After each having a week off, the Hamilton Southeastern Royals and the Homestead Spartans will shake off the cobwebs and hit the field against one another at 7:00 p.m. on Friday.
Hamilton Southeastern is coming in fresh off a high-stakes matchup with another one of Indiana's top teams: Brownsburg, who was ranked first at the time (Hamilton Southeastern was ranked 11th). The Royals were outmatched by the Bulldogs and fell 35-7. Give some credit to the fans of both teams: the last five times they've met, the home team has come away the winner.
Meanwhile, a well-balanced attack led Homestead over Fort Wayne Concordia Lutheran in every quarter on their way to victory last Friday. Given that consistent dominance, it should come as no surprise that the Spartans blew the Cadets out of the water with a 42-0 final score. That looming 42-0 mark stands out as the most commanding margin for the Spartans yet this season.
Homestead's win came from a few key players Hamilton Southeastern will need to keep an eye on. One of the most notable was Logan Frieden, who threw for 211 yards and two touchdowns while completing 73.3% of his passes, and also rushed for 100 yards on only ten carries. The dominant performance also gave him a new career-high in passer rating (154.9). Another player making a difference was Shane Bardwell, who gained 58 total yards and four touchdowns.
Wins are hard to come by when you can't run the rock, something Homestead proved: they limited Fort Wayne Concordia Lutheran to a paltry two yards per carry. While two picked up at least eight total tackles, Nate Lynch stood above the rest. He picked up three sacks, forced one fumble, and made eight total tackles. Homestead's run defense has been on the up-and-up: they allowed 2.83 yards per carry earlier this season, but they've only allowed 5.33 on average over their last five games.
Homestead's defense didn't let Eli Trent, get away unscathed either: they got into the backfield for four sacks. Leading the way was Lynch with three. He also made eight total tackles, which is notable because Homestead is 5-1 when he posts at least three total tackles, but 1-2 otherwise.
Homestead pushed their record up to 6-3 with the win, which was their fourth straight at home. The home victories came thanks in part to their defensive effort, having only surrendered 9.0 points on average over those games. As for Hamilton Southeastern, their loss dropped their record down to 5-4.
Hamilton Southeastern didn't have too much breathing room in their matchup against Homestead when the teams last played back in November of 2024, but they still walked away with a 20-14 win. Do the Royals have another victory up their sleeve, or will the Spartans turn the tables on them? We'll have the answer soon enough.
