With a share of the Hoosier Crossroads Conference championship in sight, the Westfield football team sprinted towards the finish line.
The Class 6A No. 2 Shamrocks powered their way to another victory on Friday, beating Fishers 34-14 in an all-county and HCC game at Westfield’s Riverview Health Stadium. The ‘Rocks took care of business on all sides, with solid rushing, passing, defense and special teams play.
“We had a great week of preparation, and the conference championship essentially was on the line, at least to clinch a share of it, so we had a lot to play for,” said Westfield coach Jake Gilbert. “I just felt we were ready. I feel like our team is starting to bond and gel and execute and roles are getting established more and more. About Week 8 seems to be when we take off a little bit around here. I don’t know why that is, but I’m pretty happy with where we are as a team.”
The Shamrocks scored two touchdowns in the first quarter. Nic Depasquale teamed with Maximus Webster for a 49-yard pass play score early in the quarter, then Micah Hauser ran 19 yards to the end zone late in the period.
Caleb King kicked the extra point after both touchdowns, which turned out to be a warmup for him. King nailed two field goals in the second period, including a long one from 44 yards out with 9:40 left in the quarter.
Westfield went up 27-0 at halftime thanks to a one-yard touchdown run from Trevon Hatchett with less than two minutes to go in the period. Then during the first minute of the third quarter, Hauser took off on a 36-yard touchdown run. King made both extra-point kicks, putting him a 4-for-4 on the night.
“I thought Micah Hauser was excellent running the football,” said Gilbert. “He ran with his heart just all out on the field. That was a big part of it.”
“Westfield came out on fire, and I felt like we were a little flat,” said Fishers coach Curt Funk. “We got behind and we had to adjust our game plan. It’s just hard to play from behind against a good Westfield team. They’re just so solid in all three phases of the game.”
The Tigers scored twice in the fourth quarter, with Khobie Martin making two touchdown runs to get his team on the board. John Tangara kicked both extra points.
“I thought they played hard and kept battling and that’s all you can ask for,” Funk said of his team’s second-half play. “We found some positives in the second half that we can build on for this week against Zionsville.”
Both quarterbacks had efficient games for their teams. Webster went 10-of-13 for 154 yards, while the Tigers’ Lucas Minns was 17-of-22, totaling 130 yards. Hauser finished with 145 yards rushing.
The Shamrocks are 6-0 in the conference and thus clinched at least a tie for the HCC championship. Westfield is 7-1 overall and travels to Franklin Central next week to finish both conference and regular-season play.
Fishers is 3-3 in the conference and 5-3 overall. The Tigers host Zionsville next Friday to complete the regular season.
FISHERS 34, WESTFIELD 14
Score by Quarters
Fishers 0 0 0 14 – 14
Westfield 14 13 7 0 – 34
Team Stats FHS WHS
First Downs 17 18
By Rush 6 10
By Pass 8 7
By Penalty 3 1
Rushes-Yards 36-118 32-241
Yards Passing 130 154
Comp-Att-Int-TD 17-24-1-0 10-14-0-1
Fumbles-Lost 0-0 1-0
Penalties-Yards 3-25 11-96
Punts-Average 5-27.4 4-17.5
Scoring
First Quarter
WHS, 8:04 – Nic Depasquale 49-yard pass from Maximus Webster (Caleb King kick)
WHS, 2:26 – Micah Hauser 19-yard run (King kick)
Second Quarter
WHS, 9:40 – King 44-yard field goal
WHS, 6:31 – King 28-yard field goal
WHS, 1:51 – Trevon Hatchett 1-yard run (King kick)
Third Quarter
WHS, 11:05 – Hauser 36-yard run (King kick)
Fourth Quarter
FHS, 8:17 – Khobie Martin 10-yard run (John Tangara kick)
FHS, 4:03 – Martin 7-yard run (Tangara kick)
Fishers individual stats
Rushing: Martin 6-40, Ian Jennings 7-33, Carson Dunn 13-26, Bennett Gorak 2-26, Lucas Minns 5-4, Luke Valerio 2-minus 3, Dominic Oliverio 1-minus 4.
Passing: Minns 17-22-130, Dunn 0-1-0, Collin McPeek 0-1-0.
Receiving: Dunn 5-37, McPeek 4-38, Valerio 3-25, Aidan Zimmer 3-20, Jeffrey Simmons 2-10.
Westfield individual stats
Rushing: Hauser 10-145, Hatchett 8-59, Ja’Veyon Averitte 9-39, Ryan Creager 2-4, Webster 3-minus 6.
Passing: Webster 10-13-154, Jackson Gilbert 0-1-0.
Receiving: Gabe Aramboles 4-38, Depasquale 2-68, Ian Bruch 2-35, Jackson Wasserstrom 1-11, Hauser 1-2.