By RICHIE HALL
CARMEL – It was after 11 p.m. Friday night at Carmel Stadium and there was still a full crowd.
This was despite the fact that the Class 4A No. 2 Greyhounds’ game with Detroit King had been halted due to lightning and was slowly crawling through the fourth quarter. But those who stayed to the end were rewarded, especially the Carmel fans, who got to see their team win a game that went from epic to grand opera in the final 90 seconds.
The Greyhounds ultimately beat the Crusaders 42-40 on the last play of the game. Jack Kazmierczak, a kid who was playing junior varsity football one week ago and had stepped in for injured quarterback Zach Osborne for a few plays, flung a last-second pass towards the end zone from the King 35-yard line. It was caught cleanly by Reece Bellin, touching off a late-night celebration at Carmel Stadium.
“I’ve learned not ride the ups and downs,” said Greyhounds coach John Hebert. “It’s too much. It’s taken me 50 years to learn this. You’ve got to deal with whatever happens next. But that play right there was one of the most amazing things I’ve ever seen.”
The Kazmierczak-Bellin connection was actually the fourth big play of the game’s final minute and a half. King had just made a goal-line stand to prevent Carmel from scoring at the one-yard line and took over on downs with just over a minute to play. But on the drive’s first play, the Crusaders fumbled, and the Greyhounds’ Will Webster recovered and took it seven yards to score.
Ben Sponsler made the extra-point kick, his fourth of the game, and Carmel led 36-33 with 1:07 left. King started bulldozing its way down the field, led by its five-star quarterback Dante Moore. The Crusaders got the Greyhounds’ 10-yard line, then Moore sent a pass to Joseph Williams for a touchdown. The extra-point kick put King back on top 40-36.
That was the score with 8.8 seconds left to go. Carmel received the kickoff and got it down to the 35, which set up Kazmierczak’s big throw. Kazmierczak had to step up after Osborne’s injury forced him from the game, and he did just that. Hebert called him “a really steady guy.”
“He’s a very calm and steady kid,” said Hebert. “In fact, I’ve never seen him really show emotions either way, in high or low. Very focused on what we’re trying to do. It’s hard to prepare as a backup. And there have been times where he was No. 3 or even No. 4. He just now earned the second spot.”
While the final 90 seconds of the game were incredible, the other 46 minutes and 30 seconds were also pretty good. There were eight lead changes in the final three quarters and both teams combined for over 1,000 yards of total offense. Moore totaled 435 yards passing for King.
“We knew we had our hands full with their offense,” said Hebert. “It was like almost grasping at straws, really. We settled on a couple of things that worked for us and then they figured out some ways to exploit it, and then we had to change it again. And that’s why you schedule a team like this because they force you to do that.”
Carmel got the game’s first score midway through the opening quarter when Osborne ran in from nine yards. The Crusaders got on the board with a 38-yard pass play, but the ‘Hounds blocked the kick, keeping them ahead 7-6.
Nick Beidl punched the ball in from the one-yard line to get Carmel ahead 14-6. King would find the end zone twice in a row, both from long passes by Moore. The first was a 54-yard pass to Williams that brought the Crusaders within 14-12; they would take the lead on a 24-yard connection from Moore to Lamont Parks.
Osborne powered the ball in from the two-yard line with 1:03 left in the first half to get Carmel ahead 21-19, but Terrance Brown took the kickoff 81 yards a few seconds later, and the Crusaders held the lead at halftime 26-21.
Both teams scored again in the third quarter. Osborne ran in to the end zone from 11 yards, then sent a two-point conversion pass to Beidl. Brown answered for King with 1:22 left on an eight-yard run. That gave the Kings a 33-29 lead, which they would hold until the frantic final minute and a half.
Ethan Hall led the Carmel rushing with 104 yards. Osborne had a tremendous game, making 26 of 34 passes for 255 yards. Kazmierczak went 4-for-7, totaling 82 yards. Desmond Duffy had a dominant performance on the receiving end, with 12 catches for 145 yards.
The Greyhounds are 2-0 and will play their first Indiana team next Friday, hosting Center Grove to begin Metropolitan Conference play.
CARMEL 42, DETROIT KING 40
Score by Quarters
Detroit King 12 14 7 7 – 40
Carmel 14 7 8 13 – 42
Team Stats KING CAR
First Downs 20 25
By Rush 3 9
By Pass 16 15
By Penalty 1 1
Rushes-Yards 23-53 33-197
Yards Passing 435 337
Comp-Att-Int-TD 26-38-0-4 30-41-0-1
Fumbles-Lost 1-1 2-0
Penalties-Yards 10-37 5-78
Punts-Average 3-36.3 3-37.7
Carmel Scoring
First Quarter
6:27 – Zach Osborne 9-yard run (Ben Sponsler kick)
2:12 – Nick Beidl 1-yard run (Sponsler
kick)
Second Quarter
1:03 – Osborne 2-yard run (Sponsler kick)
Third Quarter
5:19 – Osborne 11-yard run (Beidl pass from Osborne
Fourth Quarter
1:07 – Will Webster 7-yard fumble recovery (Sponsler kick)
0:00 – Reece Bellin 35-yard pass from Jack Kazmierczak (no attempt)
Carmel individual stats
Rushing: Ethan Hall 12-104, Beidl 10-41, Osborne 6-40, Ethan Trent 2-13, Jaedon King 1-5, Kazmierczak 2-minus 6.
Passing: Osborne 26-34-255, Kazmierczak 4-7-82.
Receiving: Desmond Duffy 12-145, Bellin 4-59, Blake Matthews 4-41, King 4-25, Hall 3-37, Beidl 3-30.