Committee Thursday – provide a small amount of compensation to the two appointed members on the Fishers Board of Public Safety. After all, Carmel, Westfield and Noblesville all pay their appointed members to their boards.
The city staff recommendation would be to pay each about $4,500 a year, less then Carmel’s pay scale and a bit higher that Noblesville.
Then, committee member Eric Moeller pointed out that Board of Works member Jason Meyer also serves in an elected position as a Fall Creek Township Board member, which is also a paid position. State law does not allow any one person to serve in two government jobs with compensation at the same time.
John Weingardt, another Finance Committee Member, said if compensation is provided to the appointed members of the Fishers Board of Works, Meyer would need to resign from either the city board or township board.
No recommendation was made on this proposal….Finance Committee members indicated they wanted to talk with other members of the council on this matter.
The Board of Public Works and Safety consists of three members, Mayor Scott Fadness and his two appointees, Jason Meyer and Jeff Lantz.
