What we learned from Week 1 of SW Indiana high school football: Routs, thrillers and more

Week 1 of high school football is in the books.

Here's what we learned from the opening night, including a look inside Heritage Hills' tone-setting rout of Southridge, a smattering of blowouts and more.

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HUNTINGBURG, Ind. — Todd Wilkerson kept it plain and simple.

His Heritage Hills Patriots came out jittery in their season opener against Southridge Friday at Raider Stadium. Junior quarterback Jett Goldsberry had three turnovers, including losing a fumble in the endzone on the first offensive play. The defending Class 3A runner-up Patriots knew they weren't at their sharpest by any means.

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Top-ranked Heritage Hills still made things happen.

It ultimately steamrolled Southridge 43-14 despite having its fair share of turnovers. Goldsberry totaled four touchdowns while two of senior Hunter Meredith's three scores came in the first half. Fellow senior Andersen Smith also shined on defense as he tallied a pair of fumble recoveries and an interception.

"We've got a great football team," Wilkerson said. "We've got to realize that everybody just needs to do their job, do their part and other guys can make plays. I'm proud of the way the kids kept composure, played great defense, set up some easy scoring opportunities and got things rolling."

There's no doubt Heritage Hills (1-0) is proud of what it accomplished last fall. Its defense made clutch plays while Goldsberry developed as one of Southwestern Indiana's best quarterbacks. Those accomplishments are now in the past. It's time to focus on a new chapter.

The connection between Goldsberry and junior Tyler Ruxer remains lethal. One of the Patriots' biggest plays was Ruxer catching a long bomb down the sideline. Wilkerson joked he "recruited the basketball team in the offseason" and was proud of their contributions — junior Peyton Gray added a touchdown reception.

"Everyone was excited to get back after it," Meredith said. "We did have some jitters, but we were settled in and ready to play football. At the end of the day, it's about football. It comes down to who can tackle, who can run and throw the ball."

Heritage Hills travels to Louisville next to face defending KHSAA champion Christian Academy. While the Patriots know they have a target on their backs as a state runner-up, their primary focus remains on improvement. They're excited for another challenge.

"We played an okay game, but we want to play a great game next week," Goldsberry said. "We want to come out way better (and be just consistent) everywhere. Defense, offense, just play better. Just get down, put our heads to work and hopefully get a win."

There were plenty of blowouts across the area on the opening night

Seven games in Southwestern Indiana were decided by three or more scores . All but one contest from the city was a blowout, too.

That included Mater Dei's 45-7 victory against Central — the Bears have lost 24 consecutive games, the longest active streak in the Southern Indiana Athletic Conference. Caden Thacker had two rushing touchdowns and Tate Mallory threw a pair of scores for the Wildcats.

Harrison has the conference's second-longest losing streak at four games after falling to Reitz 49-27. Landon McClarney and Jasseim Ussery had two rushing scores each for the Panthers. Memorial rolled over Jasper 37-6 as the defense allowed less than 200 yards and senior quarterback Matthew Fisher threw three touchdown passes.

While not a blowout, Princeton dropped its sixth straight contest with a 21-6 loss to Forest Park. The Tigers now have the longest losing streak of any Pocket Athletic Conference school.

The latest installment of the Posey County rivalry was a nailbiter

The Posey County Cup stayed in Poseyville for the third year in a row as North Posey rallied to defeat Mount Vernon 35-28. The defending Class 2A runner-up Vikings have tied the all-time series at 29 wins apiece.

The game was knotted at 28 all with four minutes left in the game when North Posey scored the go-ahead touchdown to take a one-score lead. It then forced a fumble on the ensuing possession and was able to ice the victory by running out the clock to defend its home turf.

Senior running back Jed Galvin became North Posey's all-time leader with his 70th career touchdown in the victory. The Vikings have never lost a season opener under coach Waylon Schenk.

Gibson Southern and Danville also went down to the wire

The Titans, another semistate finalist, opened against their third different opponent in three years when traveling to play the Warriors. Gibson Southern was in a bit of a hole as it was down 14-0 heading into the fourth quarter. But it, too, came all the way back, defeating Danville 21-14.

Junior quarterback Zach Foster found senior wide receiver Maddux Potts for a 53-yard touchdown with 2:11 remaining.

Class 3A No. 4 Gibson Southern will face an out-of-state opponent in its home opener against Mount Carmel (Ill.). The Titans have won three of their last four season openers under 13th-year coach Nick Hart.

This article originally appeared on Evansville Courier & Press: What we learned from Week 1 of SW Indiana high school football: Routs, thrillers and more