By RICHIE HALL
Carmel and Westfield haven’t played each other in football during the regular season in over 50 years, so there’s no traveling trophy between the two schools.
Nowadays, the meetings between the Greyhounds and Shamrocks occur during the sectional. That will be the case Friday, as the two teams meet at Carmel Stadium to compete for a different kind of trophy: The Class 6A Sectional 4 championship trophy. Kick off is at 7 p.m.
Both squads come into the sectional final with winning records. Carmel is 7-3, while Westfield is 7-4. In addition, the two teams are not far removed from a state championship, with both schools winning 2016 titles on back-to-back days – the Greyhounds in 6A, the Shamrocks taking their last turn in 5A before moving up to the big class.
“They are a very well-coached football team in all three phases,” Carmel coach John Hebert said of Westfield. “Their offensive and defensive lines are both big and physical and help them establish control in games.”
Hebert said the Shamrocks’ play at quarterback and wide receiver “is very strong which complements the great production they get from (Eli) Patchett and (Micah) Hauser at running back. They do a very nice job controlling the football and producing explosive plays. Mason Piening and Dane Wheeler are excellent playmakers as well.”
Westfield’s quarterback is senior Camden Simons, and he has been tremendous throughout the season. Simons has thrown for 1,606 yards and 14 touchdowns, completing 111 of 178 attempts. As for the wide receivers, the senior Wheeler and junior Piening each have 30 catches, with Piening scoring five touchdowns and Wheeler four.
Patchett has done just as well on the ground, with 781 rushing yards and 13 TDs. Simons has 490 yards on the run with four touchdowns, with Hauser carrying for 365 yards and five scores.
Hauser is also the Shamrocks’ defensive leader, with 77 tackles. Junior David Frey and sophomore Bryson Hoover are next in line with 76 and 74 stops respectively. Patchett has 63 tackles.
Westfield has won its last two games, and began the post-season last week with a 42-14 win over Fishers at Riverview Health Stadium. That was a reversal of the Week 8 regular season game, where the Tigers beat the Shamrocks 19-14.
“We have been practicing great for a long time,” said ‘Rocks coach Jake Gilbert. “We played well against Avon and Fishers the first time, but came up just a bit short. We played great against Fishers. I believe we eliminated costly mistakes that killed us in the games we lost. Our young defensive players grew up and played really well. Our seniors led and got us over the hump. We were focused and got off to a great start. It was great.”
Carmel, of course, is used to having great games. The ‘Hounds are winners of their last three contests, opening post-season play with a 28-14 victory at Hamilton Southeastern last week.
“Carmel has a tremendous running game,” said Gilbert. The coach noted that the Greyhounds have “three stud running backs” and a dangerous running quarterback, and also said Carmel’s offensive line “is big and they have a good scheme.”
“Their defense is extremely fundamental and solid,” said Gilbert. “They rarely miss a tackle. They never give up explosive plays. They are tough to beat.”
Junior Christian Williams is Carmel’s quarterback. He has passed for 631 yards and four touchdowns, in addition to rushing for 187 yards and four TDs. As for the running backs, senior Dylan Downing totals 780 yards and eight scores, junior John Rogers has 447 yards and six TDs, and junior Zach White has gained 226 yards and scored four touchdowns.
Junior Colton Parker leads the receivers with 20 catches, including three TDs. On defense, junior Dominic Padjen leads the way with 92 tackles, with senior Ty Wise making 81 stops and senior Garrett Sharp getting 80 stops.
This will be the seventh consecutive year that Carmel plays in the sectional championship.
“We’ve tried to use the regular season as preparation for the tournament,” said Hebert. “Our goal every year is to be playing our best football by week 10 to give us a shot at making a run in the post season. There has been some evidence the past few weeks that we may be hitting the mark with that. Looking at the film of Westfield’s victory over Fishers, I think the same can be said for them. This should be a really good game.”
Carmel’s Dylan Downing has rushed for 780 yards and scored eight touchdowns for the Greyhounds this season. (Richie Hall/File photo)
Westfield’s Eli Patchett (33) has been strong on both sides of the ball this season, with 781 yards rushing and 13 touchdowns on offense, and 63 tackles on defense. (Kent Graham/File photo)