FB: Jones’ 5 TD passes lift 5A #6 HSE to 40-17 win over 5A #10 Fishers

August 28, 2010

Hamilton Southeastern High School


By E. Shawn Aylsworth
Managing Editor

FISHERS – It was announced in the local newspaper that Hamilton Southeastern’s 6’4” Gary Harris was considering Indiana University on a basketball scholarship. After the carnage he and quarterback Jake Jones caused Aug. 27, the Hoosiers might wanna come callin’ for football, too.

Jones, a junior quarterback, went 16 of 22 for 280 yards and five touchdowns with no interceptions. Harris, his 11th-grade classmate at wide receiver, further devastated the Fishers defensive backfield by turning four of his eight receptions into TDs on a 120-yard night.

The result? A stunning 40-17 victory by the Class 5A sixth-ranked host Royals (2-0) over arch-rival 5A No. 10 Fishers that gives them a 4-1 lead in the all-time series and puts to shame the memory of last year’s offensively puny 10-6 loss to the Tigers.

WE'VE GOT VIDEO HIGHLIGHTS OF SEVEN OF THE GAME'S EIGHT TOUCHDOWNS AS WELL AS POSTGAME INTERVIEWS WITH HSE'S JAKE JONES & RANDY GREGORY AND FISHERS COACH RICK WIMMER! JUST CLICK HERE FOR THE HSE SCHOOL PAGE AND ON THE FOLLOWING LINK BELOW FOR THE FISHERS SCHOOL PAGE (http://www.ihigh.com/school8217/)!

Yet that lopsided outcome in HSE’s favor certainly did not appear likely following a frenzied first 15 minutes that ended in a 17-7 lead for Fishers. Little did the Tigers know, however, the next 33 points of this Hoosier Crossroads Conference showdown would be scored against them at a jam-packed Reynolds Royals Stadium awash in seas of blue and red.

Fishers (1-1) took advantage of a short field following a fumble on the game’s second play by moving 37 yards in seven plays to open the scoring. The drive culminated on 3rd and goal from the HSE 1-yard line when senior quarterback Koby Orris found senior wideout Alphonso Hines (six catches for 58 yards on the night) on a pass in the back of the right end zone.

But Southeastern responded in just five plays, going 69 yards in just 97 seconds to tie it at 7 when Jones hit Harris on a nearly identical pass in the back of the left end zone from eight yards out on 3rd and 5. The big play in that drive was a 41-yard run off right tackle by freshman running back Jamitreus Crockham (seven carries, 54 yards).

On the next play from scrimmage, however, Fishers struck deep for paydirt on a 66-yard bomb down the middle from Orris to wide-open senior wide receiver R.C. Hauser (six catches, a game-high 123 yards) that made it 14-7 with 6:38 still left in the opening period. The Tigers pushed the lead to 17-7 with 50 seconds left in the quarter on a 37-yard field goal by senior Max Larreur.

And that was pretty much it for the visitors. Time and again from that point on, Hamilton Southeastern made it clear that its big-play passing game wasn’t about to be stopped.

Emphasis on BIG.

The Royals opened the second stanza by going 65 yards in seven plays, with 61 of those yards coming courtesy of Jones’ right arm. The climax came on a 17-yard pass to the right side of the end zone on which Harris made a spectacular catch at the 10:00 mark.

After a three-and-out ensuing possession by Fishers, Southeastern moved 50 yards in five plays to take its first lead of the game. A second 17-yard scoring strike from Jones to Harris – this one over the middle right in front of the end zone – preceded a botched extra point, giving the Royals a 20-17 advantage 5:36 before the half.

Fishers got the ball inside HSE territory but was forced to punt on the next possession, giving the Royals the ball at their own 24 with 2:18 left in the half. Runs of 21 and 12 yards by sophomore running back Ryan Ripp (10 carries, a game-high 81 yards) helped move the ball downfield quickly for the Royals, but a fumble at the Tigers’ 25 ended the threat 1:01 before the half.

