The 2024 football season kicked off on Friday with teams across the state gearing up and taking to the field for their first action of the year.
Locally, Lapel hosted Class 3A No. 10 Hamilton Heights, while Pendleton Heights traveled over to Lebanon to square off with the Tigers.
The scripts were flipped from a year ago, with the Bulldogs avenging last season’s 27-14 loss and the Arabians losing in a shootout after last season’s game had just 15 total points scored.
Lapel
At Lapel, the Bulldogs prevailed in a sloppy opening-night game full of frequent penalties.
Up 22-20 early in the fourth quarter, senior wide receiver Rylie Hudson took a short pass from quarterback Devin Craig, broke multiple tackles and tiptoed down the sideline for a 60-yard touchdown to help Lapel hold off the Huskies.
Multiple fourth down stops by the defense during the final 10 minutes closed out and sealed the Week 1 win for the Bulldogs. With 4:37 remaining they stalled a Huskies drive, and after fumbling the ball back to Hamilton Heights with just more than two minutes remaining, denied four straight passes to end things.
The last Huskies score came prior to Hudson’s long touchdown and made things a two-point game.
Quarterback Drew Woodruff scrambled in from five yards out, but the Bulldogs defense denied the two-point attempt to maintain the two-point lead.
Lapel struck first, going 61 yards for a touchdown on their first possession. Running back Jack Miller capped off the drive with a 1-yard run.
Woodruff and the Huskies closed the opening quarter with a 15-yard touchdown pass to Cam Fleming and then took the lead in the second on a 63-yard score to wide receiver Keaton Weaver.
Miller added his second touchdown in quarter two and Craig scrambled in from three yards out on fourth-and-goal to give Lapel the halftime lead.
Craig finished the night passing for a total of 229 yards, one touchdown, and one interception, while adding one score with his legs.
Miller ran for 82 yards and a pair of scores on 21 carries. In the air, Hudson led the way with eight catches for 141 yards and the game-sealing score.
Defensively, the Bulldogs limited Hamilton Heights to just 14 rushing yards and held them scoreless over the final 10 minutes.
Brayden Pruitt and Evan Borkowski each recorded a sack, and Borkowski and Jayden Lindsey both forced fumbles.
Lapel is back in action tomorrow at 7 p.m. on the road in a school-corporation battle against another Class 3A team, Frankton.
The duo played in an instant classic last year with the Eagles winning 38-37 in overtime.
After a late Lapel field goal tied things at 31, Frankton scored to open overtime. The Bulldogs answered, but a failed extra-point attempt ended things.
Frankton is entering this year’s contest at 0-1 after losing a 63-49 shootout to Class 2A No. 4 Eastern Hancock.
The Eagles defense struggled to stop one of the top offenses in 2A, allowing 651 yards of total offense.
On the ground, they allowed the Royals to run for 378 yards and five touchdowns, and through the air, they struggled to stop Eastern Hancock’s Hayden Jackson who caught 10 passes for 213 yards and four scores.
Offensively, Frankton is led by junior quarterback Ethan Stansberry who threw for 280 yards and five touchdowns.
Trey Bennett caught three of the scores and finished with 87 yards, and Brady Carmack hauled in nine passes for 145 yards and two touchdowns.
Caine Oakley made an impact in every aspect of the offense, catching four passes for 44 yards and running four times for 18 yards and a touchdown.
Nate Luzadder paced the ground game with 68 yards and a score.
Pendleton Heights
Opposite from last season’s 15-0 defensive battle, the Arabians were bested in a 48-40 shootout at Lebanon.
A late second-quarter touchdown pass from Lebanon quarterback Jackson Folden to Kaden Lark put the Arabians behind entering the half.
From there, the Tigers grew their lead.
Another long touchdown pass in the third quarter made things 35-24 and from there, the Arabians comeback bid came up short.
They added one score in the third and fourth quarters but were outscored 20-16 in the second half.
With some new-look starters on offense, Pendleton Heights tallied 434 yards of total offense.
Under center, Colton Frank completed 14 passes for 257 yards and three touchdowns.
His leading wide receiver was Nate DeRolf, who caught five passes for 124 yards and two scores. Jacob Rowley hauled in five passes for 84 yards, and Lowan Beal finished with 21 yards and a touchdown.
On the ground, Keaton Jones ran for 81 yards and two scores, while Frank contributed 61 rushing yards.
Pendleton Heights will look to bounce back tomorrow in their home opener. They’ll take on Madison County foe, Anderson at 7 p.m.
Anderson was held to just a safety in their week one 41-2 loss to Yorktown.
The Indians turned the ball over six times, throwing four interceptions and fumbling twice.
Damien King leads them at quarterback, Terrell Whitfield leads the backfield and Aaron Morgan comes into the game as their leading receiver, accounting for 71 of King’s 87 week-one yards.
Pendleton Heights won last season’s matchup 49-0.