By RICHIE HALL
Reporter Sports Editor
In order to continue its sectional championship streak, the Carmel football team will have to get past an old post-season rival.
Lafayette Jefferson will come into Carmel Stadium Friday night to play the No. 10-ranked Greyhounds for the Class 6A Sectional 4 title. The game begins at 7 p.m.
This will be the first meeting between the two teams since the 2008 post-season. Carmel traveled to the Bronchos’ field that year on Oct. 31, beating them in a sectional semi-final by the score of 44-21. The ‘Hounds played Jeff seven times between 1998 and 2008, winning six times. The Bronchos’ victory came in 2002 in the sectional championship.
“We are now at a point where each game is for a title of some sort,” said Carmel coach John Hebert. “The Sectional title is very important to us. Playing an unfamiliar opponent has added even more excitement to it because our guys have no frame of reference on them.”
Jefferson had been struggling for years, but those days are gone: Since the start of the 2015 season, the Bronchos have had three consecutive winning seasons. This year, Jeff is undefeated at 10-0 under its young second-year head coach, Pat Shanley.
The Bronchos blitzed through the regular season with wins over Lafayette Central Catholic 54-0, Western 36-15, McCutcheon 28-10, Harrison 49-39, Kokomo 48-28, Marion 37-31, Richmond 63-6, Logansport 50-0 and Muncie Central 70-0. In last week’s sectional semi-final, Jefferson held off a tough challenge from Westfield, 27-24.
“Lafayette Jeff is a team that plays with great energy and focus,” said Hebert. “Coach Shanley has done an outstanding job building his program. They really appear to love to play the game and to compete. They are very athletic and efficient on offense and swarming on defense.”
Senior Mathew Wilkerson is the Bronchos’ quarterback and has had an outstanding season, completing 168 of 249 passes for 2396 yards and 27 touchdowns. Wilkerson’s top receiver is Jay Segal, who counts nine touchdowns among his 48 receptions. In fact, all eight of Jeff’s receivers that have caught at least one pass this year have scored at least one TD.
On the ground, sophomore Marquis Munoz has rushed for 1085 yards and 17 scores, while senior Latrell Brown has totaled 787 yards and 12 touchdowns.
Good news for Carmel is that several of their injured players are back, including quarterback Jake McDonald. Kicker Conner Coghlan should get a few opportunities to kick or punt on Friday.
“We are finally back to where we had hoped we’d be in terms of getting guys back,” said Hebert. “The benefit of going through that is we are deeper now than we ever thought we would be.”
ROUND TWO FOR FISHERS-PIKE
Fishers will host Pike at 7 p.m. Friday night at Reynolds Tigers Stadium for the 6A Sectional 5 championship.
The two teams played each other in Week 2, with the Red Devils stunning the Tigers 43-0. Since then, both teams have gone on to 6-4 records. Both teams have win streaks going: Pike has won four straight, while Fishers has been victorious in its last three games.
“You are always excited to play for a championship,” said Tigers coach Rick Wimmer. “As our players have been saying, ‘This is a trophy and t-shirt game.’ We will play with great effort.”
Pike narrowly lost to Zionsville 33-32 before its regular-season win over Fishers. In the regular season, the Red Devils beat Lawrence Central 46-28, Center Grove 28-20, North Central 45-28 and Lawrence North 30-17, while losing to Ben Davis 69-34, Carmel 21-18 and Warren Central 41-12.
Pike began sectional play with a 42-21 win over North Central last week.
“Pike has great speed and they execute their offense very well,” said Wimmer. “Although they create a lot of big plays, they do not totally rely on the big play and are pretty patient, willing to make short throws, throw the ball to the flat, and the QB will keep plays alive with his feet.”
The Red Devils’ quarterback is senior Jordan Garrett, who has completed 177 of 282 attempts for 2359 yards and 25 touchdowns. Senior Jaylyn Crenshaw is the top receiver with 45 catches and five touchdowns, while senior Keith Allender has five scores as well. Senior Reggie Lipscomb is the top runner, rushing for 797 yards and 12 TDs.
“They have added a few variations offensively but their base offense or defense has changed very little,” said Wimmer. “They are executing very well.”
TOP 10 CLASH AT SHERIDAN
Two of Class 1A’s best teams will meet for the Sectional 44 championship Friday at Sheridan’s Bud Wright Stadium. The No. 6 Blackhawks host No. 4 Monroe Central.
The Golden Bears are 10-1 for the season. Monroe Central won its first eight games, over Cambridge City Lincoln 52-0, Union County 30-12, North Decatur 24-0, Union City 50-0, Tri-Central 56-6, Wes-Del 29-0, Eastern Hancock 46-21 and Anderson Prep 54-0 before falling to Shenandoah 42-20 in Week 9.
In the tournament, the Golden Bears beat Clinton Central 57-6 and Clinton Prairie to advance to the final.
“Monroe Central’s got a very good ball club, running and passing,” said Wright. The coach noted that the Golden Bears “throw the ball all over the place” and have “a good running game” to go with their passing.
“We’ve got to be able to defend both,” said Wright.
Senior Casey Conatser is MC’s quarterback. He has made 96 of 165 passes, totaling 2063 yards and 26 touchdowns. Senior Nick Mitchell is the top receiver, with 28 catches and eight scores. Senior Wyatt Snyder leads the rushing, with 831 yards and 14 touchdowns.
The Blackhawks come into the game 9-2, and are looking for their first sectional title since 2012. Wright said his players were talking about that – “It’s been a while since we won a sectional.”
Carmel’s Dylan Downing has rushed for 447 yards and three touchdowns for the Greyhounds this season. Carmel hosts Lafayette Jefferson Friday for the Class 6A Sectional 4 championship. (Kent Graham)