Carmel picked up its second consecutive Metropolitan Conference win on Friday, pulling away from North Central 38-14 in a battle of Class 6A top 10 teams.
The No. 8 Greyhounds scored first; Spencer Hanna kicked a 44-yard field goal in what would be the only points of the first quarter. Carmel then traded touchdowns with the No. 5 Panthers in the second quarter.
Jaedon King caught a 25-yard touchdown pass from Zach Osborne with just under eight minutes left in the half, giving the ‘Hounds a 10-0 lead. North Central answered with a 37-yard TD run by Theran Johnson.
Osborne zoomed into the end zone from the five-yard line with 1:14 remaining, but Johnson matched that with a 24-yard touchdown reception with five seconds left. Zayd Vestral made the throw. Hanna made both extra-point kicks for Carmel, which lead 17-14 at the break.
The second half was all Greyhounds. They had to wait until the final minute of the third quarter to score again, but were rewarded with two touchdowns in 43 seconds. Zach White ran into the end zone from 20 yards, then Jordan Jones made a two-yard scoring run in the last play of the period.
White would score again in the fourth quarter, with a nine-yard touchdown run. He would lead all rushers with 148 yards. Hanna made all the second-half extra points, making him 5-for-5 on the night. Osborne finished the game 13-of-20 through the air, totaling 154 yards. King and Colton Parker both had four receptions.
Carmel is now 3-1 in the MIC and 4-2 overall. The Greyhounds return to Carmel Stadium next Friday to host Ben Davis.
CARMEL 38, NORTH CENTRAL 14
Score by Quarters
Carmel 3 14 14 7 – 38
North Central 0 14 0 0 – 14
Team Stats CAR NC
First Downs 21 18
By Rush 11 7
By Pass 7 10
By Penalty 3 1
Rushes-Yards 48-217 22-115
Yards Passing 154 211
Comp-Att-Int-TD 13-20-0-1 21-40-0-1
Fumbles-Lost 0-0 0-0
Penalties-Yards 5-40 11-161
Punts-Average 3-22.7 5-30.8
Carmel Scoring
First Quarter
7:05 – Spencer Hanna 44-yard field goal
Second Quarter
7:53 – Jaedon King 25-yard pass from Zach Osborne (Hanna kick)
1:14 – Osborne 5-yard run (Hanna kick)
Third Quarter
0:43 – Zach White 20-yard run (Hanna kick)
0:00 – Jordan Jones 2-yard run (Hanna kick)
Fourth Quarter
4:39 – White 9-yard run (Hanna kick)
Carmel individual stats
Rushing: White 22-148, Jones 8-24, Luke Conley 2-18, Osborne 10-15, Baron Smith 3-6, Ethan Hall 2-5, Nick Beidl 1-1.
Passing: Osborne 13-20-154.
Receiving: Colton Parker 4-40, King 4-24, Jones 3-67, Smith 2-23.