Carmel delivered a strong finish at its Metropolitan Conference game with Lawrence North on Friday, scoring 28 unanswered points on its way to a 44-14 victory at Carmel Stadium.
The Greyhounds never trailed in the game, but it took them until the second half to shake loose the Wildcats. Carmel went up 10-0 in the first quarter after Ben Sponsler kicked a 24-yard field goal midway through, then Desmond Duffy caught a 49-yard touchdown pass from Zachary Osborne later in the period.
A 23-yard touchdown throw from Montez Jones to Omar Cooper brought LN back to within 10-7, but Carmel responded with another scoring pass from Osborne. His four-yard toss to Kenny Bruntlett with eight seconds left gave the ‘Hounds a 17-7 advantage after one.
The Wildcats cut the lead again when Ali Richardson punched the ball in from the one near the midpoint of the second quarter. Carmel answered with Osborne making his own punch-in from the one, and the Sponsler kick made it 24-14. That would be the halftime score.
After that, the Greyhounds cruised through the second half. Duffy and Osborne teamed up again for a 55-yard pass play touchdown late in the third period. Then with 1:10 left in that quarter, Winston Berglund recovered a blocked punt in the end zone.
Carmel’s lead had swollen to 37-14, and it grew again with 10:07 left in the fourth when Jaedon King took a 27-yard throw from Osborne into the end zone. Sponsler made five extra-point kicks.
“We had our moments where we made some plays and I thought our defense played excellent in the second half and throughout stretches in the first half,” said Greyhounds coach John Hebert. “Our special teams were really good, blocked two punts and had good coverage units all night.”
Osborne had a spectacular night, completing 18 of 24 pass attempts for 263 yards and four touchdowns. King and Reece Bellin both had five catches, while Duffy had four.
Carmel improved to 2-1 in MIC play and 4-1 overall. The Greyhounds play again at Carmel Stadium next week, hosting North Central in their Homecoming game.
CARMEL 44, LAWRENCE NORTH 14
Score by Quarters
Lawrence North 7 7 0 0 – 14
Carmel 17 7 13 7 – 44
Team Stats LN CAR
First Downs 16 13
By Rush 8 2
By Pass 8 9
By Penalty 0 2
Rushes-Yards 32-124 26-18
Yards Passing 183 263
Comp-Att-Int-TD 15-24-1-1 18-24-0-4
Fumbles-Lost 2-2 0-0
Penalties-Yards 8-66 3-36
Punts-Average 6-16.2 4-46.0
Carmel Scoring
First Quarter
6:09 – Ben Sponsler 24-yard field goal
2:56 – Desmond Duffy 49-yard pass from Zachary Osborne (Sponsler kick)
0:08 – Kenny Bruntlett 4-yard pass from Osborne (Sponsler kick)
Second Quarter
0:20 – Osborne 1-yard run (Sponsler kick)
Third Quarter
2:47 – Duffy 55-yard pass from Osborne (Sponsler kick)
1:10 – Winston Berglund blocked punt recovery in end zone (kick failed)
Fourth Quarter
10:07 – Jaedon King 27-yard pass from Osborne (Sponsler kick)
Carmel individual stats
Rushing: Ethan Hall 10-28, Osborne 5-6, Nick Beidl 3-5, Aiden Alayyad 2-1, Jake Kazmierczak 2-minus 10, Jaylen Zachery 4-minus 12.
Passing: Osborne 18-24-63.
Receiving: King 5-84, Reece Bellin 5-42, Duffy 4-115, Blake Matthews 3-18, Bruntlett 1-4.