By CRAIG ADKINS
For The Reporter
3A No. 12 Guerin Catholic (1-1) at Heritage Christian (1-1)
The Golden Eagles meet up with the Eagles for the 13th time in their series on Friday. Guerin won last year’s matchup at home 53-34, has a 9-3 record in the first 12 meetings and are looking for a fourth straight win against Heritage Christian.
Heritage Christian lost in a shootout at Scecina in Week 2, 52-50.
Last week’s home opener against Pendleton Heights found Guerin humbled at the bottom of a 34-0 defeat.
The Arabians took advantage and scored on the next series midway through the first for a 7-0 lead. They scored in the second quarter twice more on rushing scores for a 20-0 halftime lead.
“They won the game at the line of scrimmage on both sides, there’s no doubt. We had some kids who were making their first-ever start, but that’s beside the point,” said Guerin Catholic head coach Tom Dilley. “The guys that were out there battled, but they were up against a good offensive and defensive line, and we were soundly defeated in the trenches.”
Pendleton scored a fourth touchdown halfway through the third for a 27-0 score.
“They are very fundamentally sound and they’re good at what they do,” added Dilley. “They mixed a little zone coverage, very little man and were physical with the receivers. A lot of times you’re trying to make throws under duress, because of the battle up front.”
The Arabians scored to begin the fourth TD for what made the final score of 34-0.
“A game like this makes it obvious where you need to improve. It exposes things, which is the positive. If we choose to take this as a positive, pay attention to what got exposed and fix it,” added Dilley.
Tippecanoe Valley (2-0) at Hamilton Heights (0-2)
The Huskies welcome a new opponent for Week 3. Tippecanoe Valley makes the trip from Akron, which is northeast of Rochester and southeast of Warsaw. The Vikings are from the Indiana Northern State Conference (Jimtown, Bremen, Knox, LaVille and John Glenn), a league made up of primarily teams from the former Northern State Conference.
Tippy Valley had a low-scoring game at Rochester against the Zebras last week, 7-2.
Heights dropped its second game of the season at Triton Central last week, 28-13.
After a scoreless first quarter, the Tigers got on the board first with a rushing touchdown. The Huskies responded with a 53-yard touchdown throw from Drew Woodruff to Drew Duncan. Keegan Kavanaugh’s extra-point kick tied the game.
Triton Central scored again before halftime, taking a 14-7 lead. Logan Hickman brought Heights within 14-13 after making a two-yard TD run, but the Tigers scored two touchdowns in the fourth quarter to win the game.
Sheridan Blackhawks (1-1) – IDLE
After a Week 2 loss to Alexandria in their home opener, Sheridan gets a week off to regroup, but not by choice.
The Blackhawks were originally slated to begin Hoosier Heartland Conference play against Tri-Central. During its 42-0 Week 1 game with Madison-Grant, the Trojans forfeited the rest of the game due to a low number of players on their roster. On Aug. 27, Tri-Central athletics made the decision to play a junior varsity only schedule for the remainder of the 2025 season.
Sheridan fell to Alexandria 54-14 Friday, Aug. 29 in its home opener at Bud Wright Stadium.
The Tigers led 28-8 after the first quarter; Hayden Alexander scored the Blackhawks’ touchdown with a 78-yard kickoff return. Alex Cravens caught a two-point pass from Brock Hagan.
Alexandria rolled to a 41-8 lead at halftime, then scored again in the third quarter and at the beginning of the fourth quarter. Jon Barnes scored Sheridan’s second touchdown, a 45-yard run in the fourth quarter.
Sheridan hosts Clinton Central to open the Hoosier Heartland portion of their schedule on Sept. 12.
