Phone: 317-846-6601
Fax: 317-575-4244 Website:
www.ihsaa.org
_____________________________________________________________________________
November 26, 2005
Warren Central won its third
straight Class 5A state championship Saturday night, 55-20, over Hamilton
Southeastern at the RCA Dome. The title
is the fifth in the school’s history and the second in the 2005 fall sports
season. The Warren Central boys cross
country team also won a state championship this fall.
The Warriors struck early
and often against the Royals, busting out to a 41-7 lead at the half, including
21 points in the game’s first nine minutes.
The Warriors led 55-14 after three quarters.
Hamilton Southeastern was
led by junior running back Marcus Spann’s 108 yards rushing on 14 carries. The Royals gained 155 yards through the air
and senior quarterback Taylor Hoffman threw two touchdown passes. Junior Josh Powers assumed the quarterback duties
for the Royals in the fourth quarter and his eight-yard touchdown pass with
4:55 remaining in the game rounded out the scoring.
Warren Central head coach
Kevin Wright won his third state championship at the helm of the Warriors. In the process, he and his father (
Hamilton Southeastern
finishes the season with an 11-4 record.
The two-day attendance
figure for the 2005 football state finals was 44,303, which is the fourth
highest in the history of the tournament.
Saturday’s games alone brought 31,964 fans to the RCA Dome.
Records
New
Most Combined Points, 5A: 75
by Warren Central and Hamilton Southeastern, 2005
Most PAT Kicks (Team) 5A: 7
by Warren Central vs. Hamilton Southeastern, 2005
Most Penalties, 5A: 9 by
Warren Central vs. Hamilton Southeastern, 2005
Most Penalty Yards, 5A: 93 by
Warren Central vs. Hamilton Southeastern, 2005
Longest Kickoff Return, 5A:
76 by Anthony Vaden, Warren Central vs. Hamilton Southeastern, 2005
Most PAT Kicks (Indiv), 5A:
7 by Machy Magdalinos, Warren Central vs. Hamilton Southeastern, 2005
Tied
Most Touchdowns, 5A: 8 by
Warren Central vs. Hamilton Southeastern, 2005
SUMMERS HONORED WITH MENTAL ATTITUDE AWARD
Hamilton
Southeastern senior kicker/punter Chris Summers is the 2005 recipient of the
Phil N. Eskew Mental Attitude Award for Class 5A presented by the IHSAA
Executive Committee. The winner of this
award, nominated by their principal and coach, must excel in mental attitude,
scholarship, leadership, and athletic ability.
The award is named for Eskew, who served as the IHSAA’s third
commissioner from 1962-76. Under his
leadership, the IHSAA football state tournament was initiated in 1973.
Summers, an
Associated Press all-state selection in 2004, made 14 field goals and 42 extra
points for 84 points this season. He has
made five field goals of 40 yards or longer in 2005 with a long of 52. On kickoffs, he has had 35 touchbacks. In punting, Summers averaged 38 yards with 14
inside the 20-yard line and just one touchback.
Summers ranks 44th
in his senior class of 708 with an 11.18 cumulative grade point average on a
12.0 scale. “Chris is a role model to
his peers,” said Hamilton Southeastern principal Robert Albano, “he sets a good
example in faith, spirit, kindness, and compassion. He is a gentleman at all times, and he has
earned the respect of all of his teachers, coaches, and our entire
administrative team.”
Summers serves
as a volunteer peer tutor, a Special Olympics volunteer, a dinner server to
underprivileged children at
Summers is the
son of Clay and Diane Summers.
Indiana Farm
Bureau Insurance, the IHSAA’s corporate partner, presented a scholarship check
for $1,000.00 to
VSN MEANS ACTION PHOTOGRAPHY
Visit our friends at Visual Sports Network, the IHSAA’s official
photographer for all state championship events and one of the leading action photographers
in the
STATE FINALS PROGRAMS AVAILABLE
Couldn’t be in there for the
state finals? You can still purchase a copy of the official souvenir program
while supplies last! Programs are $3.00 if you purchase in person at the IHSAA
Office (
Quotes from the Class 5A Game
Warren Central Head Coach Kevin Wright
“We always talk about…it
takes ability and talent to get there, but it takes character and will to stay
on top. This group had high expectations
to begin the season…nobody really expected us to have a close game and that’s a
lot to put on a kid. They have come
through week after week and done an excellent job.”
(On the 2nd title
for the Wright family) “If I didn’t win
and he (Larry “Bud” Wright) did, I would have heard about it for the rest of
the year. It’s been a great Thanksgiving
weekend for our whole family and I’m just glad we could come out on top.”
“Our kids came to play every
night, bounced back from a tough loss to Lawrence North and played well really
well all six games in the playoffs. I’m
really proud of our kids.”
(On Dexter Taylor) “I have not seen a better football player
than Dexter Taylor this year. Anybody
that watched the first half tonight has to get his vote (Mr. Football). I’m just really proud of him and what a great
kid. I never thought I would have a
quarterback better than Desmond Tardy but Dexter is awfully good.”
(Comparing to past Warren
Central teams) “This team has to rank
right up there. Other than the Lawrence North game, we played as well as we
could play, and with those expectations to start the year…it takes a lot
character and a lot of will to come and play every night.”
“We obviously ran into a
very good Warren Central team. We knew
coming in that things would have to go well for us to win. The way we’ve been playing coming into this
game, we thought we could do that. But,
we started out by turning the ball over twice.”
“Defensively, we just
couldn’t hold them. Their offense is
incredible. The speed that they have was
something that we could not match. This
isn’t unusual for them to win like this.”
“The mistakes we made early
let the game get away. We just got out-played
in all three aspects of the game—that was very apparent.”
“We had a bunch of
over-achievers that got us here. But, it
wasn’t a fluke that we were here. We
beat some good football teams and we deserved to be here. I just wish that we could’ve played better.”