Kelsey Field was taken over by the Hononegah Indians' rhythm
"I told the kids we were proud of their effort tonight," Coach Brian Zimmerman stated.
After tonight's 38-8 Homecoming victory over Freeport, you could feel a weight being lifted off of Kelsey Field. Hononegah is not accustomed to going through what most high school football teams experience. Losing, making mental errors, and having turnovers.
If you talk with the teams around the NIC 10, they always say Hononegah is fundamentally sound, plays great defense, and doesn't beat itself. Over the last few weeks, all those things happened.
In fact, in their two losses, the Indians have lost the turnover battle four to zip and have been called for more penalty yards in each game as well. On Friday night, Hononegah reversed course and caused four turnovers (three interceptions and a fumble), plus they were only called for three penalties for 36 yards, while the Pretzels only got their hands on one turnover and committed nine penalties for 79 yards.
Harold Bone
After the game, I was able to catch up with Coach Zimmerman and ask him about what changed from last week, and he stated the following: “We moved some guys around a little bit. We discussed not worrying about anything other than getting better. So I felt like, you know, they absolutely showed that tonight. We really limited the mistakes overall. I told the kids we were proud of their effort tonight.”
A great story is developing for the Hononegah Indians, particularly with senior kicker Jaxon Sanchez. In the last two weeks, Jaxon has hammered a 38 and 37-yard field goal with room to spare on both. That gives a team tons of confidence when you know you can get points on the board even when you're on the fringe of the Red Zone (20-yard and in explained by the New Heights Podcast).
Standouts on Offense
- Tyler Banker: 12 carries, 89 yards, 4 TDs
- Drew Shockley: 11 carries, 89 yards, 1 TD; 3/4 passing, 49 yards
- Jaxon Sanchez: 5/5 PATs, 1 FG (37 yards)
Standouts on Defense
- Emerson Gantz: 7 tackles, 3TFL
- Alex Peterson: 1 INT, 37-yard return
- Jack Ginter: 1 sack, 1 TFL
Next up for the Hononegah Indians (3-2) is the struggling Rockford East E-Rabs on Friday night, October 3rd, 2025, at 7:15 pm. Andy Gannon will have all the road action live on the Big Radio App if you choose not to travel with the Indians.
