Crawfordsville Journal Review
VEEDERSBURG — Eastern Hancock came out throwing early and often against Fountain Central on its way to a 48-14 victory Friday night.
Sophomore quarterback Houston Swan picked apart the Mustangs’ defense to the tune of 245 yards and three touchdowns in the first quarter. He opened the game with a 53-yard touchdown pass to Landon O’Neal and later found J.P. Fuchs on a 10-yarder, then hit O’Neal on a 24-yard pass.
In the opening 24 minutes of play he completed 14-of-17 passes for his 245 yards.
“He took a lot of bumps as a freshman last year,” Eastern Hancock coach Doug Armstrong said. “He learned a lot last year and is off to a great start to the season so far.”
Last year the Royals (3-0) were a running team and this new look was something of a surprise for the Mustangs.
“Last year they were a power running team,” Fountain Central coach Ryan Hall said. “We got the tapes this year and they are throwing the ball all over the field. We wondered if this was even the same team. They are very good at it and they will cause a lot of teams trouble.”
Fountain Central tried putting pressure on Swan early on and forced an interception by Seth Martin before he completed eight of his final nine attempts, as he did not see any action in the second half.
The no-huddle offense was working on all cylinders for the Royals in the first half as it accumulated 313 yards in total offense on just 22 plays.
While Eastern Hancock was providing plenty of trouble for the Mustangs, the team also hurt itself in the first half.
Following the first Royals’ touchdown, the Mustangs gave up an 88-yard punt return to Cole Rainbolt. Then on their next possession the snap went over the punter’s head and gave the visitors the ball on the 21 yard line.
“We knew they were a very good team,” Hall said. “But I never expected to give up 48 points in the first half. However, we contributed to some of that. We made some critical mistakes early and a team like that will make you pay for it and they did. “
Eastern Hancock, who is 3-0 for the first time since 2015, will battle Heritage Christian this Friday, a team that beat them twice last year.
