Josh Hartman | Sports Editor
Avon and Hamilton Southeastern will battle it out in a rematch from last year’s 35-27 classic on Friday night, September 4, at the Hendricks Regional Health Stadium in Avon. Here are five things to watch for:
Avon’s wide receivers versus HSE’s secondary is the matchup to watch
The Orioles have eight receiving touchdowns through two games, and they are averaging 293 yards per game. Senior Wallace Stovall will be the X-factor for Avon come Friday, as he currently leads the team in total receiving yards on the season and has half of the receiving touchdowns. On the other side of the ball, the Royals of Hamilton Southeastern have caught five interceptions on the year and have forced one fumble. Senior defensive back Mikah Phillips has two of those takeaways and has 42 total yards off these interceptions.
The O-Line has to give Hesson time to throw
Senior quarterback Henry Hesson shined last week against Ben Davis, going 15/20 with 279 yards and three touchdowns. The offensive line was there to help him the whole game, but this week is a different beast. The Royals’ defense has 10.5 sacks so far this season! And they have only played two games! Among those with sacks is sophomore defensive lineman Evan Sherrill, who has four of them. The Orioles’ line will have to keep him in check and make sure he does not get to Hesson.
Avon’s defense must be ready for Wertz
Junior running back Blaine Wertz has three of the Royals’ six touchdowns on the season so far and he has a total of 145 yards. HSE has relied heavily on him to provide points for his team. He has delivered and he will look to do the same against Avon’s defense. For the Orioles to stay in this game, they will have to lock him down on both the running and receiving aspect of his game.
McCray has been going off and shows no signs of slowing down
Avon’s junior running back Chrishon McCray received interest from both Miami University (OH) and Bowling Green State University earlier this week and deservedly so. McCray has taken the reigns over after Jalen Love graduated with the class of 2020 and he has put on a show. McCray has 33 carries through this season so far and he has run for 192 yards and three touchdowns. To walk away with a victory Friday night, McCray will have to provide much of the same performance he gave last week.
This game will come down to the wire
Both Avon and HSE are coming into this game 1-1 and eyeing up their first conference game of the season. The Royals are walking into this week, right off of a tough one-point loss to North Central while the Orioles are coming in confident after a 39-point domination against Ben Davis. Both teams are hungry for their first conference win and to improve to 2-1. Kickoff of the game will be at 7:00 PM in Avon on Friday, September 4th.
The Avon Echo 