By JIM BELSER
Carmel evened its Metropolitan Interscholastic Conference record at 1-1 Friday night at home, dispatching the Pike Red Devils 28-13 in wet and rainy conditions.
The Class 6A No. 5 Greyhounds (3-1) withstood Pike’s pass heavy offense and scramble capabilities of its quarterback Jason Graves, while controlling the action on the ground with a solid running game.
But it was two big pass plays by Carmel’s tandem quarterback lineup of Tyler Tent and Gabe Quigley that sealed the victory. Trent delivered a 51-yard bomb to Sam Rodgers for a touchdown to start the third quarter, giving Carmel a 21-0 lead. Quigley added a 14-yard TD pass to Rhett Williams midway through the fourth.
“If you would have told me that we would have held them scoreless after three quarters, I would have been more than pleased,” Carmel coach John Hebert said, relieved after watching Pike’s spread offense roll but come up empty. “They are so explosive, we knew they would show us a lot of offensive looks, we had to mix it up on defense to try to and stay with them, Graves is such a smart player. They are going to beat a lot of teams this year.”
Carmel piled up 259 yards on the ground on 45 carries, led by Dylan Downing’s 155. Pike amassed 324 yards passing, completing 23-of-45 in the air.
Pike scored on a touchdown pass with 20 seconds to go in the third after a pass interference call on the Carmel defense. The Red Devils added another TD pass with under a minute to go in the game. Apart from that, Graves and the Red Devils never threatened the goal line as Graves was often left to scramble or endure a sack.
“Our defense was able put pressure on him and I thought we did a nice job in coverage,” Hebert said. “We have a good group of linebackers, and we can do more on defense than if we didn’t have those guys.”
A blocked punt for a touchdown by Carmel started things off right for the Greyhounds. With 4:45 left in the first quarter, Carmel reached the punter near Pike’s goal line and blocked the attempt. Carmel’s Owen Schafer hustled to the loose ball for the recovery in the end zone, allowing for a Carmel 7-0 lead.
On Carmel’s next possession, its drive was cut short by a fumble recovered by Pike at the Carmel 49. The Greyhounds returned the favor on the following Pike possession. As the Red Devils initiated a passing attack with rain coming down, Jack Huntington of Carmel picked off Pike quarterback Jason Graves at the Carmel five-yard line. The sophomore cornerback returned it to the 34-yard line.
Both teams traded possessions for much of the second quarter, with Pike opting for the passing game while Carmel kept it on the ground. Carmel began to move the ball on the ground with the help of sophomore running back Zach White. White, coming off the bench, churned his way through the Pike defense for several big gains.
The White led possession ended in a touchdown by Carmel with 2:23 left in the half as Downing crossed the goal line up the middle from the two-yard line, upping the Greyhound lead 14-0. Beau Robbins ended Pike’s final drive of the first half, sacking Graves with 47 seconds left on third down.
Carmel takes on 6A Lawrence North next Friday on the city’s east side.