Three plays netted zero yards for Fishers, and a pair of timely timeouts allowed HSE to get the ball back at the Tigers’ 45 with just :00.9 on the clock. A false start penalty pushed the Royals back to midfield, but that only enhanced what was to come.

Jones bought some time and unloaded a pass deep down the middle, where 6’3” senior Randy Gregory – a defensive lineman best known for 15 sacks last year and a scholarship to Purdue next season – jumped up and reached around a leaping Fishers defender’s helmet, gathered in the ball, and stumbled into the end zone.

The stunning sequence left the previously potent Tigers reeling, prompting one player to yell “Wake the hell up!” as the team made its way to the halftime locker room.

It didn’t happen. The third quarter went strangely scoreless, and Southeastern added two touchdowns in the fourth period – including a gorgeous 36-yard toss from Jones to Harris for their fourth TD of the night – to complete the onslaught.

HSE’s defense really stepped it up in the second half. The Royals increased their pressure on Orris (16 of 28 for 195 yards with two early TDs and two late interceptions), especially on third down where HSE dominated by converting 7 of 10 opportunities to just 1 of 9 for the Tigers. That huge tilt in big-play situations was a large reason why the Royals owned a 457-302 advantage in total yards offensively.

Next up for Hamilton Southeastern is a dangerous Sept. 3 trip to 5A No. 13 HCC foe Brownsburg (2-0), a 28-0 Week 2 shutout winner at Noblesville. Fishers, meanwhile, will try to regroup that same night in a home contest with conference foe Westfield (0-1), which was to play Avon in the Horseshoe Classic at Lucas Oil Stadium Aug. 28.

The box score (thank you, Craig Newlin!):

Fishers                                  17    0    0    0    –    17
Hamilton Southeastern        7    20    0    13    –    40

Fishers – 1 9:33 Koby Orris 1 pass to Alphonso Hines (Max Larreur kick)
HSE – 1 6:46 Jake Jones 8 pass to Gary Harris (Cameron Polk kick)
Fishers –1 6:38 Orris 67 pass to R.C. Hauser (Larreur kick)
Fishers –1 0:50 Larreur 37 FG

HSE – 2 10:00 Jones 17 pass to Harris (Polk kick)
HSE – 2 5:36 Jones 17 pass to Harris (Ogle pass failed)
HSE – 2 0:05 Jones 50 pass to Randy Gregory (Polk kick)

HSE – 4 11:07 Ryan Ripp 2 run (Polk kick)
HSE – 4 7:13 Jones 36 pass to Harris

                 Fishers  HSE
First Downs     17    23
Rushes-Yds    27-103  32-177
Passing Yds    199   280
Comp-Att-Int  17-30-2  16-22-0
Fumbles-Lost  1-0    3-2
Penalties-Yds  6-56  8-41

Rushing
Fishers: Koby Orris 12-38, Eric Davis 3-24, Connor McCalley 8-23, Mitch Sliga 4-18
HSE: Ryan Ripp 10-81 (TD), Jamitreus Crockham 7-54, Jake Jones 7-18,
Taylor Christensen 5-15, Kyle Malm 1-5, Randy Gregory 1-2, Brady Dearing 1-2

Passing
Fishers: Koby Orris 16-28-195-2, Ben Pritchett 1-2-4-0
HSE: Jake Jones 16-22-280-0

Receiving
Fishers: R.C. Hauser 6-123 (TD), Alphonso Hines 6-58 (TD), Cameron Allen 2-12, Connor McCalley 2-[-4], Dakota Slaughter 1-10
HSE: Gary Harris 8-120 (4 TDs), Randy Gregory 2-71 (TD), Tyler Duffy 2-23, Ryan Ripp 1-24, Jamitreus Crockham 1-20, Riley Price 1-14, Rashaun Jones 1-8