Fishers’ Vincent Rozzi made a 42-yard touchdown catch during the Tigers’ Mudsock win over Hamilton Southeastern Friday, Sept. 12. Fishers plays at Brownsburg tonight. (Joshua Herd)
By CRAIG ADKINS
For the Reporter
No. 6 Fishers Tigers (3-1, 2-0 HCC) at No. 1 Brownsburg Bulldogs (4-0, 2-0 HCC)
For the first 19 games of the series between Fishers, there have been a few winning streaks on each side. Most recently, Brownsburg owns a nine-game winning streak from 2016 to present. Fishers had a pair of three-game winning streaks. Bulldog head coach John Hart is a perfect 9-0 against Fishers, so far.
The Bulldogs have won 12 and the Tigers seven as they get set for the 20th matchup tonight and it should be one of the best games in the state. Last year, Brownsburg came back late to win at Fishers, 31-30.
Brownsburg had its first road test last week at Avon and was able to outlast the Orioles, 55-47.
After losing three in a row to the Royals from 2021-23 in the Mudsock game, Fishers won its second straight regular season game against Southeastern, 28-16.
The Tigers jumped out to a stunning 21-0 lead in the first on HSE.
Just over two minutes in, Ryan Thembulembu ran in from one yard away for the early 7-0 score.
A minute later, Gage Sturgill found Vincent Rozzi for a 42-yard touchdown strike and a 14-0 lead. Then with two minutes left in the first, Thembulembu caught a 15-yard TD pass from Sturgill to ignite the home crowd for a three-score advantage at 21-0.
HSE narrowed the gap to 21-10 at halftime with a field goal from Luke Marchionni and a TD run from Carter Reed.
Defense took over with minimal scoring in the second half. The Tigers pushed it to 28-10 late in the third on a 56-yard scamper by Sturgill. HSE scored once more for the two-score Fishers win.
Sturgill was productive with his arm and feet, rushing for 86 and going 11 of 20 for 174 yards. Rozzi caught five for 99 and Thembulembu ran for 105 on 16 carries.
No. 4 Westfield Shamrocks (4-0, 2-0 HCC) at No. 10 Hamilton Southeastern Royals (3-1, 1-1 HCC)
Tonight’s top 10 matchup is the 37th in the all-time series between Westfield and Hamilton Southeastern. The Shamrocks have won two-thirds of the games for a 24-12 record against HSE.
Westfield won last year’s regular season matchup in overtime, 21-14, and have won three consecutive, including the 2023 regional championship (24-21).
The Rocks had no problems in Week 4 with Noblesville in a 41-7 rout.
Westfield got scores in the first from Deacon King and then a touchdown pass from Cooper Melvin to Broc Parker for a 14-0 lead.
They added two field goals from Diego Herrera that sandwiched a second Melvin TD pass, this time to Andrew Noble for a 27-0 cushion at halftime.
Parker scored again in the third with a rushing touchdown. Freshman Caiden Snow capped off the Westfield scoring with a 17-yard TD pass from Melvin, his third.
Melvin had a solid night passing with a 12 of 15 game for 137 yards. Aiden Grabowski was a perfect 7-for-7 in the pocket with 125 yards. King had 146 yards on 18 carries, while Parker (70), Noble (64) and Snow (61) were key to the passing game.
Southeastern dug itself into a 21-0 hole defensively in the Mudsock game at Fishers and unfortunately was not able to come back, dropping their second regular season game in a row to the Tigers, 28-16.
Luke Marchionni booted a 37-yard field goal and Carter Reed rushed for a TD just past the midway point of the second to cut it to 21-10 at halftime.
Both defenses prevailed in the second half, but that also meant that scoring was at a minimum.
Fishers scored once in the third and they kept HSE from scoring again until 1:32 left in the game. Freshman quarterback Deacon Johnson threw a 19-yard touchdown pass to Graham Toner.
Terry Walker III passed for 131 yards before leaving the game due to injury, but Johnson saw significant time and went 10 of 18 for 98 yards.
Reed rushed for 62 yards. Collin Walls (83), Toner (65) and Kendrick Pennybaker (55) aided the Walker-Johnson passing duo.
