CHARLOTTESVILLE — The Eastern Hancock football team was looking to bounce back on Friday night, but instead visiting South Putnam handed the Royals their second straight loss.
The Eagles built a 14-0 lead by halftime and never looked back, defeating the host Royals 21-7 to drop Eastern Hancock’s season record to 3-2.
The Royals opened the year 3-0, but their offense has only accounted for seven points in the past two weeks.
Friday night’s lone touchdown went to senior quarterback Houston Swan, who completed 10 of 26 pass attempts for 108 yards, a score and an interception.
He connected with Brayden Sullivan to erase South Putnam’s bid at a shutout in the fourth quarter.
Zach Arnold rushed for 37 yards on six carries with his longest run measuring at 21 yards. The Royals rushed for 62 yards on 23 carries.
Swan found four different receivers on Friday with Landon O’Neal and Chase Riggs each hauling in three catches apiece. Riggs led the receiving corp. with 45 yards. O’Neal had 31 yards and Sullivan finished with 25. Arnold caught to passes for 7 yards.
Kain Sotelo had a team-high 18 total tackles (13 solos), while he and Cameron Volz, Logan Hoskins and Nick Potts each had one tackle for a loss.
The Class 2A Royals (2-0 MEC) travel to Class A Milan this week before returning home on Oct. 1 against Mid-Eastern Conference foe Monroe Central.
Volleyball
Marauders sweep at Belmont
The Mt. Vernon volleyball team went 2-0 at The Triple, a volleyball event at Bellmont High School, on Saturday featuring three of the state’s top programs.
The Marauders opened with a 3-1 win over Angola, then defeated host Bellmont, ranked No. 4 in Class 3A, 3-2.
Against Angola, Mt. Vernon won by set scores of 25-21, 19-25, 25-8, 25-18.
In the match, Cecilia Bulmahn had 21 kills and 13 digs. Libby Gee-Weiler had a team-high 15 digs and three service aces. Setter Rylee Ugen also had three aces to go with 33 assists.
Abby Herman added 11 digs and Macy Lyons had three blocks.
In the victory over Bellmont, MV won by set scores of 25-23, 21-25, 25-20, 23-25, 15-10.
Bulmahn had 26 kills and 19 digs. Ugen had 47 assists, 10 digs and five service aces. Gee-Weiler led in digs with 22. Delaney Bowser added 15 and Herman had 16. Lyons led in blocks with five.
Mt. Vernon (16-4) returns to action Wednesday with a match at Triton Central.
Cougars fall to Golden Bears
The Greenfield-Central volleyball team lost to visiting Shelbyville, 3-1, on Thursday.
The Golden Bears won by set scores of 13-25, 25-22, 25-18, 25-20.
Mya Grigsby led the Cougars with 14 kills and 12 digs. Harper Holden added eight kills and two blocks. Emma Berty had six kills and two blocks. Morgan Hornaday recorded 36 assists and 11 digs. Rilee Roland had six kills.
Tennis
Dragons sweep Triton Central
The New Palestine boys tennis team beat Triton Central 5-0 Thursday in a matchup of county championship squads.
The Dragons, who won the Hancock County title last week, dominated the singles against the Shelby County champion Tigers. Ezra Schwier won 6-1, 6-1, Colin Darley 6-0, 6-0 and Zach Au 6-1, 6-0.
At doubles, Jackson Havel/Clayton Wesley won 6-0, 6-2, while Zayden Stiller/Caleb Davis posted a 6-1, 6-1 victory.
The Dragons are now 13-3 on the season.
Marauders best Trojans
The Mt. Vernon boys tennis team defeated Hoosier Heritage Conference foe New Castle, 3-2, on Thursday.
The Marauders won at No. 2 doubles with Brady Pearson/Matthew Jones prevailing 6-2, 6-3. Robbie Moore locked down the second team point in singles play, 7-6 (8), 6-3.
The match-winner for Mt. Vernon came from Manny Downs at No. 3 singles, who rallied back from losing the first set, to take the next two, 7-5, 6-4.
The Marauders improved their season record to 10-5 and 4-1 in the HHC.
Cougars sweep past Tigers
The Greenfield-Central boys tennis team swept the night on Thursday, winning 5-0 over Alexandria.
At No. 1 singles, Matt Hyre won 6-2, 6-1. At No. 2 singles, Chris Long won 6-1, 6-1. At No. 3 singles Caden Robertson won 6-0, 6-1.
Jack Weidner/Corbin Tilley won 6-0, 6-0 at No. 1 doubles, and Casey Hunt/Tyler White won 6-0, 6-0 at two doubles.
The Cougars are now 13-4 on the season.
Cross Country
Marauders take second at FlashRock
The Mt. Vernon girls cross-country team competed at the FlashRock Invitational in Carmel on Saturday and finish second overall.
Roncalli won the event, escaping the Marauders by seven points.
Senior Lydia Carrell led the Marauders with a fourth-place run. Emma Gale, Alex Overshiner, Tenley Benz and Madelyn Ludlow also performed well in 20th, 28th, 32nd and 63rd, respectively.
