By CRAIG ADKINS
For The Reporter
WESTFIELD – The intensity was high from the opening kickoff and it didn’t let up until late in the fourth quarter. The Lawrence Central Bears and Westfield Shamrocks were both looking for their first win of the young season.
It became a battle of who could overcome the penalties that mounted up throughout the game. Westfield was able to take advantage and get past the total of 37 yellow flags thrown between the two teams, coming out on top with a 42-27 win over the visiting Bears.
The ‘Rocks wanted to get off to a great start on defense and that’s exactly what they did.
Lawrence Central lined up to punt on 4th down and two at its own 28. Linebacker Charlie Dager broke free through the line to block the punt, deflecting it into the end zone where Ethan Colling dove on the ball just across the goal line for the touchdown. Less than a minute into the game, Westfield was already up 7-0.
“We made a big deal about getting off to a great start in this game, and we typically do. That’s something we’ve been real strong about in the first quarter and we didn’t get that at New Palestine,” stated Westfield head coach Jake Gilbert on his team’s great start on defense.
After forcing LC to punt on the next possession, the ‘Rocks offense didn’t start real well. Cole Ballard threw an interception that was tipped and reeled in by DJ Morton.
The Bears then put a drive together that ended kind of quirky. Ahmaad Duff found an opening, carrying the ball 13 yards to the goal line, diving to the front left pylon. When Duff lunged out, he was still inbounds and the ball came loose, into the end zone for a touchback.
Westfield then had a statement drive. Running back Terry Williams got it started quickly with a 42-yard scamper down to the 38 of LC. The next play, Ballard called his own number, running untouched 38 yards later for the score. This put the Shamrocks up 14-0.
“That was a critical juncture for our football team to get off to that fast start,” said Gilbert on his team jumping out to a two-score lead early.
That lead didn’t last long. On the first play of the Bears’ next series, quarterback Bryson Luter passed to a wide open Duff for an 80-yard touchdown strike. Luter then hit Jacob Franklin across the back of the end zone for the two-point conversion, cutting the Westfield lead to 14-8.
Then, it only took 30 seconds for Ballard to loft a TD pass to Gabe Aramboles and 58-yards later, it was 21-8.
“He (Ballard) was fantastic. I don’t think our offense got stopped, if we stopped ourselves with a turnover or a penalty, but he’s the engine that makes us go. He’s ultra competitive, ultra talented and a great quarterback,” stated Gilbert on senior first-year starting QB Cole Ballard.
The Bears trimmed the deficit to 21-14 on a two-yard run from Elijah Jackson. The two-point pass failed, but here’s the real kicker: Lawrence Central had three different penalties whistled, backing the attempt up to the 38 and they still insisted on attempting the two-point try. The pass failed after they only gained 20 yards.
Westfield came out in the third quarter with intentions of keeping the game out of reach for Lawrence Central.
On the Shamrocks’ second play of the half, Ballard threw a dart to tight end Max Nosler for a 65-yard score, pushing the Westfield lead back to two scores at 28-14.
“We’ve got two great tight ends and those guys are beasts. One’s a junior and the other a sophomore, so we feel pretty good about having those guys in the game. They’re multi-tool players, physical blockers and great receivers, too,” said Gilbert, praising his two tight ends in Nosler and Mikeah Webster.
Bryson Luter punched it in on LC’s next possession to get it back to one score again.
The Shamrocks went to the air again. Nosler pulled in a 33-yard touchdown on a 3rd down and six at the Bears’ 33. That made it again a 14-point lead at 35-21.
The Bears got one more score when Mataio Russell ran in from one yard away, narrowing the gap again to eight at 35-27.
Early in the fourth, Ballard went 19 yards for his second rushing touchdown that would wind up as the final score of 42-27.
Luter led Lawrence Central (0-2) with 86 yards on 14 carries, while Jackson had 85 on 16. Luter also threw for 304 yards, going 21-for-36 with a TD and an interception. Duff caught 5 for 124 yards, while Demarcus Cole snagged nine passes for 99 yards.
The Bears will battle for bragging rights in Lawrence township, taking on Lawrence North (1-1) next Friday, Sept 2. The Wildcats lost at Whiteland, 24-13 on Friday.
Westfield was able to balance the run and pass to keep Lawrence Central’s defense guessing.
“I thought he (Terry Williams) was great. The o-line was special tonight. That’s a great defense. These are the same guys that held HSE to one touchdown last week and we came out here and scored 42,” said Gilbert on his junior running back in Williams and crediting the offensive line where credit was due.
Williams finished with 87 yards on 12 rushes, while Ballard ran for 72 on just four attempts. Ballard improved and proved himself through the air, going 12-of-21 for 206 yards and three scores and two interceptions.
Max Nosler highlighted the pass catchers with three receptions and 107 yards, the first two for touchdowns. Gabe Aramboles caught six for 91 yards and a TD.
The Shamrocks (1-1) stay home next Friday to host the Zionsville Eagles (2-0) to open up Hoosier Crossroads Conference play. Zionsville beat Lebanon at home on Friday, 42-6.
WESTFIELD 42, LAWRENCE CENTRAL 27
Score by Quarters
Lawrence Central 8 6 13 0 – 27
Westfield 21 0 14 7 – 42
Team Stats LC WFLD
First Downs 25 16
By Rush 13 10
By Pass 11 6
By Penalty 1 0
Rushes-Yards 48-232 30-228
Yards Passing 304 238
Comp-Att-Int-TD 21-36-1-1 13-22-2-3
Fumbles-Lost 3-2 2-1
Penalties-Yards 12-80 15-137
Punts-Average 3-44.0 3-30.7
Westfield Scoring
First Quarter
11:14 – Ethan Colling blocked punt recovery in end zone (Brody Boehm kick)
4:26 – Cole Ballard 38-yard run (Boehm kick)
3:36 – Gabe Aramboles 58-yard pass from Ballard (Boehm kick)
Third Quarter
11:09 – Max Nosler 65-yard pass from Ballard (Boehm kick)
6:59 – Nosler 33-yard pass from Ballard (Boehm kick)
Fourth Quarter
10:16 – Ballard 19-yard run (Boehm kick)
Westfield individual stats
Rushing: Terry Williams 12-87, Ballard 4-72, Kendall Garnett 11-48, Ryan Craeger 3-21.
Passing: Ballard 12-21-206, Andrew Lieske 1-1-32.
Receiving: Aramboles 6-91, Nosler 3-107, Lieske 2-1, Zeke Richardson 1-32, Williams 1-7.