ECI high school football rundown: Breaking down who won and lost in week 3

MUNCIE, Ind. — One-third of the Indiana high school football season is over.

Three East Central Indiana teams — Delta, Yorktown and Monroe Central — entered this Friday undefeated, yet the Eagles now stand alone after a rough week overall for area squads, winning just two of the 10 total matchups, most of which featured conference opponents for the first time this year.

Here are the scores, available statistics and breakdowns of each local Week 3 matchup:

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McCutcheon 37, Muncie Central 12

Muncie Central had another tough week on the field, this time losing its first North Central Conference contest 37-12 at McCutcheon.

The Bearcats were competing well in the first half, largely thanks to a solid running attack led by senior Josiah Ullom (two rushing touchdowns), but a Mavericks score with 14 seconds left in the second quarter pushed their lead to 23-12.

McCutcheon's defense then stiffened in the final 24 minutes, and Muncie Central couldn't get anything going offensively or get consistent stops on defense.

The Bearcats were led by Ullom (seven carries, 89 yards, two rushing TDs), Leo Boyd (six rushes, 72 yards) and Marquis Allen (eight rushes, 54 yards). Quarterback Trenton French completed 7-of-20 passes for 72 yards, with De'Markis Cole catching two balls for 40 yards.

Muncie Central is 0-3 (0-1 NCC).

McCutcheon 6 17 7 7 — 37

Muncie Central 0 12 0 0 — 12

Delta 42, Shelbyville 7

Delta is the only undefeated ECI football team after winning its first Hoosier Heritage Conference game 42-7 at home against Shelbyville.

The Eagles started off early and never looked back, taking just five offensive plays to build a 14-0 lead in the opening frame. Caleb Elliot took the game's opening kickoff to Shelbyville's 19-yard line, and reigning ECI football Player of the Week, Palmer Samuels, soon scored the first touchdown.

The Golden Bears then fumbled their second snap of the contest, which was recovered by Jonny Manor. That quickly led to quarterback Kaiden Bond finding receiver D’Amare Hood for a 34-yard touchdown pass. The Eagles earned another defensive stop, and Samuels completed the subsequent 86-yard drive with another score.

After neither team scored in the second quarter, Marquel Bondnotched two rushing touchdowns and Grey Backus added another to give Delta a 42-0 lead in the second half. Shelbyville's only score came on the final drive of the game.

Delta is 3-0 (1-0 HHC).

Delta 21 0 14 7 — 42

Shelbyville 0 0 0 7 — 7

New Palestine 50, Yorktown 13

Yorktown lost its first game of the season in its home opener, a conference 50-13 defeat to New Palestine.

The Tigers trailed 14-0 early before a 13-yard touchdown pass in the second quarter from quarterback Mason Moulton, who returned after missing the first two weeks due to injury, to Blair Webster, who returned to receiver after leading the offense under center to begin the season.

Kolton Nanko then made a 27-yard field goal to trim his team's deficit to 14-10 with 52 seconds left in the first half, but New Palestine's kicker made a career-long 47-yard field goal as the second quarter clock expired.

After the score remained 17-0 through the first six minutes of the third frame, the Dragons took control of the game. They scored on a 91-yard drive, a pick-six interception, and then turned two more interceptions into scores with good field position.

The Dragons scored one more rushing touchdown in the fourth quarter after blocking a punt, and Nanko made another field goal for the final score of the game.

Moulton completed 23-of-46 passes for 252 yards, one TD and four interceptions. Nanko was his favorite target, catching nine balls for 111 yards, and Jalen Thomas led the rushing attack with 16 carries for 61 yards.

Yorktown is 2-1 (0-1 HHC).

New Palestine 14 3 26 7 — 50

Yorktown 0 10 0 3 — 13

Eastern Hancock 44, Wes-Del 0

Wes-Del was shutout for the second consecutive week, this time at Mid-Eastern Conference opponent Eastern Hancock 44-0.

The Royals secured a 14-0 lead midway through the opening frame and never looked back. They tallied 354 total offensive yards to the Warriors' 30 while forcing four turnovers.

Wes-Del freshman quarterback Carter Flynn completed 1-of-2 passes for 12 yards and lost one fumble, and Tre Adams notched five carries for 17 rushing yards. The defense was led by Grayson Mealy, who had one interception, and Alec Thornburg each with eight tackles.

Wes-Del is 0-3 (0-1 MEC).

North Decatur 43, Monroe Central 0

Monroe Central dropped its first game of the season, a 43-0 home loss to MEC foe North Decatur.

The Flyers outgained the Golden Bears 454-143 in total offense, earning 27 first downs to Monroe Central’s six, and scored a touchdown on every drive. Although the Golden Bears didn't turn the ball over, they punted the ball four times and missed a field goal.

Quarterback Luke Jones led the offense, completing 3-of-7 passes for 55 yards and rushing seven times for 33 yards. Cole Munchel had two catches for 30 yards, and Justus Ullom and Justice Davis caught one ball for 25 and 36 yards, respectively. Monroe Central averaged just over two yards per carry on 25 attempts.

