The Westfield football team was already the Hoosier Crossroads Conference champion, but the Shamrocks wanted a little more than that.
On Friday, Westfield became an undefeated HCC champion. The Class 6A No. 2 Shamrocks sailed past Franklin Central 35-0 at Riverview Health Stadium to complete their perfect conference season at 7-0.
Westfield won the HCC back in 2013, but had to share the title with Fishers. This year, the ‘Rocks stand alone. Coach Jake Gilbert said he was “just thrilled for our senior and our whole team” in winning the conference.
“Our JV and freshmen are playing for an undefeated season tomorrow,” said Gilbert. “We’re just blessed.”
Westfield was ready to go from the beginning. Mason Piening took the opening kickoff 99 yards for a touchdown. That was the first of three scores for the Shamrocks in the first quarter. Maximus Webster ran into the end zone from 11 yards midway through the period, then connected with Piening for a 70-yard touchdown late in the quarter.
“I was just so happy with how sharp our guys were at the start of the game,” said Gilbert. “I was really proud that our guys were ready to play. We got off to a good start and that carried us through. Great maturity by our seniors.”
Westfield added two more touchdowns in the second quarter, both on one-yard runs. Jack Pfeiffer scored at the 10:29 mark of the period, then Micah Hauser punched into the end zone with 3:46 left. Sean Sullivan made all five extra-point kicks.
The Shamrocks totaled 364 yards of offense, including 211 yards through the air. Webster went 7-for-9 for 126 yards. Piening had four receptions. Hauser led the ground game with 63 yards rushing.
David Frey had seven tackles on defense, with Magwire Graybill making six stops. Seth Poriah had two tackles for a loss.
“To get a shutout in our conference is an amazing feat in and of itself,” said Gilbert. “I thought our D-line played hard.”
Westfield finished the regular season 8-1 and is off until Oct. 30, when it plays at Noblesville in the semi-finals of Sectional 4.
WESTFIELD 35, FRANKLIN CENTRAL 0
Score by Quarters
Franklin Central 0 0 0 0 – 0
Westfield 21 14 0 0 – 35
Team Stats FC WF
First Downs 5 16
By Rush 4 8
By Pass 1 8
By Penalty 0 0
Rushes-Yards 29-124 25-153
Yards Passing 14 211
Comp-Att-Int-TD 9-14-1-0 14-20-0-1
Fumbles-Lost 1-1 3-1
Penalties-Yards 6-87 4-30
Punts-Average 6-39.5 2-29.5
Westfield Scoring
First Quarter
11:46 – Mason Piening 99-yard kickoff
return (Sean Sullivan kick)
6:09 – Maximus Webster 11-yard run (Sullivan kick)
1:24 – Piening 70-yard pass from Webster (Sullivan kick)
Second Quarter
10:29 – Jack Pfeiffer 1-yard run (Sullivan kick)
3:46 – Micah Hauser 1-yard run (Sullivan kick)
Westfield individual stats
Rushing: Hauser 9-63, Webster 4-47, Pfeiffer 5-21, Cole Ballard 1-10, Porter Rode 1-6, Grant Harlowe 2-4, Ryan Creager 2-1, Nick Talley 1-1.
Passing: Webster 7-9-126, Ballard 5-8-43, Talley 2-3-42.
Receiving: Piening 4-89, Reid Schepers 3-32, Jackson Wasserstrom 2-29, Pfeiffer 2-19, Hayden Pope 1-23, Nic Depasquale 1-17, Hauser 1-2.