By RICHIE HALL
Reporter Sports Editor
With everything that the Carmel High School football program has accomplished over the past half-century, it’s hard to imagine the Greyhounds doing something they haven’t done before.
Carmel found something Friday night. The Greyhounds beat Lafayette Jefferson 41-20 to win the Class 6A Sectional 4 championship, which took place at Carmel Stadium. With the victory, the ‘Hounds clinched their fifth straight sectional title, an unprecedented streak for Carmel.
“Definitely awesome,” said senior quarterback Jake McDonald. “This tradition at Carmel High School is something special, and to be a part of it is unbelievable.”
The Greyhounds’ win extends their record number of sectional trophies to 29. Next up for Carmel is the regional; the ‘Hounds will play at Fort Wayne Snider next Friday.
In order to win that fifth straight sectional, Carmel had to beat an undefeated Bronchos team. Lafayette Jeff came barreling into Carmel Stadium with a 10-0 record and an offensive average of 46.2 points per game.
But the ‘Hounds have a good offense, too. They put it in on display right away when Camari Hunt broke loose and streaked into the end zone for a 62-yard touchdown run. Just 93 seconds into the game, Carmel was ahead 7-0.
The Bronchos answered right away, though. Bishop Johnson made a 52-yard return into Greyhound territory, then worked their way to the two-yard line. On fourth down, Mathew Wilkerson tossed a pass to Zion Austin in the end zone. Jeff went for two, and a Marquis Munoz run put the Bronchos ahead 8-7 midway through the first.
Neither team scored for a while, until Carmel finally hit pay dirt on a short drive with 2:53 left in the second. McDonald found Aiden Ellison for a 24-yard pass play touchdown. Matt Fortier kicked the extra point on both Greyhound touchdowns, and Carmel led 14-8 at halftime. Fortier also helped out on defense, making an interception in the end zone to deny the Bronchos a late touchdown.
The ‘Hounds began to take control of the game in the third quarter, and gained steam on offense as the second half progressed. Fortier got the first points of the third quarter on a 22-yard field goal, then McDonald threw an eight-yard touchdown pass to Atticus Clouse with 4:09 left in the period.
Jefferson answered that score with a remarkable drive that saw Wilkerson make seven consecutive pass completions, the last to Jay Segal for a 16-yard score. The Bronchos again tried for a two-point conversion, but Carmel stopped that one.
“I think our pass rushing in the second half really made a difference,” said Carmel coach John Hebert. “It took a little while to settle it on what we were doing. We played a little more man coverage in the second half, blitzed them more. We had some kids make some really good plays for us.”
Instead, the ‘Hounds moved into the fourth quarter with a nice drive. McDonald hit Clouse with a 43-yard pass that got Carmel to the Jeff 4. Three plays later, McDonald flipped the ball to Zachary Bradley from the one-yard line, another Greyhounds touchdown.
“There’s no better feeling than playing on this field, especially on Friday nights with all my guys,” said McDonald. He wound up with three touchdowns on the night in his first game back after being injured for several weeks.
“Those few weeks out weren’t fun, but I did my job to help out Gabe Quigley, who did a great job, came home with his first sectional win and got me another chance to play for this team, because when this is over, I don’t know what I’m going to do, honestly,” said McDonald.
Carmel’s last touchdown of the game was score by Dylan Downing, who jogged in from the one-yard line midway through the fourth. Fortier made the subsequent kick, making him 5-for-5 in extra points for the game. Connor Coghlan, who was also out with an injury, came back during this game, and got the Greyhounds’ final points with a 24-yard field goal with 1:41 left.
“Our kids just stayed with the game plan,” said Hebert. “We made a few adjustments and we were able to pull it out in the end.”
McDonald finished the game 12-of-16 for 173 yards, with Atticus Clouse making seven of those catches for 114 yards. Hunt carried the ball 11 times for 96 yards.
Carmel is now 7-4 for the season.