Morgan Tharp was 11th and Allie Jenson finished 19th. Mindy Cornelius was 55th.
Dragons run strong at FlashRock
The New Palestine cross-country teams competed Saturday at the FlashRock Invitational at Northview Christian Church in Carmel.
The Dragon girls competed in the top-flite championship race and finished 12th in a 17-team field with 361 places.
Courtney Study led the Dragons with a 45th-place finish, running the 5K course in 20:38.90. Emma Mann finished 49th (20:45.52), Caitlin Urrutia 96th (21:50.83), Emily Adam 106th (22:14.98) and Jocelynn Flagle 142nd (23:15.50).
Carmel (56) won, beating out Westfield (85) and Noblesville (91).
The Dragon boys finished 11th in the 15-team invitational race, tallying 268 places.
Colin Darley finished 25th, running the 5K in 18:15.66. Harrison Holloway finished 52nd (18:58.86), Hayden Isaacs 64th (19:23.80), Will Hahn 65th (19:24.98) and Cameron Mann 66th (19:26.19).
Troy (Ohio) won the race with 83 places, beating Northeastern (103) and DeKalb (109).
Royals take second at invite
The Eastern Hancock boys cross-country team finished second in their own invitational Saturday.
Preston Markley was the top finisher for the Royals with a third-place run in 18:34. Luke McCartney was ninth in 19:46. Luken Edwards was 14th and John Henry Gray was 20th. Brandon Cross completed the team scoring with a 41st place.
Olivia Evans finished fourth with a 23:45 for the girls, followed by Ashton Willis in fifth at 24:05. Mia Griesmeyer was 13th.
Cougars win at South Dearborn
The Greenfield-Central boys cross-country team finished first in the big school division at the South Dearborn Invitational.
The Cougars placed four in the top 10 and all seven competitors in the top 16. Griffen Wheeler was the overall champion in a time of 16:36. Matt Wickham and Liam Brinkruff were second and third, respectively, in 16:53 and 16:59.
Lucas Tutrow was ninth in 17:58, Jacob Presser was 12th in 18:06, Morgan Flanagan was 13th in 18:15. Carter Crouch took 16th in 18:27.
Cougars finish fifth overall
The Greenfield-Central girls cross-country team finished fifth at the South Dearborn Invitational on Saturday.
The Cougars were led by Emma Bogle in 16th. Lexie Copeland was 20th and Reagan Crouch was 22nd.
Other competing were: Josie Joyner (33rd), Alyssa Siegle (37th), Shelby Hoffman (39th), Emily Wright (47th) and Madelyn King (53rd).
Girls Soccer
Marauders fall to Royals
The Mt. Vernon girls soccer team lost 3-2 to state-ranked Hamilton Southeastern at home on Saturday.
Maddie Swingle and Kylie Brandes each had goals for the host Marauders. Riley Britt recorded five saves in the match.
The Marauders are now 7-3-1 on the season.
Dragons fall to Irish
The New Palestine girls soccer team dropped a 3-0 decision to Class 2A No. 3 Cathedral Saturday at home.
The Dragons (8-3) battled throughout the game and were able to maintain possession that led to multiple good chances on goal. The Dragons conceded two goals off set pieces – one in each half. Bethany Blachly earned the team’s hard hat award for her play as she filled in on defense.
Cougars win Kicking Cancer Game
The Greenfield-Central girls soccer team played in its annual Kicking Cancer game and won 2-0 over Oldenburg Academy.
Greenfield-Central pressed early and often into the Oldenburg defensive third and 17 minutes in, Haley Arthur buried a goal for a 1-0 lead. Ten minutes later, Cora Bishop hit a perfectly placed through ball to Gladys Rodriguez for a 2-0 lead.
The defense shutout their third opponent in the past four games. Jessica Merritt and Hannah Skene combined for the shutout in goal.
The Cougars are now 4-5 on the season.
Boys Soccer
Marauders finish second at Classic
The Mt. Vernon boys soccer team lost 2-0 in the Marauder Classic championship game Saturday against Plainfield for second place.
Prior to the defeat, the Marauders (7-4) beat Fort Wayne Bishop Luers, 6-4, in the opening round with three goals scored in the first half and another three in the second.
Zach Johnson posted a hat trick with three goals. Tyler Webb added two goals and Brennan LaBelle had one.
Dragons beat Eagles in OT
Elliott Canova scored in overtime Saturday, leading the New Palestine boys soccer team to a 2-1 victory over Hoosier Heritage Conference foe Delta.
Canova scored both goals for the Dragons, who are now 5-6-0 and 4-2 in HHC play. The Dragons are currently tied for second in the HHC and can clinch a piece of the league title with a win in their Sept. 30 season finale against Pendleton Heights.
In the second half, Canova forced a turnover and scored to tie the game at 1-1.
In the first seven-minute OT session, Ethan Windham fed Canova, who fired a hard shot that was deflected by the Delta goalkeeper, but richocheted off an Eagles defender and in.
Goalkeeper Blake Bobrow and the Dragons’ defense held in the second session.
