Friday night will be “Sectional Championship Night” for high school football teams across the state of Indiana.
In Hamilton County, three teams are going for a sectional title. Westfield and Fishers will face off at the Shamrocks’ Riverview Health Stadium for the Class 6A Sectional 4 championship. Carmel travels to Brownsburg to play for the 6A Sectional 5 title. Both games start at 7 p.m.
FISHERS-WESTFIELD
A sectional championship is, by itself, enough motivation for any team to want to play well. Both teams know that feeling, with recent sectional titles. Fishers won a sectional trophy in 2017, while Westfield won a sectional title in 2016, its first stop on the way to a state championship.
The two teams met on Oct. 9 in their regular-season game. The Shamrocks won 45-6. But the Tigers earned a big win last Friday in the Sectional 4 semi-finals, coming from behind to beat district-rival Hamilton Southeastern 34-29. Fishers made several big plays to get the victory, and had a breakout game from sophomore running back Carson Dunn, who delivered two touchdowns while rushing for 193 yards, and also caught a touchdown pass.
“Fishers was incredibly explosive versus HSE, scoring on several plays over 60 yards,” said Westfield coach Jake Gilbert. “Their sophomore running back looked like he’s grown up a lot since we played them. We already knew they were scary with the deep ball in the passing game, so they will be hard to defend. We’ll have to keep the ball in front of us to have a chance.”
Dunn has rushed for 711 yards this season, scoring five touchdowns on the ground. Senior quarterback Lucas Prewitt has been solid, completing 153 of 248 pass attempts for 1,848 yards and 13 scores.
The Tigers were without their top two receivers, junior Jeffrey Simmons (50 catches) and senior Landon Morris (39 catches), but had others step up. Senior Silas Martin had five receptions, giving him 20 on the season, while Dunn and sophomore Luke Valerio both had three catches.
On defense, senior Seth Dunnuck leads in tackles with 71; Dunnuck caught an interception with seconds left in the fourth quarter to seal Fishers’ win. Junior Curtis Kearshner has made 8.5 tackles for a loss and also has four sacks.
“The win over a good HSE football team provided our team a spark we have been looking for and a new excitement in the post season,” said Tigers coach Curt Funk. “Our players have been extra focused and passionate moving forward with the sectional championship game versus Westfield. We know we have a tremendous challenge ahead of us, but our players are working hard to compete.”
Westfield is 9-1 for the season, and opened sectional play by beating Noblesville 35-0 at the Millers’ Beaver Materials Field. It was the fifth game in a row where the Shamrocks have scored at least 35 points.
“Westfield doesn’t make mistakes and beat themselves,” said Funk. “When you watch them on film, they are solid across the board in all three phases of the game. We will need to play fundamentally sound football and take care of the football on offense, play assignment football on defense, and be mistake-free on special teams.”
Junior quarterback Maximus Webster has been a force for the Shamrocks this season, going 92-for-138 and totaling 1,509 yards and 19 touchdowns. Senior Mason Piening has 39 of those catches and a majority of the touchdown receptions with 10.
Junior Micah Hauser is on top of the rushing chart with 841 yards and nine TDs. Webster has rushed for 12 touchdowns and compiled 543 yards for the season. Hauser dominates on defense with 90 tackles, while junior Popeye Williams leads the tackles for a loss category with nine. Williams also has four sacks for the year.
“We are just grateful to be in the position we are in,” said Gilbert. “We practice every day with joy in our heart knowing that nothing is guaranteed. I think that attitude has truly led to great practices for our team.”
CARMEL-BROWNSBURG
When Carmel kicks off against Brownsburg Friday night, it will be the first time the two teams meet on the field in decades.
The Greyhounds and the Bulldogs played each other from 1970 to 1974, but have not done so since then. Carmel held the advantage in the brief rivalry, winning four of the five games.
This season, Brownsburg is 8-1. The Bulldogs finished tied for second in the HCC with Southeastern, and opened sectional play with a tough win over rival Avon, 34-31.
“Brownsburg is a big and physical team that has had great success running the football,” said Greyhounds coach John Hebert. “Their offensive line is very good. They can also throw the ball very well to complement their running game. Defensively, we have to be gap sound, very physical, and have great pursuit to the football in order to slow them down.”
Senior quarterback Ben Easters has completed 115 of 189 pass attempts for 1,689 yards and 13 touchdowns. Senior Preston Terrell has 49 of those receptions, including seven scores.
Sophomore Caleb Marcus leads the ground game with 918 yards rushing, including 13 TDs. Senior Brandon Burks is next in line with 623 yards and 10 touchdowns. On defense, senior Jalen Wilson has 68 tackles, while junior Isaiah Street has made 8.5 tackles for a loss.
Carmel is 8-2 for the season and began sectional play with a 38-22 victory over Pike. Two Greyhound players rushed for over 100 yards in the game: Junior quarterback Zach Osborne gained 142 yards and senior Zach White had 103 yards.
For the season, Osborne has been solid through the air, completing 87 of 168 passes for 1,236 yards and 15 touchdowns. Senior Colton Parker has 25 of those catches, six of them for touchdowns.
White leads the rushing with 689 yards and six TDs, followed by Osborne with 533 yards and 10 scores. On defense, senior Tamarris Springfield has 76 tackles for the season, while seniors Gavin Hale and Andrew Turvy both have 69 stops; Turvy has eight tackles for a loss. Junior Hayden Cate has five sacks.
“We aren’t very big on defense but our quickness and team speed has been an advantage for us,” said Hebert. “Our offense and special teams will be keys in limiting Brownsburg’s offense as well. If we can control the ball when we are on offense and limit short fields for them, our defense will have a better chance to be successful.”
Carmel will be going for its eighth consecutive sectional championship on Friday night.
“Our goal is always to be playing our best football by the playoffs,” said Hebert. “I think it speaks to the culture our kids believe in regarding the purpose of the regular season. Everything before now has been preparation for this.”
