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Some would consider Beech Grove, a team that has won as many as games in the first five weeks of the 2009 IHSAA football season as they won the past two seasons combined, to be the ultimate underdog.
"It's not even explainable," said the Hornets leading rusher Kyle Cruz, who stated this was the best senior season he could ever ask for. "I've been playing football for years, and this year has been nothing I could ever relate to in the past."
It is only fitting that on the night that the defending Class 2A State Champions and current #1 Heritage Christian would be having their homecoming dance, the ultimate under dog would also be attending the ball. So the question is, will Cinderella be able to spoil the party with one more dance?
The Eagles (4-1) will attempt to ring midnight on the Beech Grove Hornets (4-1) Friday night in the Indy Sports Nation Feature Game Of The Week.
Check Out The Football Friday Night Week Six Game Plan
Coming off an impressive 59-0 home victory over Connersville, a team that is two classes above the Eagles in school size, Heritage Christian has been an engine running on full cylinders all season long. Of course, if you ask Head Coach Ron Qualls why his team has been so efficient, he'll attempt to give you his shortened version on why the Eagles have been so good.
"That's kind of easy to do, and unless you have about four to five hours, I'm not sure we have enough time," said Qualls with a big smile on his face. "Jackson Kirtley is our quarterback, and everybody remembers him from last year. You know, throwing the ball for 3,600 yards, and leading the state in passing. So with his decision making ability back at quarterback, that's definitely a piece that we can ride."
Of course Kirtley also has some dangerous weapons at his disposal that helps him make the game of football look as if it's in slow motion. Despite losing three All-State receivers to graduation, the Eagles haven't lost a step with Anthony Warrum and Randall Cork filling in for major roles. But Kirtley's number one option, senior James Houck, has recently been putting up numbers that might be found only in Tecmo Super Bowl.
Last week Houck had a total of six completions for 250 yards. Not only that, but it's the second time this season that the All-State receiver has had a similar game.
Take A Look At Jeremiah Johnson's Football Friday Rewind
"I think our pace is good," said Houck. "I think teams can't stay up with us, they might stay up with us the first couple drives, but then after that our endurance just takes over."
The speed, quickness, and endurance that helps put the points on the board on the offensive side of the ball has also carried over to the defensive side. With a state leading 15 interceptions, the team has incorporated it's defensive scheme into a type of football that usually seen in southern parts of the United States on Saturday afternoons.
"A lot of the times, we call it SEC defense," said Qualls. "Guys that play down in the southern part of the United States are just so incredibly fast with their defense. We want to play SEC football. We play SEC defense, but we have to play it in our team scheme. And if you can't play in a team scheme, you might be the fastest cat in the valley, if you can't play in a team aspect like we do at Heritage it's just not going to work. It's really, really been a strong point for us this year to stop passing attacks with our quickness, but also stopping running attacks with the way we get off the football."
Make Sure To Join The Heritage Christian Fan Page
The running game is something the Eagles defense will have to lock down to have success against Beech Grove, a team that specializes on it's inside running game and ability to run the option.
The Hornets, who are looking to have their first winning season since the year 2000, are coming off two straight dramatic victories that may have been the tipping point to what could be a very succesful season for the Hornets.
On September 11th the Hornets defeated Indianapolis Scecina in a thrilling overtime victory by the score of 21-18, but last Friday night's 35-24 victory over Crawfordsville is sure to be one Hornets team members will remember for a very long time.
"First thing, we get down 14 points right away," said Head Coach Dave Coudret. "And we're thinking two years ago the same running back had 290 yards against us. And you know what, our players didn't get down, and it was positive on the sideline. I looked behind me after the two scores and everyone seemed to be ready to play. And we came back, and came away with the win."
Make Sure To Join The Beech Grove Fan Page
That confidence level that the Hornets now carry into every Friday night is something that players don't remember ever seeing in years past. The positive attitude not only has Beech Grove in the hunt for every single game, but wide receiver Kirby Crook believes it helps pull out victories as well.
"In the past we haven't seem to be able to finish," said Crook. "This year we're really pulling together in the fourth quarter, and then making it a game."
Many reasons have been tossed around to why this team is so different from years in the past. Some include senior leadership, team chemistry, and conditioning to name a few. But the success of the Hornets starts with a very tough offensive line.
"We've got a senior line," said Coudret. "I guess we do have a junior at left tackle, Adam Decker. But center Eric Danz, that's where it all starts with the snap to the quarterback. Our guard Nick Hodges and Brandon Brinkley, and our right tackle Noah Shelley, they're all experienced veterans."
Those holes opened up by the offensive line allow senior running back Kyle Cruz to continue to be the sparkplug that, through his magical senior season, now only has one goal left on his mind.
"The expectations for us now is to win. But of course every team can't win every game, but we're just going to go for our best, and try to have the best record that Beech Grove has had in a long time."
The Indy Sports Nation Feature Game Of The Week takes place this Friday night when Heritage Christian hosts Beech Grove at 7:00 p.m. Full highlights of the game can be found on "Football Friday NIght" at 10:35 p.m., while a full re-cap of the game with highlights, and photo galleries of the night's action can be found afterwards on Indysportsnation.com.
