By RICHIE HALL
CARMEL – Carmel Stadium was the site of one of the more highly anticipated Week 2 football games Friday night, as the Class 6A No. 2 Greyhounds played host to 5A No. 2 Cathedral.
It was the first time the two powerhouses had played each other in 10 years. The Irish put on a show, rushing for nearly 600 yards of offense in the midst of stunning Carmel 44-28.
The two teams played even with each other in the first half, but the Irish ramped up their ground game in the third quarter. Cathedral scored on three rushing touchdowns while shutting out the ‘Hounds in that period. Carmel coach John Hebert admitted that the momentum shift “was kind of demoralizing.”
“We didn’t play complementary football,” said Hebert. “The defense gave up points right at the same time that the offense couldn’t get first downs. That’s how a team gets so far ahead of you like they did. It’s when you play good teams like Cathedral, you find out exactly where you are.”
Carmel led for the majority of the first quarter. Ethan Hall got the ‘Hounds on the board with 7:19 left by making a nine-yard run into the end zone. Cathedral tried to answer with a passing touchdown from Nathan McCahill to Michael Page, but a two-point conversion attempt didn’t go.
Spencer Hanna, who made the extra point after Hall’s score, kicked a last-minute field goal to put Carmel up 10-6 after one. But 11 seconds into the second period, McCahill struck again, finding David Perry for a 59-yard touchdown reception. The Irish had their first lead at 13-10.
Hanna tied it up at 13-13 midway through the quarter with a 35-yard field goal. That would be all for the Greyhounds until the fourth quarter. Meanwhile, Cathedral took the lead for good with 30 seconds left in the half on another McCahill pass, this one to Jake Langdon from five yards out. The Irish thus held a 20-13 halftime lead.
In the third quarter, Langdon and Seth Mencer both made long touchdown runs – Mencer’s dash totaled 56 yards – to keep Cathedral’s momentum going, then McCahill punched the ball in from the one-yard line. The Irish led 41-13 at the end of three, then Ben Gomez hit a 38-yard field goal to move Cathedral ahead 44-13 early in the fourth.
Carmel went down fighting, though. Zach White made a seven-yard touchdown run midway through the fourth, then Baron Smith caught a 25-yard touchdown pass from Zach Osborne. The two teamed up immediately afterwards to make a two-point conversion pass.
“I think there’s something there for us to build off of,” said Hebert. “I know the character of our team and I know how much they want to be successful and that’s definitely one of the key ingredients to actually getting there and having the success that we all want. It’s a matter of, keep looking for the answers and keep working at it. But without that fight, it wouldn’t be possible. I believe that we have the team that we want to get to where we think we can be at the end of the season.”
Osborne finished the game with 176 yards, making 14 of 28 pass attempts. Jaedon King had eight receptions, totaling 101 yards. Osborne was also Carmel’s top rusher with 51 yards.
The Greyhounds are 1-1 for the season and will play at Center Grove next Friday to begin Metropolitan Conference play.
CATHEDRAL 44, CARMEL 28
Score by Quarters
Cathedral 6 14 21 3 – 44
Carmel 10 3 0 15 – 28
Team Stats CAT CAR
First Downs 24 17
By Rush 11 6
By Pass 12 7
By Penalty 1 4
Rushes-Yards 37-197 26-135
Yards Passing 385 176
Comp-Att-Int-TD 19-29-2-3 14-28-2-1
Fumbles-Lost 1-0 0-0
Penalties-Yards 6-57 6-94
Punts-Average 1-26.0 4-34.0
Carmel Scoring
First Quarter
7:19 – Ethan Hall 9-yard run (Spencer
Hanna kick)
0:48 – Hanna 37-yard field goal
Second Quarter
7:51 – Hanna 35-yard field goal
Fourth Quarter
5:31 – Zach White 7-yard run (Hanna kick)
3:37 – Baron Smith 25-yard pass from Zach Osborne (Smith pass from Osborne)
Carmel individual stats
Rushing: Osborne 10-51, White 8-33, Hall 3-25, Jordan Jones 2-15, Smith 3-11.
Passing: Osborne 14-28-176.
Receiving: Jaedon King 8-101, Colton Parker 4-45, Smith 1-25, White 1-5.