Spencer Smith and Peyton Moore each scored a touchdown to lead Clinton Central to a 18-6 season-opening victory over Frankfort Friday night in Frankfort. This marked the first time since 1991 the two teams had played each other and was also the first victory for the Bulldogs since an overtime victory against Covington on October 21, 2016.
Clinton Central got on the board first when defenders Dyllan Hensley and Scott Harness tackled Trey Mohler in the end zone for a safety following a Frankfort goal line stand.
After returning the ensuing kickoff to the 50, Central drove methodically downfield and Smith capped the drive with a 1-yard touchdown run. Moore added the two-point conversion to make it 10-0 early in the second quarter.
Clinton Central increased its lead on its first drive of the second half when Moore ran 13 yards for a score and added the two-point conversion run to make it 18-0 with 4:44 left in the third quarter.
The Hot Dogs averted the shutout on a 16-yard touchdown run by Jack Espinoza with just over a minute remaining.
Ross Cripe led the Central rushing attack with 148 yards on 15 carries. Anthony Ransford added 55 yards on 13 carries and Moore wound up with 36 yards on eight carries. Smith finished 5 of 11 passing for 69 yards.
Hanover Central 26, Clinton Prairie 8
Clinton Prairie dropped its football season opener Friday night in Cedar Lake to Hanover Central.
Trailing 7-0 at halftime, the Gophers took a brief lead when Coltyn Vandergriff intercepted a pass and returned it 32 yards for a touchdown. The Gophers added the two-point conversion to take an 8-7 lead. However, the Wildcats scored 19 unanswered points for the victory.
Prairie quarterback Kade Osborn completed 7 of 30 passes for 18 yards. He also rushed for 56 yards.
Girls’ Volleyball
Clinton Prairie got its first victory of the season by defeating North Montgomery 25-18, 25-20, 23-25 and 25-21 Thursday night in Linden. Alyssa Lukasik had 13 kills, five blocks and nine digs for the Gophers. Kylie Rapp added 13 assists and 13 digs, Jalynn Gleb and Kylee Maish each had six kills.
Riley Isgrigg had 25 assists and nine aces and Ashley Timmons added 13 kills and three blocks to lead Frankfort to a 3-0 victory over Rossville on Tuesday night. Kimee Kingma had seven kills and five digs, Chloe Roberts added eight digs and Avery Drew had a team-high 16 digs.
Boys’ Soccer
Senior Roger Angeles scored three goals, while Leo Mejia, Chris Hernandez and Manny Garcia each added a pair of goals as Frankfort blanked Western Boone 14-0 Thursday night in Dover. Edgar Flores, Cristian Mejia, Noel Mora and Yobani Alanis each had a goal for the Hot Dogs in the Sagamore Conference opener. Leo Mejia and Garcia each had three assists for FHS.
On Thursday, Rossville defeated Twin Lakes 2-1 in Monticello. Jacob Dahmen had a goal and an assist for the Hornets. Freshman Joel Anderson scored a goal and Kelton Saylor added an assist.
On Tuesday, Frankfort lost its home opener to Logansport 3-2. Angeles and Flores had goals for the Hot Dogs.
Boys’ and Girls’ Cross Country
Both the boys’ and girls’ cross country teams finished second for Frankfort to Hamilton Heights in the Frankfort Invitational on Thursday. The Hot Dogs finished ahead of Clinton Central and Lafayette Central Catholic. Hugo Hernandez was Frankfort’s top runner with a winning time of 18:25 with Kevin Espinoza taking second in 19:22. Josue Bautista was fourth in 19:43. On the girls’ side, Carina Alanis was Frankfort’s top finisher as she was fourth in 23:12.
Boys’ Tennis
On Thursday, Rossville opened its year with a 4-1 victory over Benton Central. Singles results were Nathan Price (R) def. Alex Thurston 6-1, 6-4; Evan Price (R) def. Ian Fleming 6-0, 6-0; Cael Williams (BC) def. Jace Jacoby 6-2, 6-3. Doubles results were Bruce Oliver-Dawson Jacoby (R) def. Kardell Green-Evan Hoffman 6-1, 6-2; Corbin Beard-Griffin Williams (R) def. Nick Fry-Alex Brown 6-3, 6-2.
On Tuesday, Frankfort lost its home opener to Lafayette Central Catholic 3-2. Singles results were Austin Chyall (CC) def. Nolan Varner 6-1, 6-0; Sebastona Lux (CC) def. Jimmy Ostler 6-3, 6-0; Noah Wilder (F) def. Dylan Riley 6-3, 5-7, 10-3. Doubles results were Isaac Hunter-Nic Kinder (F) def. Patrick Gothard-Brenner Oliver 6-4, 6-1; Sam Martin-Griffin Chyall (CC) def. Chase Thomas-Cameron Swinford 6-2, 6-2.
Girls’ Golf
Sydney Cesare led FHS with a 45 and Katy Benefiel shot a 47 in a meet Thursday in Kokomo with Taylor. Frankfort finished with a score of 201.
On Monday, Frankfort took the County Championship at the Frankfort Commons. Frankfort had 384 followed by Clinton Central 4-7, Rossville 463 and Clinton Prairie 475. Benefiel took medalist honors for a second straight year with an 84. Benefiel made the All-County Team as did Cesare and Olivia Terry of Frankfort and Olivia Wyrick and Addy Sheets of Clinton Central.