"It's not even explainable," said the Hornets leading rusher Kyle Cruz, who stated this was the best senior season he could ever ask for. "I've been playing football for years, and this year has been nothing I could ever relate to in the past."
It is only fitting that on the night that the defending Class 2A State Champions and current #1 Heritage Christian would be having their homecoming dance, the ultimate under dog would also be attending the ball. So the question is, will Cinderella be able to spoil the party with one more dance?
The Eagles (4-1) will attempt to ring midnight on the Beech Grove Hornets (4-1) Friday night in the Indy Sports Nation Feature Game Of The Week.
Check Out The Football Friday Night Week Six Game Plan
Coming off an impressive 59-0 home victory over Connersville, a team that is two classes above the Eagles in school size, Heritage Christian has been an engine running on full cylinders all season long. Of course, if you ask Head Coach Ron Qualls why his team has been so efficient, he'll attempt to give you his shortened version on why the Eagles have been so good.
"That's kind of easy to do, and unless you have about four to five hours, I'm not sure we have enough time," said Qualls with a big smile on his face. "Jackson Kirtley is our quarterback, and everybody remembers him from last year. You know, throwing the ball for 3,600 yards, and leading the state in passing. So with his decision making ability back at quarterback, that's definitely a piece that we can ride."
Of course Kirtley also has some dangerous weapons at his disposal that helps him make the game of football look as if it's in slow motion. Despite losing three All-State receivers to graduation, the Eagles haven't lost a step with Anthony Warrum and Randall Cork filling in for major roles. But Kirtley's number one option, senior James Houck, has recently been putting up numbers that might be found only in Tecmo Super Bowl.
Last week Houck had a total of six completions for 250 yards. Not only that, but it's the second time this season that the All-State receiver has had a similar game.
Take A Look At Jeremiah Johnson's Football Friday Rewind
"I think our pace is good," said Houck. "I think teams can't stay up with us, they might stay up with us the first couple drives, but then after that our endurance just takes over."
The speed, quickness, and endurance that helps put the points on the board on the offensive side of the ball has also carried over to the defensive side. With a state leading 15 interceptions, the team has incorporated it's defensive scheme into a type of football that usually seen in southern parts of the United States on Saturday afternoons.
"A lot of the times, we call it SEC defense," said Qualls. "Guys that play down in the southern part of the United States are just so incredibly fast with their defense. We want to play SEC football. We play SEC defense, but we have to play it in our team scheme. And if you can't play in a team scheme, you might be the fastest cat in the valley, if you can't play in a team aspect like we do at Heritage it's just not going to work. It's really, really been a strong point for us this year to stop passing attacks with our quickness, but also stopping running attacks with the way we get off the football."
Make Sure To Join The Heritage Christian Fan Page
The running game is something the Eagles defense will have to lock down to have success against Beech Grove, a team that specializes on it's inside running game and ability to run the option.
The Hornets, who are looking to have their first winning season since the year 2000, are coming off two straight dramatic victories that may have been the tipping point to what could be a very succesful season for the Hornets.
On September 11th the Hornets defeated Indianapolis Scecina in a thrilling overtime victory by the score of 21-18, but last Friday night's 35-24 victory over Crawfordsville is sure to be one Hornets team members will remember for a very long time.
"First thing, we get down 14 points right away," said Head Coach Dave Coudret. "And we're thinking two years ago the same running back had 290 yards against us. And you know what, our players didn't get down, and it was positive on the sideline. I looked behind me after the two scores and everyone seemed to be ready to play. And we came back, and came away with the win."
Make Sure To Join The Beech Grove Fan Page
That confidence level that the Hornets now carry into every Friday night is something that players don't remember ever seeing in years past. The positive attitude not only has Beech Grove in the hunt for every single game, but wide receiver Kirby Crook believes it helps pull out victories as well.
"In the past we haven't seem to be able to finish," said Crook. "This year we're really pulling together in the fourth quarter, and then making it a game."
Many reasons have been tossed around to why this team is so different from years in the past. Some include senior leadership, team chemistry, and conditioning to name a few. But the success of the Hornets starts with a very tough offensive line.
"We've got a senior line," said Coudret. "I guess we do have a junior at left tackle, Adam Decker. But center Eric Danz, that's where it all starts with the snap to the quarterback. Our guard Nick Hodges and Brandon Brinkley, and our right tackle Noah Shelley, they're all experienced veterans."
Those holes opened up by the offensive line allow senior running back Kyle Cruz to continue to be the sparkplug that, through his magical senior season, now only has one goal left on his mind.
"The expectations for us now is to win. But of course every team can't win every game, but we're just going to go for our best, and try to have the best record that Beech Grove has had in a long time."
The Indy Sports Nation Feature Game Of The Week takes place this Friday night when Heritage Christian hosts Beech Grove at 7:00 p.m. Full highlights of the game can be found on "Football Friday NIght" at 10:35 p.m., while a full re-cap of the game with highlights, and photo galleries of the night's action can be found afterwards on Indysportsnation.com.
