The village of Heyworth is buzzing after the Hornets picked up their third straight victory over an HOIC team last Friday. The Hornets took a 45-minute trip up to Minonk and found themselves dominating, being up 29-8 in the 3rd quarter before the Knights stormed back and made it a 29-28 game with 51 seconds to go. Fortunately for the Hornets, Brayden Brucker deflected the 2-point conversion and Heyworth held on to a win in a relatively tough environment to improve to 4-1, meaning one win from a playoff bid and two wins away from a playoff clinch. But this week will not be easy, as the Hornets host the Rushville Industry Rockets on Friday.
Rushville Industry comes into the game at 2-3, but their record does not reflect their season so far. The Rockets started off the year 0-3, but all of their losses have come in tightly contested games vs. playoff-caliber teams including a 5-point heartbreaking loss to state-ranked Stark County. I had a nice conversation with their head coach Brian Lafferty. We talked about how intense this game would be. “Our boys work hard, I’ll tell you that right now. Rushville has had a tradition of working hard and this year is no different”. I asked him what his mindset was going into the game, and he stated “Heyworth’s a special team this year. Typically you look at Heyworth and you see a win but that’s not the case this year. This team we are playing is special and it’ll be a dogfight in the end.” Both teams run a wing T style offense and Coach Lafferty said this game will be a dogfight no matter who wins. I would like to thank Coach Lafftery for the interview because this was very unique and an awesome experience.
Heyworth is coming into this game 4-1, this mark hasn’t been reached since 2013, and many people are saying this is their year to reach the playoffs. They have the right to think that, as they have had back-to-back road wins over solid teams. Coach Albaugh and company are fighting for their fourth consecutive win, but their focus is still on football. The team has drastically improved compared to last year, as Tyler Wills mentioned that Heyworth had only won 3 games in the past 3 years (excluding the Fisher forfeit from last year), but this year they have already passed the 4 win mark. “The coaches have helped us throughout the year and the offense changing into what we do best has led to us winning”. The offense has definitely been on point this year, as they are averaging nearly 30 points a game. I didn’t get the chance to talk to Coach Albaugh, but according to the players, he is still focused on one game at a time and is not looking ahead to anything. Although the town is buzzing as many people are bringing up the term “playoffs” (which has been rare in Heyworth), he’s still focusing on all that matters and that is the game that will be played on the field on Friday.
Now, for my official prediction, I have many factors that could determine the outcome of the game. One is the injury bug, as it hit Rushville as their starting fullback Travis Gray suffered an injury vs. Abingdon-Avon. The starting center was out vs. Havana but is questionable to return for the game at Heyworth. Another factor is the travel. Rushville has to travel one hour and fifty minutes. But Rushville has made two trips already longer than that, so I feel like coach Lafferty will have his boys ready to play. Heyworth also has a lot of momentum going into the game. Tyler Wills has played out of his mind on both sides of the ball and has also added the sudden playmaking ability of Hunter Bockelman. It is with this in mind that I think can contribute to the outcome of the game. Cooper Johnson is averaging over 17 yards a carry, and if this continues, which I believe it will, Heyworth will win this game. This game will be a dogfight, but in the end, I think this will be a homecoming victory for the Hornets. In a lower-scoring game than previous Heyworth games, I think the Hornets win 20-14 in a hard-fought victory over the Rushville Industry Rockets, making homecoming weekend even sweeter in Heyworth.
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