Top-ranked Royals see regional matchup Eagles as mirror image

Friday, November 15, 2013
Eastern Hancock senior Spencer Gilbert tries to step through a tackle during a game earlier this season. Gilbert has rushed for 2,441 yards this season and is the best running back South Putnam will face this year. (Courtesy photo/Greenfield Reporter)

The teams share striking similarities:

* Each football squad in the Class A regional championship Friday at South Putnam is led by a running back that the opposing coach terms "the best we've seen all year."

* Host South Putnam and foe Eastern Hancock have proud football histories. The Royals, owners of nine sectional titles, won a Class A state championship in 1985. The Eagles, with 10 sectionals in the trophy case, won the Class A state title in 1986.

* South Putnam's Troy Burgess once coached in Hancock County at Greenfield-Central, just a few miles west of Eastern Hancock, and still has several friends in the area.

* Eastern Hancock's Pat Echeverria once played for and coached at DePauw University, just a few miles north of South Putnam.

* At 11-1, South Putnam is enjoying its best start in program history. The perfect Royals (12-0) are also on an unprecedented pace.

The state title hopes of one of these mirror image teams will be shattered Friday, likely at the legs of either Lucas Lorian or Spencer Gilbert.

Lorian, a five-foot-8, 210-pound junior, has 2,610 yards on the season, which ranks in the top 25 of all-time single-season yardage for an Indiana prep back. Built like a bowling bowl, Lorian is the most talented runner Eastern Hancock has faced this year, according to Royals coach Pat Echeverria.

"He can go up the middle and he has enough speed to break it away," the coach said. "He makes good cuts, so it's going to be a great challenge for us. On top of that, they have a really good offensive line that likes to get off the ball and try to push people around."

The Royals will counter with Gilbert, who, with 2,441 rushing yards on only 201 carries, is also nearing a top-25 all-time season. While Lorian is ground-and-pound, Gilbert is shiftier and can find the end zone in a variety of ways.

On the year, Gilbert has a state-best 282 points, which ranks 14th all-time for single-season scoring. The 6-foot 200-pounder is the biggest reason Eastern Hancock leads the state with nearly 60 points per game.

"Man, are they explosive," Burgess, in his eighth year at South Putnam, told the Daily Reporter earlier this week. "They've got so many weapons and so much talent.

"As a football fan I'm kind of looking forward to watching them play. Man, oh man, do they look good on film. So I'm kind of anxious to watch them, kind of anxious to see the Gilbert kid run. Everybody I've talked to and what I've seen, it looks like and sounds like he's really something else and probably the best we've seen."

EH sophomore quarterback Logan Splater is 59-of-95 for 996 yards, 18 touchdowns and two interception directing the Royals' scoreboard assault. Splater has rushed for 424 yards. Cooper Henderson is also over 1,000 yards in total offense. The senior has rushed 768 yards while making 31 receptions for 462 yards and notching 19 total touchdowns.

Playing a competitive mostly 2A and 3A schedule, South Putnam's offense has been slightly less potent than the Royals. Averaging 37.9 points, the Eagles have been held under 27 points four times. Eastern Hancock scores 27 points stepping off the bus, so Burgess is hoping to avoid a shootout.

"I think if this thing gets into a real high-scoring game it's probably going to be to their advantage," he said. "They're just so talented with their skill position players, they've got so many weapons there, it would be tough for us to keep up with them if that's the type of game it ends up being."

Eastern Hancock, although always confident in its offense, would also like to avoid the type of contest they survived last week in the sectional championship. In a 57-36 win, the Royals trailed 36-21 with under six minutes remaining in the third quarter then reeled off five unanswered touchdowns, including scores by Gilbert on runs of 72, 65 and 5 yards.

It had been nearly two months -- since a 33-25 win over Indian Creek Sept. 6 -- that the Royals had been challenged.

"I think getting down in the third quarter at Northeastern was kind of a good wake-up call," Echeverria said. "We hadn't been challenged in a while and I think it's exactly what we needed -- to kind of face some adversity and have to battle back. The kids responded really well on Friday and this week in practice our preparation has been outstanding.

"They came to practice Monday extremely focused. The kids are ready to go."

Echeverria, in his first year as a head coach after serving as an assistant at Pike, and Burgess, in his eighth year with the Eagles and 16th year overall, are each aiming for their first regional titles.

One of Burgess' best teams never made it out of the first round of the sectional. In his first season at Greenfield-Central in 2002, the Josiah Sears-led Cougars went 7-3 in the regular season and won a conference title, only to lose to Indianapolis Cathedral 14-7 in the tournament opener. Sears went on to start at fullback for Indiana.

"I met some great people there in Greenfield," said Burgess, who began his coaching career at Owen Valley and is now assistant principal at South Putnam. "I had the honor and the privilege of coaching some really fine young men and I still have some very good friends to this day who are from Greenfield.

"But from the football standpoint things didn't work out and the South Putnam job was available. And I was very familiar and was very excited when the opportunity came to come to South Putnam."

Burgess, a New Castle graduate who took the G-C job to be closer to family, coached four seasons in Greenfield. His last three teams won a combined five games, and current head coach Roger Dodson was hired in 2006.

Currently happy calling the plays at South Putnam, Burgess has at least one major decision to make Friday. Season-long starting quarterback Sawyer Arnold went down with a knee injury on the Eagles' first play of their 26-13 sectional semifinal win over West Washington Nov. 1 and hasn't played since, giving way to sophomore Grady McHugh.

Arnold returned to practice this week and is "50-50" for Friday, said Burgess, who added that it will be a game-time decision.

Echeverria said each QB presents different challenges for the Royals.

"The original starting quarterback presented a lot of problems because he could make some plays with his legs," Echeverria said. "So if something broke down he was very good about scrambling out and making a play, either running it or throwing it. The other kid, it's a younger kid, you can tell he's got a really good arm, he's talented, he's just a little less experienced than the other kid.

"But you really just try to prepare for an offense. The key is to try to stop No. 25 (Lorian)."

Stopping Lorian will fall on his counterpart and the EH defense. Gilbert, the Royals' starting linebacker, has a team-high 9.5 sacks, just in front of fellow linebacker Hunter Knopp (8.5). Andy Riley has a team-best 153 tackles, followed by Kenny Delph (101), Knopp (99) and Gilbert (70).

The Royals surrendered a season-high 36 points last week as Northeastern compiled 163 yards passing and 157 on the ground.

"Their quarterback made a lot of plays, both running and throwing, and buying time," Echeverria said. "And they just had a really good game plan of mixing up their run and pass and it took us a while to adjust. When we did and got the momentum, obviously we started playing really well."

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  • SO EXCITED FOR 2NITES GAME!!! I'M PROUD OF ALL THE BOYS!!! LET'S GO EAGLES! LORIAN----YOU GOT THIS!!!!!!!!!!!!!

    -- Posted by truthis on Fri, Nov 15, 2013, at 8:31 AM
  • what time is kick off?

    -- Posted by smartmom on Fri, Nov 15, 2013, at 9:45 AM
  • 7pm! GO EAGLES!

    -- Posted by landstarrang on Fri, Nov 15, 2013, at 9:57 AM
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