Share and share alike became the motto of the Noblesville football team as it opened its season last Friday at Beaver Stadium.
The Millers shared the ball effectively during their 43-24 victory over Mount Vernon. Five different players scored rushing touchdowns for Noblesville, which regrouped after a tough first two minutes of the game.
The Millers fumbled the ball early, which led to a quick Marauders touchdown. But Noblesville coach Dave Sharpe said that in hindsight, “it could’ve been the best thing that ever happened to us.”
Quarterback Max Miller was one of five Noblesville players to score a touchdown for the Millers. (Joshua Herd)
The coach said his team was amped up for the start of the game. But after that, the Millers calmed down and tied the game late in the first quarter with a three-yard run from Ty Holmes. Caden Lydle made the extra-point kick.
“I’m so proud that the kids didn’t panic and they just struck to the game plan, even though we spotted them a very short field at the beginning of the game,” said Sharpe. “Very proud that we were able to persevere, not panic, stick to the game plan and come back to take a nice comfortable lead at halftime.”
That lead was 22-10, after Noblesville added two more touchdowns. Max Miller ran the ball in from nine yards with 7:28 left, with Lydle kicking the extra point. Later, Israel Oladipupo scored from five yards with just over a minute left. Oladipupo made another carry seconds later, running for a two-point conversion.
The Millers ran in three more touchdowns in the third quarter. Noah Shinkle barreled in from eight yards early in the period, then made a two-point conversion run to get Noblesville ahead 30-10. Nick Morris jogged in from three yards to score with 7:08 left, then Oladipupo got his second touchdown of the game with under a minute left in the third, running in from eight yards. Lydle kicked the extra point.
“We ran for a lot of yards and we gave the ball to a lot of different guys,” said Sharpe.
The Millers’ defense also stepped up in the second half, with Wyatt Huffman making a third-quarter sack and Oladipupo getting a tackle for a loss early in the fourth.
In addition to the five that scored touchdowns, Brody Gump made some key runs that set the Millers up for those TDs; he led the rushing with 110 yards. Cody Prater made a 50-yard run late in the game. Noblesville totaled 61 carries for 459 rushing yards.
As quarterback, Miller was 3-for-3 in passing. Aiden Brewer had two catches, and Calvin Moody made “a huge catch in the second quarter on a critical third down,” said Sharpe.
Noblesville plays at Homestead Friday.