By CRAIG ADKINS
The Carmel Greyhounds were on a mission and they weren’t going to let the rainy weather and wet turf get in their way. It became obvious right away on Friday night at Greyhound Stadium that they were going to find every way possible to come out on top.
A solid rushing attack and a suffocating defense made it extremely difficult for Westfield all night long as Carmel stood strong for a 28-7 Class 6A Sectional 4 semifinal win.
Carmel’s offense didn’t need much time at all on the first series of the game and it only took five plays and 61 yards to put the first points on the board. The drive lasted just about two minutes, helped out by Tyler Trent slinging a 21 yard pass to Sam Rogers for a leaping catch down to the Shamrock three-yard line. That set up for sophomore tailback Zach White to just walk right into the end zone from three-yards out for a 7-0 Carmel lead.
White was back at it again after the Hounds’ defense forced Westfield to punt.
Trent had another solid throw up the field that would put the Greyhounds in shape to score. This time, his pass was a 32-yarder to Christian Williams at the Shamrock’s seven. Once again on first and goal, White got the handoff and waltzed right in for the touchdown from the seven and just like that, Carmel had a two-score cushion at 14-0.
“He’s very talented. He’s a special runner, very tough,” said Carmel head coach on his sophomore tailback Zach White.
“Unbelievable vision and then his ability to accelerate and find those spaces and exploit them and get extra yards once he’s got a little bit of extra room. Yeah, to think he started the season as our third or fourth running back and he’s getting close to 1,000 now,” Hebert continued on the overall play of his sophomore back Zach White.
He wasn’t done yet in the first half. His final carry of the half would get him in the end zone for the third time, this one was for 37 yards right down the home sideline, untouched for a 21-0 halftime lead.
“Pretty good for a sophomore that didn’t play in a varsity game until maybe the fifth game. He’s an all-weather back. You get the conditions where it’s hard to hold onto the ball, he runs through it. He runs through tackles and that kind of running style goes with any offense” Coach Hebert said with a smile, giving more praise to his young tailback.
But it wasn’t just an offense that clicked all night. Carmel’s defense set the tone and they pretty much suffocated Westfield’s offense, limiting them to 150 yards of total offense.
The Hounds were able to create havoc on defense, with nine plays that were for a loss. Their pass defense was on point, especially in the first half, holding junior quarterback Camden Simons to six completions, three that were for -1 yards each.
“I think our guys up front had a really great game. Beau Robbins is a match-up problem for everybody and then Cole Brevard, you know the rest of the defensive line. I know we’ve got a quicker defensive line, not enormous guys, but they’re good athletes and they get after the football. Our linebackers played well and we were able to cause some turnovers too, but it starts with stopping the run,” said Herbert on his defense’s play throughout the game.
The bottom line for Westfield was that they really couldn’t sustain a drive on offense that would account for anything before it was way too late in the game to matter. Alex Bales was busy, punting seven times. The Shamrocks first turned the ball over in the first quarter when Simons threw an interception to Nate Frye.
The second turnover was on downs early in the fourth at the Carmel 33 on a drive that started at their own 20. The third giveaway was from the hands of Simons. A slippery football slipped through the hands of Camden Simons and linebacker Ryan Tilev dove on the ball.
“I thought we were terrible to start, weren’t ready emotionally. Obviously that’s my fault. I felt we had the team ready to go, but we obviously weren’t ready for the moment,” said Westfield head coach Jake Gilbert taking full blame for his team not playing how they could have on Friday night.
“I felt the difference in the game was that they tackled much better than we tackled. We just couldn’t do anything on offense and they play a terrific defense and we gave up four explosive plays that led to 28 points defensively and we couldn’t generate any takeaways to counteract that,” Gilbert continued on his team’s inefficiency to execute on both sides of the ball.
In the second half, Hebert subbed in junior quarterback Gabe Quigley. Late in the third, Quigley fooled everyone, faking a handoff up the middle to Zach White. He sold the fake better than we thought. A second later, Quigley bounced out to the left and he was off to the races, scampering to the end zone for a 50-yard touchdown run for a 28-0 score.
Westfield was able to drive down the field 89 yards in a short amount of time late in the fourth. Eli Patchett scored with 33.8 seconds left in the game, making the final score of 28-7.
“They’re extremely disciplined and well-coached and they’ve got an excellent defense, very good players over there and they tackle really well,” said Gilbert on Carmel’s defense.
Westfield (4-6) wound up losing four of its final five games of the season. Patchett led the Shamrocks in rushing with 11 carries and 32 yards and a score. Simons went 18-of-25 for 87 yards with an interception and a fumble, while Kyle Pepiot led in receiving with four catches and 37 yards.
Carmel (8-2) advances on to the 6A Sectional 4 championship game next Friday at Lafayette Jefferson (9-1). The Bronchos defeated Noblesville in the other semifinal, 35-24.
The Hounds were paced by Zach White’s 14 carries for 158 yards (11.2 avg.) and three touchdowns. As a team, Carmel ran the ball 35 times for 278 yards (7.8 avg.) and four scores.
Carmel’s Zach White (center) takes the handoff from quarterback Tyler Trent during the Greyhounds’ sectional football game with Westfield Friday at Carmel Stadium. White scored three touchdowns in the Greyhounds’ 28-7 win. (Kent Graham)
Westfield’s Eli Patchett scored a fourth-quarter touchdown for the Shamrocks.
Click here to see more images. (Kent Graham)