Westfield went up against the No. 1 team in Class 6A Friday, traveling to Brownsburg for a Hoosier Crossroads Conference game.
The Shamrocks had some good moments against the Bulldogs, but Brownsburg eventually took over and ran to a 31-14 victory, keeping undefeated at 6-0.
“It was 14-7 at half, so it was pretty close at halftime,” said Westfield coach Jake Gilbert. The coach said he was proud of his players and that they played hard, but admitted that the ‘Rocks were only able to hold them “really for about three quarters, and then they took over.”
Westfield led 7-0 after the first quarter, with Max Nosler catching a 24-yard touchdown pass from Cole Ballard. Brody Boehm made the extra-point kick. The Bulldogs scored on two rushing touchdowns in the second period to lead 14-7 at halftime, then put up 17 more points in the second half.
“The biggest difference tonight was that we just could not run the ball,” said Gilbert. “They ran the ball for quite a bit. But they stuffed us versus the run.” Brownsburg held Westfield to minus 3 yards rushing.
The ‘Rocks got a late score from Kendall Garnett, as he took a 98-yard kickoff return in for a touchdown with 1:20 left in the game. Boehm again made the extra-point kick.
Ballard completed 17 of 29 pass attempts for 191 yards. A bright spot was the return of Dillon Thieneman, who made 16 tackles (four solo and 12 assists) for the ‘Rocks. Tyler Dikos had 15 stops (four solo and 11 assists.) Lennox Williams had 11 tackles (3 solo, eight assists) and Samuel Toney had 10 (two solo, eight assists).
“Dillon Thieneman was back, and he played great,” said Gilbert. “It was awesome to have him back. It gives me a lot of hope moving forward.”
Westfield is 2-2 in HCC play and 3-3 overall. The Shamrocks host Avon next Friday.
BROWNSBURG 31, WESTFIELD 14
Score by Quarters
Westfield 7 0 0 7 – 14
Brownsburg 0 14 7 10 – 31
Team Stats WF BB
First Downs 11 20
By Rush 1 11
By Pass 9 9
By Penalty 1 0
Rushes-Yards 22-minus 3 49-245
Yards Passing 191 118
Comp-Att-Int-TD 17-29-1-1 14-21-1-1
Fumbles-Lost 0-0 1-1
Penalties-Yards 6-61 4-45
Punts-Average 4-35.3 3-30.0
Westfield Scoring
First Quarter
7:47 – Max Nosler 24-yard pass from Cole Ballard (Brody Boehm kick)
Fourth Quarter
1:20 – Kendall Garnett 98-yard kickoff return (Boehm kick)
Westfield individual stats
Rushing: Ryan Craeger 9-6, Garnett 5-0, Ballard 8-minus 9.
Passing: Ballard 17-29-191.
Receiving: Gabe Aramboles 5-92, Nosler 4-51, Creager 3-20, Garnett 2-20, Patrick Schramm 2-5, Mikaeh Webster 1-3.