Football Preview: Zionsville Eagles vs. Hamilton Southeastern Royals
Zionsville is 1-9 against Hamilton Southeastern since September of 2014 but they'll have a chance to close the gap a little bit on Friday. The Zionsville Eagles will venture away from home to square off against the Hamilton Southeastern Royals at 7:00 p.m. Hamilton Southeastern took a loss in their last contest and will be looking to turn the tables on Zionsville, who comes in off a win.
Zionsville is coming in fresh off a high-stakes matchup with another one of Indiana's top teams: Noblesville, who was ranked 21st in their home state at the time (Zionsville was ranked 11th). Zionsville came out on top against Noblesville by a score of 35-28 on Friday. 35 seems to be a good number for the Eagles as the team scooped up a victory with the same number of points in their previous game.
It was another big night for Sam Manna, who rushed for 140 yards and two touchdowns. With that strong performance, he is now averaging an impressive 107.5 rushing yards per game. Speaking of playmakers, who could forget Nolan Teising, who went all the way with a kickoff return for a touchdown.
Zionsville's defense was in the mix too, especially the secondary: they snagged two passes before it was all said and done. The picks came courtesy of Brady Jung and Max Phenicie. Another thorn in Noblesville's side was Hank Phenicie, who forced a fumble and made 16 total tackles.
Meanwhile, Hamilton Southeastern fought the good fight in their overtime match against Westfield on Friday but wound up with a less-than-desirable result. They fell 21-14 to the Shamrocks. The matchup marked the Royals' lowest-scoring game so far this season.
Hamilton Southeastern's defeat shouldn't obscure the performances of Kendrick Pennybaker, who picked up 110 receiving yards and a touchdown, and Chandler Weston, who threw for 128 yards and a touchdown. Pennybaker showed off some serious burst, cutting upfield on a catch for 52 yards.
Zionsville now has a winning record of 3-2. As for Hamilton Southeastern, this is the second loss in a row for them and also nudges their season record down to 3-2.
Zionsville came up short against Hamilton Southeastern in their previous meeting back in September of 2023, falling 34-24. Can Zionsville avenge their loss or is history doomed to repeat itself? We'll find out soon enough.
Article generated by infoSentience based on data entered on MaxPreps
