For the Daily Reporter
CHARLOTTESVILLE — It might be Houston Swan’s name in the record books, but the Eastern Hancock sophomore quarterback gives all the credit to his teammates.
Thanks to a dominant effort by the offensive line and superb play by a talented group of receivers, Swan broke the school record for the most touchdown passes in a season during the Royals’ 48-12 homecoming thrashing of visiting South Decatur Friday.
Swan threw five touchdowns in the game — all in the first half — and broke the old record of 21 set by Jarett Lewis in 2017. He now has 23 TDs in just six games.
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“I didn’t know — I was kind of caught off guard when they announced the record,” Swan said. “The offensive line is doing great and the receivers are making plays. That makes my job pretty easy.”
The Royals needed just 19 plays to score seven touchdowns and 48 points in the first half. Cayden Sotelo started the onslaught with touchdown catches of 26 and 35 yards in the first quarter. J.P. Fuchs added the record-tying score with 3:24 left in the first quarter when he caught a pass from Swan over the middle. After making a nice move on the defender, he coasted into the end zone.
“The thing is, it’s not (Houston) throwing to one guy,” Fuchs said. “We’ve got five or six different guys he can trust to catch the ball, no matter what the route is. It’s just the depth we have that makes us good. There’s nothing better than running the spread offense, especially when you work around the talent you have.”
The record-breaker, which was set up by an interception by senior Chase Settergren, went to Zach Arnold, who did most of the work on the ground.
“I hope there’s a lot more TD passes this season and he really adds to that record,” Eastern Hancock coach Doug Armstrong said. “Coach (Michael) Galyan does a really good job orchestrating our running and passing game. The kids executed — Houston put a lot of balls on the money.”
Fuchs scored again early in the second quarter when he popped free over the middle and took a short pass 52 yards to the end zone.
The Eastern Hancock running backs then got into the mix. After having a touchdown nullified by penalty, senior Victor Olivo went right back to work and powered in for a 33-yard score. Fellow senior Garrett Friesen added another score on a great second effort from two yards out. Friesen’s run gave the Royals a 48-0 lead with 2:51 left in the first half.
Swan finished the night 9-for-10 with 196 yards. Fuchs led the receivers with three catches for 85 yards. Olivo paced the ground game with 95 yards on just five carries.
Despite the big win, the Royals know there are plenty of challenges ahead as they return to Mid-Eastern Conference action Friday at home against Monroe Central.
“Coach has made it very clear we need to step it up a notch over the next three or four weeks, and he’s right,” Fuchs said. “We’re going to have some harder games.”
The Royals improved to 5-1 on the season while South Decatur dropped to 2-4. The lone bright spot for the Cougars was junior workhorse Clayton McNealy, who rushed for 206 yards and two TDS on 27 carries. He scored twice in the third quarter with the game firmly out of reach.
