For the first time in several years, the Westfield football team will be taking a road trip to the Summit City.
The Shamrocks are headed up to Fort Wayne to play Carroll for the Regional 2 championship on Friday. Kick off is at 8 p.m., and the winner will play in the Class 6A north semi-state next week with a trip to the state finals on the line.
Westfield’s only other trip to Fort Wayne was in 2013, when the ‘Rocks played, and won, at Fort Wayne Snider 36-7. Westfield has hosted Snider twice since then during the tournament, with the Shamrocks winning both times.
Westfield is coming off a defense of its Sectional 4 championship, which it won in dramatic fashion last Friday over Hamilton Southeastern, 24-22. The ‘Rocks drove down the field during the final 39 seconds, and Caleb King kicked a field goal to win.
“Confidence comes from preparation,” said Westfield coach Jake Gilbert. The Shamrocks, he said, had practiced the play where their quarterback centers the ball for the field goal “for about eight years,” but Friday was the first time Westfield had used it in a game situation.
“You have to do what it takes, whenever it takes it, for as long as it takes,” said Gilbert. “It is extremely gratifying to see our kids execute so well and have the mental toughness to perform when things looked so bleak. We believed the entire time and I am extremely confident in our team going forward.”
The Shamrocks will take on a Chargers team that definitely knows about moving forward. Both Westfield and Carroll hold 10-1 records, and both are averaging a bunch of points. The Chargers have been putting up 41.5 points per game this season, including four contests over 50 points.
Carroll plays in the Summit Conference, which consists of 10 Fort Wayne schools. As a result, the Chargers’ 8-1 regular-season record is also its conference record. Carroll started its season by dropping a close contest to Bishop Luers 38-31; ultimately both teams would finish on top of the Summit standings.
The Chargers edged out Snider 29-28 in Week 2, then pretty much had their way with the other teams on its schedule. Carroll blasted Fort Wayne North Side 40-0, Northrop 54-21, Bishop Dwenger 42-23 and Fort Wayne South Side 59-0 over its next four game,
The Chargers did have a tough one with Homestead in Week 7 before prevailing 17-10. Carroll closed out the regular season with routs over Concordia Lutheran 69-7 and Wayne 59-0, then cruised to the Sectional 3 title with home victories over Homestead 21-0 and Warsaw 36-0, winning its first sectional title since 2014. This will be third consecutive tournament game the Chargers have played at home.
Gilbert said Carroll has an excellent quarterback and a “very fast” wide receiver.
“They are very multiple and can give you a lot of different plays and formations,” said Gilbert. “On defense they only give up 11 points per game. They do a good job punching at the ball.” Gilbert also noted that the Chargers “have several explosive players” on defense, including “some studs” at linebacker.
Senior Jeff Becker is Carroll’s quarterback, and he has completed 85 of 159 pass attempts for 1,299 yards and 22 touchdowns. Senior Jameson Coverstone leads the receptions with 39, including 13 for scores.
Senior Luke Carmody is the Chargers’ top rusher with 803 yards, followed by Becker with 692 yards. Becker has scored nine touchdowns on the ground, while Carmody has six scores. Junior Dylan Bennett leads the tackles with 71 and is one of four players with at least 10 tackles for a loss. Senior Aaron Jacquay is the leader in that category with 14, followed by Tucker Steely with 13, Bennett with 12 and sophomore Ashton Pesetski with 10.
Westfield picked up the program’s 11th overall sectional title with its Friday night victory. Senior quarterback Maximus Webster is 114-of-157 through the air, with 1,829 yards and 16 touchdowns to his credit. Four Shamrocks have at least 20 receptions, starting with freshman Gabe Aramboles’ 31. The next three are all seniors: Ian Bruch has 24 catches, Jackson Wasserstrom 23 and Nic Depasquale 20. Aramboles, Bruch and Wasserstrom all have four touchdown receptions, while Depasquale has three.
Senior Micah Hauser leads the rushing with 894 yards and 18 touchdowns, while senior Trevon Hatchett has gaiend 429 yards and scored seven TDs. On defense, junior Tyler Dikos has 114 total tackles, followed by Hauser with 99 and junior Charlie Dager with 90. Senior Popeye Williams has made 13.5 tackles for a loss.
