Football preview: This week, see two huge all-county matchups: Midland Rail & Mudsock

By CRAIG ADKINS

For The Reporter

6A No. 2 Westfield (3-0, 1-0) at 6A No. 11 Noblesville (2-1, 0-1)

The Millers and Shamrocks will meet for the 30^th time on the gridiron on Friday at Beaver Stadium, playing for the Midland Rail trophy. Westfield holds a 19-10 record in the series.

Last Friday, the Rocks hosted Zionsville and won 28-10 to start Hoosier Crossroads Conference play off on the right foot. Carsen Melvin and Mikeah Webster each rushed for touchdowns and Melvin also threw for two more.

Westfield got up 14-0 in the first and held the Eagles to a field goal in the second for a 14-3 halftime lead. Two more touchdowns in the second half pushed the Shamrocks to the league win.

Junior Deacon King led with 70 yards on 12 carries and Webster added 61 on 13 runs. Along with his two TD throws, Melvin was 12 of 17 for 143 yards and has now completed 38 for 53 for 71.7 percent efficiency through three games.

Noblesville dropped a heartbreaker in overtime at Fishers last week, 17-14. The Millers led 7-0 at halftime on a rushing score from Israel Oladipupo. They would pad their lead with 5:48 left in the game on a Ty Holmes rushing TD.

Fishers would rally for two touchdowns in the final four minutes to force OT and then the Tigers kicked a field goal to win in their OT possession.

Holmes led Noblesville with 94 rushing yards on 13 attempts.

Fishers (2-1, 1-0) at 6A No. 5 Hamilton Southeastern (3-0, 1-0)

The Tigers pulled off the comeback of all comebacks. Down 14-0 in the fourth, they stormed back with two touchdowns to force OT with Noblesville.

Carson Eloms caught a 48-yard touchdown from Gage Sturgill to cut the lead in half at 14-7 with 3:57 left. Sturgill then found JonAnthony Hall for a nine-yard score to tie it 14-14. Jon Tangara kicked a 22-yard field goal to win it in OT, 17-14.

Brady Griffits had 91 yards rushing and Hall caught 11 passes for 97 yards with Sturgill passing for 177.

The Royals own a 17-11 mark in the all-time series.

Southeastern started HCC play on the road at Avon and came home with a 28-10 win.

Carter Reed helped regain the lead at 14-10 late in the third. The advantage lengthened when Ty Earlewine intercepted an Avon pass and ran it back for a TD, pushing the lead to 21-10. Chandler Weston put the icing on the cake with a five-yard touchdown pass to Kendrick Pennybaker.

Brennan Baker, Reed and Weston combined for 200 rushing yards.

Including playoffs, HSE has won six in a row overall and four Mudsock games in a row.

Brebeuf Jesuit (2-1) at 3A No. 4 Guerin Catholic (3-0)

Guerin Catholic opens Circle City Conference play at home Friday against Brebeuf Jesuit. Last week, the Braves doubled up Class 6A Harrison at home, 56-28.

The Golden Eagles started fast in last week’s game at home with Heritage Christian, winning 53-34. Jack Linden ran in the first score just over a minute in and Aiden Horn caught a pair of TD passes from Malcolm Houze in the last couple minutes.

Linden had a career game with 44 rushes for 325 yards and three touchdowns. Houze was very effective in the pocket, going 9 of 12 for 150 yards and four touchdowns. Hayden Cler reeled in five for 88 yards for a TD and a 2-point run and Horn snagged three for 54, two for TDs.

Louisville Trinity (KY) (2-1) at 6A No. 7 Carmel (2-1)

For the ninth time, Trinity and Carmel get together on the football field for a meeting of powerhouses. Trinity won last year’s game in Kentucky, 41-14.

The two-and-a-half-hour bus ride to Centerville, Ohio didn’t affect the Greyhounds at all last Friday. The Hounds cruised to a 44-23 win over the host Elks.

Carmel stormed out to a 20-0 lead through one quarter, thanks to a pair of Andrew Pemberton rushing touchdowns and Jacob Bellin catching a TD from Anthony Coellner. Lukas Krishtanmoorthy made a field goal for the halftime score of 23-10.

Pemberton reached 100 yards for the second time in three games. Coellner completed 19 of his 29 passes for 185 yards and two TDs. Nathan Williams caught nine of those Coellner passes for 104 yards and a TD.

Sheridan (1-2) at Clinton Central (2-1)

The Blackhawks head north into Clinton County to face the Clinton Central Bulldogs in Hoosier Heartland Conference tilt. Last week, the Bulldogs got their first loss at Clinton Prairie, 46-28.

Sheridan was able to get its first win of the season, blanking HHC rival Tri-Central, 29-0. After a 0-0 first period, the Blackhawks flipped a switch. Alex Cravens scored the first TD with a few minutes left in the second on an 18-yard run.

Sophomore Brock Hagan got the start at quarterback. Hagan threw TDs of 42 and 41 yards in the third and fourth quarters, respectively. He also had a three-yard rushing touchdown in the third.

Hagan completed 5 of his 8 passes for 121 yards. Caleb Alexander caught three of those passes, two for scores, for 105 yards. Jaylen Arnold had a solid night in the backfield, rushing 20 times for 109 yards.

The Blackhawk defense held the Trojans to negative 4 passing yards and just 134 rushing yards, while also forcing two fumbles (recovering one).

Hamilton Heights (0-3) at Danville (2-1)

Friday night will be the first meeting between Hamilton Heights and the Danville Warriors.

After a season-opening loss to Gibson Southern, Danville has rebounded for two straight wins against Purdue Poly Englewood and at Lebanon.

Last week, the Huskies lost to McCutcheon 31-2 on the road.  Nick Bichey got a safety to score the Huskies’ only points.

Sophomore quarterback Drew Woodruff is 45 of 94 for 440 yards through his first three games. Senior Keaton Weaver leads the receptions with 14, totaling 152 yards. Senior Tyler Champion has 12 catches, for 155 yards.