INDIANAPOLIS
Roncalli senior running back Luke Hansen had a night to remember, but he made sure his teammates got most of the credit.
The 6-foot, 205-pound Hansen rushed for a school-record 335 yards on 26 carries, including a career-high five touchdowns, to lead the Class 4A No. 2 Royals to a 46-7 rout of host Southport Friday night in a high school football season opener. Hansen broke the previous record of 327 rushing yards by Marcus Nalley, set in 2002.
“We had a good week of practice and our O-line was blocking well,” Hansen said. “We were ready to beat someone up. We were playing against ourselves. We were ready to play a real game and destroy someone. We were ready to bring the hammer. The receivers made some good blocks, too. Once I got to the second level, I was bouncing outside. The corners weren’t there because the receivers were blocking them up. Everyone on the field was doing their job.
Roncalli first-year-coach Eric Quintana said he didn’t know what he needed, but a goal entering the game was for Hansen to set a rushing record.
In addition, Hansen got a his first career sack lining up as outside linebacker in a pass rushing situation in the first quarter. It was Hansen’s first time playing defense on varsity.
“(Hansen) is a heck of an athlete,” Quintana said. “We’ve got to utilize him on both sides of the ball, so when we get to playoff time he’s ready. We’re going to use him and use him.”
Quintana liked the offensive line play as well.
“We’ve prided ourselves on all summer is that we have a good group of guys up front, including our two tight ends with that we use a lot,” he said. “That’s our bread and butter. It’s not a mystery on what we are going to try to run the ball and have our quarterback make some good plays in the passing game.”
Hansen scored on runs of 38, 56, 16, 29 and 7 yards in the first half. He only played the opening possession of the second half.
Roncalli senior defensive back Judson Lawrie accounted for the other first-half score with a 10-yard interception return for a TD, making it 33-0 (the PAT was blocked). Hansen’s fifth TD from 7 yards out pushed the lead to 39-0.
Southport’s initial first down of the game came on a pass interference penalty and the second first down came on a 27-yard run by Josiah Ottinger. Then, on fourth and 13, AJ Reynolds took a lateral and connected with a wide-open Pierce Birge for a 36-yard TD pass with 58 seconds left in the second quarter.
The Royals had a long drive on the first possession of the second half, capped by senior quarterback Arik Moyers’ 10-yard TD pass to tight end Nolan Tunny to take a 46-7 lead with 5:31 left in the third quarter. The rest of the game was played with a running clock.
“I’m extremely proud of our senior leadership; they are starting to jell,” said Quintana, whose Royals host Franklin Central next Friday. “I know we’ve got a lot of guys who have played a lot of football, but we’ve also got a lot of guys who haven’t played.”
Quintana said Moyers hadn’t played on varsity since his sophomore year, so it was good to see him get his first career TD pass.
“I’m glad Arik got some timing stuff down,” Quintana said. “That will be key emphasis in practice. We’re going to get him going.”
