By JIM BELSER
Carmel football coach John Hebert says this year’s Greyhounds are tough and will always fight to the end, and that’s just what they did in opening their season with a 24-21 come from behind win over Louisville Trinity Friday night at home.
Last year’s Kentucky State Champions and holders of a 50-game winning streak nearly returned home with win 51 but it all ended for the Bluegrass bad boys as Carmel Defensive lineman Ryan Tilev hauled down Trinity Quarterback Seth Juntz in the waning seconds of the game.
“We are not overly skilled, but we are tough, our guys fought hard and didn’t give up, they hold themselves accountable, and I am really proud of them,” Hebert said.
Carmel’s two quarterbacks provided bookend performances to provide the win for the Associated Press No. 5 (and IFCA No. 4) Class 6A Greyhounds. Tyler Trent finished the final 45 seconds of the game connecting on a 35-yard completion to Schulyar Bradley on third and five before adding the game winning strike over the middle to wide out Sam Rodgers.
Offense production between the two was close as Trinity finished with 217 total yards and 14 first downs compared to 182 and 10 for Carmel. Time of possession also favored the visitors 28:20 to 19:40. A key stat for Carmel could have been its three sacks for a loss of 37 yards against the Shamrocks.
“Football programs don’t get any better than Trinity but we had some guys who challenged themselves to prove a point about our program and we had some reserves make some big plays and everyone fought and I think that was the difference in the game,” Hebert said.
Trinity pulled ahead 21-17 in the fourth quarter following a huge gain on screen play that ended in a touchdown with 10:40 left. An incomplete Shamrock pass earlier was ruled a lateral and was scooped up by Carmel’s Beau Robbins who rambled in for a score.
There was a scarcity of first downs for both teams in the first half, but it wasn’t without its offensive highlights. A Greyhound miscue late in the second quarter provided the visitors with a few, allowing Trinity to end the first half up by four.
After Carmel’s Joey Schmidt sacked Shamrock quarterback Seth Jutz to force a punt with 1:29 to go, Trinity recovered a Carmel fumble on the ensuing punt return. Jutz and the Shamrocks took advantage, completing a 20-yard pass on first down. A sweep from the five-yard line gave Trinity the go ahead score, securing a 14-10 halftime lead for the Louisville squad.
Trinity got on the board first after a nine play 55-yard drive assisted by a Carmel pass interference call in the first quarter. The flurry of production punctuated a series of stale possessions for both teams. Quarterback Gabe Quigley of Carmel came off the bench and quickly alleviated that problem for Carmel.
The Junior quarterback ended the last play of the first quarter with a 20-yard scramble. He followed that up with a 49-yard touchdown bomb to Christian Williams to tie it 7-7 at 11:51 in the second. A possession later, Quigley once again came up with a big scramble play to threaten the visitors. Despite a Shamrock pass interference call on the next play, the Greyhounds were unable to cross the goal line and settled for a 20-yard field goal from kicker Matt Fortier to lead 10-7 with four minutes left in the half.
Carmel right guard Dominick Cate (66) celebrates with Christian Williams (6) after Williams scores a second quarter touchdown for the Greyhounds in their Friday game with Louisville Trinity. Also pictured is Chase Southard (65). (Richie Hall)