By RICHIE HALL
WESTFIELD – Westfield football coach Josh Miracle had a lot of positive things to say to his Shamrocks minutes after they won their fifth consecutive sectional championship.
One of those things was, “don’t take them for granted.” Second-ranked Westfield certainly didn’t take Friday’s Class 6A Sectional 3 title game for granted, blasting through the first half on its way to a 35-13 victory over visiting Zionsville at Riverview Health Stadium.
“I think sectionals are hard to come by,” said Miracle. This is first year as the Shamrocks’ head coach, but he was an assistant coach for several years before, getting to enjoy those sectional triumphs as well.
Westfield was in control from the beginning. Zionsville got the ball first, but the Shamrocks held firm, making the Eagles come up empty. It was different for Westfield when it finally got the ball: the Rocks scored on their first offensive play, with senior quarterback Carsen Melvin taking off on a 79-yard touchdown run.
“We did an inside zone,” said Melvin. He kept the ball, then got a “great block on the outside and just took it all the way.”
Melvin also credited the Shamrocks’ defense for making that initial stand at the beginning of the game.
“I think it definitely gave us some momentum,” said Melvin. “Our defense is playing really great. Any more momentum that we can give them is great. They do a lot for us, we do a lot for them. That’s why we’re playing so well. We play for each other.”
Westfield turned up the heat in the second quarter with three touchdowns. Deacon King found the end zone on the first play of the period with a 14-yard run. Melvin then took a six-yard run to score his second TD of the evening. Broc Parker finished things off with an eight-yard sprint for the Rocks’ fourth touchdown of the game.
“Carsen’s doing a good job of just getting the ball where it needs to go to,” said Miracle. “All of these guys are capable of making plays and I think that’s what makes us dangerous on offense, too. When it’s their time to step up, they will. Nobody gets selfish in between those times, either.”
The Shamrocks led 28-0 at halftime. Westfield added another touchdown just seconds into the second half when Parker took the opening kickoff 92 yards to the end zone. Owen Wright made the extra point kick, just as he did with all four first-half scores, making him 5-for-5.
The remainder of the contest was played with a running clock. Zionsville scored one touchdown each in the third and fourth quarter, but Westfield had the game in hand by then.
Melvin finished with 85 yards rushing, followed by King with 73 yards.
The Shamrocks won their 13th sectional title in program history and improved to 10-1 with the victory. Westfield will travel to Fishers next Friday for the Regional 2 championship.
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