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3 Things to look for: Hampton vs Indiana

 
Tagged under: District 7, Gameday Hub, News

| October 1, 2026

ALLISON PARK, PA– Hampton and Indiana meet for the 7th consecutive year on Friday night at Fridley Field. This is the 19th time these two schools have met since 2004.

Hampton has won 13 of those 18 games in that span. Indiana hasn’t beaten Hampton since 2013. Both teams are looking for what could be a critical conference win. A win tonight would put the victor in 1st Place for the time being. Or, at worst, a tie for 1st Place depending on the outcome of the McKeesport-Kiski game

Indiana secured a nice 25-14 victory over Albert Gallatin last week, ending their two-game skid. The Indians have had a tough non-conference schedule this season. Their three losses have been at the hands of Freeport (4-1), Greater Latrobe (3-2), and Armstrong (4-1). All three teams have winning records and will be looking to make a push to the playoffs in the coming weeks.

The other win for Indiana was against Greensburg Salem, who currently hold a 0-5 record. The Indians have returned fifteen starters from a year ago, who are contributing in every way they can. Some of these players include junior quarterback Jason Strack and running backs Roman Jones and Jace Brocious.

Hampton made some noise around 4A last week after defeating a solid Central Valley team 16-14 in Monaca. That was Hampton’s first-ever win over the Warriors, who, before last week’s game, outscored the Talbots 145-18 in the previous three games.

Jake Lucas booted a 33-yard field goal with 11 seconds remaining in the game. This came after a wild final five minutes with both teams trading scores and retaking the lead from one another.

Hampton currently leads the Greater Allegheny Conference in overall records. No team has played a conference game until tonight. A win for Hampton gives them some cushion as conference play resumes next week.

Here are 3 things to look for as Hampton and Indiana square off under the lights of Fridley.

  1. What sorcery is this?!

For those of you who were part of the small Hampton faithful in Monaca last week, you know what play I’m talking about. For those of you who missed it, here it is.

Uh huh…

What a time to call such a risky play. But credit to the players on the field for executing that play to perfection. If that play isn’t executed any other way, there’s probably a different outcome. But I digress.

Now, will Steve Sciullo pull that out of the bag of tricks again this week? Probably not. It’s on film now. And someone from somewhere has already taken note of that play. But it’s good to have teams at least aware of it. The Talbots may need that play again, or something similar, down the road as the race toward the postseason begins. While Sciullo most likely will not use that play this week, it could come in handy possibly next week against Kiski or the following week against the team with a certain 5-star running back.

As the season goes on and opponents get tougher, a play like that, executed perfectly, could mean the difference between game #11 and more, and a locker cleanout.

  1. Even matchup?

Okay, an Indiana win on Friday would not be the WPIAL’s biggest surprise. Not even a so-called “upset”.

Not even close.

In fact, these teams are a lot more evenly matched than one might think. Indiana, like Hampton, is a very junior/sophomore heavy class. Two junior quarterbacks match up against each other in Indiana’s Jason Strack and Hampton’s Andrew Reschoff. Also, there will be a trio of sophomore running backs, with Decan Csellar and Jake Kennedy competing for Hampton and Jace Brocious suiting up for Indiana.

Both offenses rank near the bottom of the league in terms of points per game. Hampton comes into this game averaging 18.6 PPG. And Indiana averages 16.4 PPG and has only scored 82 points this season, which, ironically, is the exact number of points Hampton’s defense has given up.

Indiana’s defense gives up 30 points a game. But with Hampton’s offense struggling recently, does Indiana’s defense step up and keep the game close? Hampton’s offense played better last week. And the blocking was much better. Hats off to those guys. What about Decan Csellar? How fast can he get going? And how many carries will he get?

Keeping the game close is a tough ask for Indiana, especially with how good Hampton’s defense is. And with their offense struggling as well, could this be a low-scoring affair?

  1. Field Goals.

Jake Lucas saved the day again for Hampton last week with his 33-yard kick to give Hampton the win. That’s his 2nd last-second field goal in as many years. He did it last year when he booted a 46-yard field goal to beat Shaler.

Now it wasn’t a smooth day for Lucas last week in Monaca. Prior to his game-winner, Lucas had two kicks blocked –one being an extra point—and one that he just flat-out missed. His winning kick was the only field goal he made all night. So, it wasn’t a guarantee that the last one would go through either.

But to his immense credit, he shook the missed ones off and came through when his team needed him the most.

So, with that said, what range does Sciullo give him? He’s already proven he’s got the leg and accuracy. But he has missed some kicks this year. Does this give him and Sciullo more confidence now?

One would hope. He was the most animated one on the field after the buzzer went off against Central Valley last week. Hopefully these longer field goals can be a nice safety net for Hampton, as October rolls on.

But 6 is always the goal.

Hampton and Indiana kick off from Fridley Field at 7:00 pm on Friday. And it’s Homecoming and Hall of Fame weekend!

 
 
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