Friday night football Week 4

Wow.

A great night for the three Hancock County HHC schools and we get an early look at what the conference race might look like.

The results set up a BIG matchup next week between Mt. Vernon and Pendleton Heights that will be our Game of the Week broadcast. The Marauders won 35-13 over Rushville tonight, while PH had a huge 57-25 victory over Shelbyville. Both teams are 3-1 -- MV is 2-0 in the HHC, PH is 3-1.

MV and New Palestine -- both at 2-0 in the league -- are the only two teams with unblemished conference records left. NP was out-of-conference tonight, but looked incredibly strong in a 41-7 victory over Batesville. The Dragons used their offensive line strength and the running of backs Austin Cahoy (114 yards, 3 TDs) and Matt Siergiej (151 yards, 2 TDs) to score 27 second-quarter points and build a 34-7 halftime lead. The Dragons gained 396 yards of total offense, and added a new dimension, as QB Connor Simmons hit 6-of-9 passes for 101 yards and a TD, running a really efficient two-minute drill to put up the final points of the first half. After gaining three first downs on the first drive and scoring, Batesville only gained one more first down until the fourth quarter.

A few other eye-openers tonight -- Greenfield-Central didn't just win its first HHC game since 2008, it did so resoundingly. The Cougars beat Yorktown 69-7, posting their biggest victory in decades. The Cougars are 2-2 and made quite a statement. If they can keep it going against Shelbyville and Rushville the next two weeks, they'll put themselves in position to make a push for the top half of the HHC the last two weeks of the conference season.

PH's win -- bouncing back from last week's 20-3 loss to NP with 57 points -- their most since scoring 62 against South Dearborn in 2000 -- and a big statement win over Shelbyville. PH has one of the league's most accurate passers in Mitch Patishall, and Dezmon Nunn is a dangerous KR and RB.

In non-conference play, Delta knocked off Muncie South 23-14 to improve to 3-1 on the year and keep the league's strong reputation going. The HHC was the state's top team in nonconference play last year.

Elsewhere in Hancock County, Eastern Hancock's stretch of strong foes to start the season continued, as Milan improved to 3-1 with a 37-12 victory over the Royals. EH is now 0-4 headed into next week's Plowshare and Anvil Trophy game against archrival Knightstown.

HHC standings
New Palestine 2-0 conf, 3-1 overall (next week: @Rushville)
Mt. Vernon 2-0 conf, 3-1 overall (next week: @PH)
Pendleton Hts. 3-1 conf., 3-1 overall (next week: vs. MV)
Delta 1-1 conf., 3-1 overall (next week: @Yorktown)
Shelbyville 1-1 conf., 2-2 overall (next week: vs. G-C)
Greenfield-Central 1-2 conf., 2-2 overall (next week: @Shelbyville)
Rushville 0-2 conf., 2-2 overall (next week: vs. NP)
Yorktown 0-3 conf., 0-4 overall (next week: vs. Delta)