By CRAIG ADKINS
For The Reporter
In the blink of an eye we are one-third of the way through the regular season of high school football. Five of the eight Hamilton County teams are making their presence known in their respective classes’ rankings.
Carmel (No. 3) has emerged back toward the top of Class 6A. Hamilton Southeastern is close behind at No. 5 with Westfield climbing back up to No. 6. Fishers is holding tight at 11th. Guerin Catholic is also holding steady in Class 3A at No. 9.
No. 3 Carmel Greyhounds (3-0) at Louisville Trinity Shamrocks (2-1)
The Greyhounds have found their groove right away in Kevin Wright’s first year of his second stint as head coach at Carmel. Wright was 54-10 in five seasons leading the ‘Hounds from 2010-14 with a state championship (2011) and two runner-up finishes (2013, 2014).
Carmel plays its second out-of-state opponent in as many weeks when they head two hours south to Louisville to play Trinity on Friday. With a 3-6 record against the Shamrocks, the Greyhounds look to snap Trinity’s three-game winning streak in the series. They last beat Trinity in 2021, also on the road, 49-38.
Last week, the Centerville Elks (Ohio) were the latest to fall to Carmel and they fell hard. The Greyhounds held the Elks to 159 total yards in the shutout.
Consistency throughout was a big key for Carmel. They scored two touchdowns in each of the first three quarters to have the game well in hand.
Anthony Coellner ran in from 26 yards for the first swwcore. Andrew Pemberton scored on a 23-yard run to lead 14-0 after one. Coellner threw TD passes in the second to Jacob Bellin and Carson Clark for a 28-0 halftime lead.
Senior Spencer Sell and sophomore Alim Broadnax caught third period touchdowns from Coellner and junior Josiah Gilmore added the final score for the 48-0 goose egg.
Coellner has continued to be one of the best quarterbacks in the state. Against Centerville, he was 15 of 18 for 244 yards. Pemberton ran for 69 on just six carries and Bellin caught five passes for 122.
3A No. 9 Guerin Catholic Golden Eagles (2-1) at Brebeuf Jesuit Braves (0-3)
Last year’s game was one for the record books, literally. Despite Brebeuf outlasting Guerin by a 69-62 score, numerous school and state records were broken. Quarterback Malcolm Houze completed (40) and attempted (56) passes that got him to school and state records in yards with 638. Those stout numbers helped result in eight TD passes. Receiver Hayden Cler caught 26 of those 40 from Houze for 396 yards and six touchdowns, all three being school records. His 26 catches are a state record, breaking the previous mark of 22.
Guerin and Brebeuf open up Circle City Conference play Friday night for the 23rd time. The Braves have a 17-5 record in the previous 22 games.
Brebeuf is still looking for its first win. The Braves started off with a season-opening loss at North Central (35-13), snapping the Panthers’ 32-game losing streak. Two weeks ago, they dropped the home opener to Tri-West, 47-29 and lost last week at 6A Harrison, 32-21.
The Golden Eagles came away from Heritage Christian with a win, holding off the host 28-25.
Guerin quarterback Quentin Klee scored the game’s first touchdown on a sneak midway through the first quarter, but Heritage Christian scored just before the end of the first period to tie it 7-7.
Klee found Isaiah Lewis for a 63-yard touchdown to start the second. The Eagles responded again with a long scoring drive for a 14-14 halftime count.
Klee and Lewis hooked up again in the third, giving Guerin the lead for good at 21-14. Heritage opened the fourth with a field goal. Seconds later, GC’s Jack Linden scored on a two-yard run to stretch it to 28-17. HC scored later in the fourth, along with the two-point conversion for what became the final of 28-25.
Linden carried eight times for 85 yards and Quentin Klee 12 for 57. Klee completed 14 of 19 for 230, five were caught by Isaiah Lewis for 154 yards.