Monroe Central was led defensively by Brylen Case (nine tackles) and Izaiah Mangus (eight tackles, one TFL).

Monroe Central is off next week.

Monroe Central is 2-1 (0-1 MEC).

North Decatur 14 15 7 7 — 43

Monroe Central 0 0 0 0 — 0

Pendleton Heights 35, New Castle 0

New Castle lost its second straight game, this time 35-0 at home to HHC opponent Pendleton Heights.

Trojans quarterback Tyson Lewis was intercepted three times, one being returned for a touchdown, and the team overall couldn't get anything going offensively. The Arabians notched 158 yards rushing, while New Castle finished with negaive-67 yards overall.

New Castle is 1-2 (0-1 HHC).

Pendleton Heights 7 14 7 7 — 35

New Castle 0 0 0 0 — 0

Jay County 41, Southern Wells 6

Jay County earned its second convincing victory of the season with a 41-6 home win over conference opponent Southern Wells.

AJ Myers got the Patriots' scoring started in the first quarter with a 3-yard TD run, which he soon followed up with a 9-yard rushing score to make it 13-0 Jay County after nine minutes of play.

Kadin Ridenour scored on a 19-yard rush in the second frame, and Myers broke through again for a running score, this time from 32 yards out. Sean Bailey capped off the first half with an 80-yard touchdown pass to Patrick Hemmelgarn to make it 35-0.

After Southern Wells scored the only TD of the third quarter, Bailey finished up the evening's scoring with a 45-yard pass to Ethan Riley.

Jay County is 2-1 (1-0 ACAC).

Jay County 13 22 0 6 – 41

Southern Wells 0 0 6 0 – 6

Alexandria 42, Blackford 0

Blackford was shutout for the second time in 2022, this time 42-0 at Central Indiana Conference opponent Alexandria.

Blackford is 0-3 (0-1 CIC).

Alexandria 14 21 7 0 – 42

Blackford 0 0 0 0 – 0

Northeastern 42, Winchester 14

It was a rough night for Winchester as the team lost its home Tri-Eastern Conference game against Northeastern 42-14.

Already playing without starting quarterback Adam Moore, the Golden Falcons suffered several more injuries in a physical game. Freshman running back Aidan Weatherhead left the game early in the third quarter with an apparent right leg injury, and he was often Winchester's best option to move the ball in the first half.

The Knights scored midway through the first quarter after a sustained drive, but they quickly struck again on a 59-yard pass to go up 14-0. Winchester put together a good drive midway through the second frame, completed with a rushing TD by Evan Duncan, but that would be the team's only significant offensive success in the half.

Northeastern soon scored on a 29-yard pass, and the Knights were later helped by a mistaken touchdown call that should've been a fumble in the endzone recovered by Winchester.

The Golden Falcons appeared to have gained some momentum late in the half as they were mounting a solid drive, only to fumble just past midfield. An illegal hit negated a Knights touchdown to end the half up 28-6.

Northeastern connected on a 53-yard pass to score early in the third quarter, and another short-yardage rushing TD ended the team's scoring. Winchester's Jorge Vasquez found some success in the fourth quarter with the game already out of reach, scoring a rushing TD in the final minutes.

Vasquez led Winchester's offense with 19 carries for 113 yards and one TD, Duncan added 11 carries for 49 yards and a score, and Weatherhead had 14 carries for 43 yards. Duncan led the defense with eight tackles.

Winchester is 1-2 (0-1 TEC).

Northeastern14 14 14 0 – 42

Winchester 0 6 0 8 – 14

Lapel 33, Shenandoah 21

Shenandoah dropped its second consecutive game, this time a 33-21 home loss to Lapel.

It was a tale of two halves as Lapel scored the only six points of the first 24 minutes, and the two sides combined for 48 points in the final two frames. Lapel's Tyler Dollar made the difference and finished with 236 yards rushing and four touchdowns, giving his team the edge in a contest that featured four lead changes.

It looked like the Raiders captured momentum when they opened the second half with an onside kick and recovered it, sparking a 38-yard Bob Ayers TD run. Lapel fumbled on the next possession, which led to a field goal and a 9-6 Shenandoah lead.

After Dollar responded with a score, Shenandoah quarterback Carson Brookbank tallied rushes of 32 and 19 yards to set up a Mayson Lewis 9-yard TD run. But despite an 85-yard kickoff return TD from Lewis later on, the Raiders couldn't keep pace and lost a competitive battle.

Jarrett Helman led the defense with seven tackles, and Ayers (two sacks) and Lewis (one sack) each added two TFL's.

Shenandoah is 1-2.

Lapel 6 0 13 14 – 33

Shenandoah 0 0 15 6 – 21

Gus Martin is a sports reporter at The Star Press. Follow him on Twitter @GusMartin_SP, and contact him at gmartin@gannett.com.