By Anthony Mock
MaxPreps.com
The Class 2A No. 1 Heritage Christian Eagles improved to 6-0 last Friday, shutting out Beech Grove, 49-0.
In high school football, the focus for most offenses and defenses centers on the running game. Heritage Christian, however, has among the best passing attacks in the state and has ridden the arm of first-year junior quarterback Jackson Kirtley to a strong start.
In five games, Kirtley has completed over 77 percent of his passes for 1,226 yards. He was slightly less on-point against Beech Grove than he was in his previous starts, but still managed to go 18-for-31 for 261 yards and threw three touchdowns and just one interception.
Heritage Christian was led in receiving by senior wide receiver Michael Breiner, who caught six balls for 115 yards and a touchdown. Breiner was one of eight different Eagles to a catch a pass during the game.
“Our offense really causes some problems for people,” said Heritage Christian head coach Ron Qualls. “We run a no-huddle spread, but aside from that it’s difficult to cover four guys between 6-1 and 6-5, and that’s on any level. The main thing, though, is that we have (intelligent players), which is important in successfully running a collegiate-style offense.”
With such a prolific offense, it is easy to overlook Heritage Christian’s stout defense. Four of the Eagles’ six opponents have failed to score a single point. The Hornets are the most notable of this group, as they boasted the ninth-ranked scoring offense in the state before last Friday.
The Eagles’ other two foes scored six and 15 points, respectively, though Heritage Christian won each game by more than 30 points.
The Eagles’ next challenge will come in the form of Class 5A Arsenal Tech, which is 5-1 on the season.
Bloomington South Rebounds Against Bears
After suffering through a 48-21 shellacking at the hands of Southport, the Class 5A No. 9 Bloomington South Panthers built a 35-7 halftime lead on Class 5A No. 6 Lawrence Central and never looked back, finishing with a 35-21 win.
Bloomington South (5-1) was strong on offense and suffocating on defense. The Panthers turned the ball over four times, three of which were on quarterback Marcus Etnier interceptions. Etnier delivered when he had to, though, punishing the Bears for their two first quarter fumbles, converting on a crucial fouth-and-15, and accounting for three touchdowns through the air and one on the ground.
The Panthers’ defense, meanwhile, forced four turnovers and held Lawrence Central to 237 total yards and only ten first downs. It is a positive turnaround for Bloomington South, which looked outclassed against Southport.
The Panthers will face another tough test on Friday, this time at Class 5A No. 10 Pike. The Red Devils are 4-2 on the season and should pose an interesting challenge to the Panthers, both of their losses having come to Southport and Lawrence Central. The Bears (5-1) will host Southport on Friday.
Volleyball: Muncie Central Hands Avon First Loss
The Muncie Central Invitational is a sight for volleyball fans to behold. It is the only regular-season tournament to feature the state’s top three teams. The Invitational lived up to its billing, with the final match pitting then-Class 4A No. 2 Muncie Central against then-Class 4A No. 3 Avon.
Avon’s first match of the tournament was against Muncie South, which they won handily 25-12 and 25-9. The Orioles’ second match was slightly tougher, but Avon dispatched of Columbus East in two games 25-19, 25-22.
Avon’s third match was against then-Class 4A No. 1 Elkhart Memorial. The Orioles took the first game 25-22 but lost the second 20-25. Avon took the third game tie-breaker 15-11 and advanced to the finals.
Avon took a 21-0 record into their match against Muncie Central. The Orioles have plenty of firepower, led by Senior Katie Griffin who is tops in the state with 5.69 kills per game. The Orioles’ offense looked to be suffering after its first three matches, though, as they only managed 17 and 20 points, respectively, in their two-game loss to the Bearcats.
“They’re a great team,” said Avon head coach Scott McQueen of Muncie Central. “We might have come out a little flat, but the fact is that they just executed better than we did.”
Avon’s first loss of the season was somewhat disheartening to the players, but the Orioles know that a loss to a top-rated team came be used as a learning experience.
“Going undefeated wasn’t one of our goals,” said McQueen. “The bus ride home was a little tough because I think (the players) felt like they should have preformed better. We felt good about how we played the rest of the time, though, so it’s just another step on the road to our (primary) goal.”
Avon’s next match is Tuesday at Martinsville.
Boys Soccer: Carmel, Evansville Memorial Draw
The fourth-ranked Greyhounds hosted top-ranked Evansville Memorial on Saturday and played them to a 1-1 tie.
Evansville Memorial has been on a tear this season, going 11-0-1 before entering into Saturday's showdown. The last time the two teams met was in 2006 in the state semi-finals, which the eventual state runner-up Greyhounds won.
Evansville Memorial tried to exact its revenge early, scoring within the first minute of play. The Greyhounds stepped up their defense the rest of the way, and after a second-half goal by sophomore Stuart Ball, handed the Tigers their second tie of the year.
Carmel (7-1-4) will play Center Grove on Tuesday, a crucial battle to help decide who will win the Metropolitan Interscholastic Conference championship.
Anthony Mock covers Indiana for MaxPreps. He may be reached at anthonywmock@hotmail.com.
