Thunderbird pride shines through

Monday, November 27, 2017

At the end of the day the scoreboard read Pioneer 42, Eastern Greene 14. But the Thunderbird football players and their supporters have every reason to be proud of all their accomplishments in this special season, not the least of which is finishing as State Runner-Up in the State Finals.

The Eastern Greene crowd begins to filter into Lucas Oil Stadium in the minutes leading off to kickoff of Fridays Class A State Finals. (By Terry Schwinghammer)
A sense of finality sets in as the clock begins to tick down on the Eastern Greene Thunderbirds football season. (By Shad Cox)
Eastern fans watch the T-Birds shake hands with the Pioneers. (By Andrew Bowen)
The Eastern fans applaud their team in the first half. (By Andrew Bowen)

Easterns band members try to play and watch the game at the same time. (By Austin Gordon)
Eli Britton hauls down Pioneer's Austin Mersch. (By Austin Gordon)
Nick Fox (31) blocks for Caleb Hamilton as Pioneer's Ezra Lewellen (5) moves in. (By Austin Gordon)
Ethan Helton tries to haul in a long pass during the first half as Austin Mersch (5) defends him. (By Shad Cox)
Eastern quarterback Caleb Hamilton lunges into the end zone. (By Shad Cox)
Nick Fox spins off two tacklers for more yardage on a short gain. (By Shad Cox)
Two Panther tacklers bring down Eastern's Nick Fox after a short gain. (By Shad Cox)
Jaysce Skinner (33) and Blayne Campbell (7) defend a Pioneer receiver. (By Shad Cox)
Eastern quarterback Caleb Hamilton zips a pass. He completed 12 of 17 for 64 yards. (By Austin Gordon)
Caleb Hamilton rushes for a gain. He carried 34 times for 164 yards. (By Austin Gordon)
J.W. Howard (6) fights for yardage against Austin Mersch. (By Austin Gordon)
Eastern's trombone section wails during a break. (By Austin Gordon)
Zach Terry, Eastern's leading tackler, adds to his total by hauling down a Pioneer back. (By Austin Gordon)
Eastern center Brady Anderson hunkers down as the Panthers celebrate their victory. (By Shad Cox)
Eastern's coaches celebrate a first down. (By Shad Cox)
Eastern's players, including Jaden Evans (21) and Joel Weimer (11) react to a Pioneer play. (By Shad Cox)
Tight end J.W. Howard takes a knee as he watches the action on the field. (By Shad Cox)
Jaysce Skinner and Blayne Campbell tackle a Pioneer receiver near the goal line. (By Shad Cox)
Caleb Hamilton finds running room for a big gain for the Thunderbirds against Pioneer. (By Austin Gordon)
A great season comes to a disappointing end for the Eastern Greene Thunderbirds. The Pioneer Panthers defeated the Thunderbirds 42-14 in the Class A State Finals at Lucas Oil Stadium. (By Shad Cox)
Joel Weimer comes off the field after a big play by the Thunderbirds. (By Austin Gordon)
Zach Terry wraps up Pioneer ball carrier Jack Kiser in Friday's State Finals game. (By Austin Gordon)
(From Eastern Greene's semistate game 11/21), Caleb Hamilton drops back to pass. He rushed for both of Eastern's touchdowns. (By Shad Cox)
(Semistate) Eli Britton registers disappointment as Indianapolis Lutheran moves up the field. He and the other Thunderbirds would be all smiles when the final clock sounded. (By Shad Cox)
(Semistate) Eastern coach Joey Paridaen is all smiles in the rain as the coaches display the metal strip that indicates Eastern has won its first semistate. (By Shad Cox)
(semistate) Two Saints drag down Nick Fox after a short gain. (By Shad Cox)
(Semistate) Quarterback Caleb Hamilton gets a well-deserved hug from his girlfriend after the game. (By Shad Cox)