This week, the CCSN Game of the Week has the Hancock County Football Fest. As the voice of Hancock County football, we'll be broadcasting all three games involving Hancock County teams, including half of the HHC Day at Lucas Oil Stadium.
All of the games, of course, can be heard at Audio Sports Online.
The schedule
Friday: Eastern Hancock (1-6) at Shenandoah (6-1), 6:30 p.m. broadcast
Saturday: Greenfield-Central (1-6/0-6) vs. New Palestine (5-2/4-1), 10:30 a.m. broadcast
Saturday: Mt. Vernon (5-2/4-1) vs. Delta (7-0/5-0), 6:45 p.m. broadcast
Andrew Smith, Jim Ryan and Tim Adams will be on the call of the games.
This week, we will preview all of the games at Lucas Oil Stadium, as well as our Friday-night broadcast.
Today, we'll preview the Friday broadcast of Eastern Hancock @ Shenandoah. On Wednesday, we'll run previews of Saturday's first two games -- Greenfield-Central vs. New Palestine and Shelbyville vs. Yorktown. On Thursday, we'll preview Saturday's final two games -- Pendleton Heights vs. Rushville and Mt. Vernon vs. Delta.
Friday's broadcast
Eastern Hancock (1-6) at Shenandoah (6-1)
Broadcast time: 6:30 p.m. Listen here
The skinny: Much of Eastern Hancock's schedule has been looking ahead -- looking toward its affiliation in the Mid-Indiana Football Conference, which will commence next season. But the Royals' old rivals are the remnants of the now-defunct White River Athletic Conference. EH and Shenandoah have a rivalry that goes back to the days when both schools started football, and they've had more than their share of wars over the years. This is always one of the more-anticipated games of the year, and often the score isn't what was anticipated. Upsets tend to happen, lots of hard hitting takes place, and even though a conference championship is no longer on the line between these two teams, it's always a fun game.
The series: Last year, Shenandoah won 39-13 to spoil EH's Senior Night. The Raiders have won two straight in the series, knocking off the Royals 26-20 in 2007. In 2005 and 2006, they split their meetings -- with EH winning the sectional after losing the regular-season matchup in 2006. Shenandoah won the tournament meeting but EH the regular-season matchup in 2005. Since 1999, Shenandoah is 10-7 in the series. The teams met every year from 2001-06 in the sectional, splitting the six meetings. In each of EH's three victories (2002, 2003, 2006), the Royals went on to win the sectional. Shenandoah used wins over EH to launch it to sectional titles in 2001 and 2004. They cannot meet in the tournament this season, as the Royals are 1A and the Raiders have moved up to 2A.
The Royals
Coach: Mark Reddy (2nd year at EH, 3-14).
Outlook: The Royals broke out in a big way last week, hanging 53 points on Wes-Del in a 53-20 victory. They had scored 59 points in the six games prior, so last week nearly doubled the season output. EH had balance in its one-back spread attack last week. Junior QB Steven Stunda completed 12-of-17 for 232 yards and a season-high 4 TDs, and also ran for 62 yards. Meanwhile, RB Doug Spegal carried 12 times for 191 yards and three touchdowns. Stunda's favorite target was WR Hunter Overleese, who had five catches for 164 yards. TE Cameron Neisler (3 catches) and WR Casey Flood (2 catches) also reeled in multiple passes from Stunda. On the year, Stunda is completing 46% of his passes for 1,154 yards. Spegal is averaging 6.1 yards per carry on the ground, bolstered heavily by last week's gains. Overleese (391 yards, 5 TDs) and Jacob Grass (232 yards, 2 TDs) are Stunda's favorite receiving targets. The Royals have been one of the area's premier small-school programs over the last decade, but have been in a bit of a reloading mode this season, as 25 of the 34 players on the roster are underclassmen. They've also been battling the injury bug a bit this year. However, the Royals also have one of the strongest lineman in the area in OT/DT Devin Tharpe, who stands 6-8 and tips the scales at 300 pounds. This game is one of the two big rivalry games on the Royals' schedule -- Knightstown is the other -- and the Royals came out inspired against Knightstown. Coming off of a victory, and with another winnable game next week, this is a big late-season test for Mark Reddy's team. After this week, the Royals head to Edinburgh to face a Lancer squad that won its first game on the field since 2004 last week. Then, it's a Sectional 37 field that includes always-powerful Clinton Central and Sheridan.
The Raiders
Coach: Scott Widner (2nd season at SHS, 15-3; 3rd season overall, 15-13).
Outlook: Scott Widner's club does what Shenandoah teams are known for doing -- win. The only regular-season games they've lost in Widner's brief tenure are to a strong Centerville program that is 7-0 this year and went 9-2 last season. A 4-6 year in 2007 is the Raiders' lone losing season since 1997. They've kept rolling this year despite heavy graduation losses, but the Raiders have managed to roll up 39 points per game. They'll do it by running, running and running some more. RB Jared Bromagem averages 8.8 yards per touch, and has 11 TDs and a shade under 100 yards per game average this year. He's broken the 100-yard mark three times, including 164 yards and 4 TDs in last week's 54-6 win over Tri-Central. Zach Cole totals 9.7 yards per carry and 77 per game, and he had a 100+-yard game in a victory over Knightstown. Dylan Hamm and QB Zach York also average more than 40 yards per game on the ground, as the Raiders roll up 282 rushing yards per game. York doesn't throw it much -- he's attempted 60 passes in seven games -- but his favorite receiver is Cole, who has 11 of Shenandoah's 25 pass receptions on the season. Bristan Jones is a player to watch on the line, as he has 7 sacks this season. This will be the Raiders' Senior Night, as Shenandoah finishes the year with a visit to Park Tudor. The Raiders are in one of 2A's strongest sectionals, as unbeaten Centerville, defending 2A champ Heritage Christian, 6-1 Ritter and an always-strong Speedway squad lurk.
Looking ahead
One thing about covering football in a suburban area is the plethora of 3A, 4A and 5A teams we've been able to cover. But I have always enjoyed covering small-school football. Nearly everybody goes both ways, there's a lot of having to move people around and maybe play people outside of what their natural position would be. You often see some interesting offenses and some really good football at the small-school level, but the other thing you see is passion -- from the fans in the stands as much as the players on the field -- especially in rivalry games like this one. We love it, and Jim Ryan and I are looking forward to bringing you this game.
On Wednesday: Read about the first two matchups in the HHC Classic at Lucas Oil Stadium.
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