By RICHIE HALL
WESTFIELD – Minutes after the Westfield football team punched its ticket to the Class 6A state championship game, junior defensive lineman Alex Aramboles repeated something his head coach once said to the Shamrocks.
Westfield’s Cato June made two interceptions, including one in the first quarter that set up the Shamrocks’ first touchdown. (Joshua Herd)
“We don’t lose the same way twice,” Josh Miracle told his team.
Last year, Westfield dropped a semi-state game at Crown Point in double overtime. The ‘Rocks avenged that loss this year on their home field, running away from the Bulldogs 30-7 at Riverview Health Stadium to win the 6A north semi-state and return to the state finals for the first time since 2021.
Aramboles said that in last year’s game, the Shamrocks started out slow. They made sure not to do that again.
“This year, we came in fast,” said Aramboles. “We came in hot. We were ready to go.”
Westfield’s defense was ready, with Cato June making a first-quarter interception to give the ‘Rocks the ball on CP’s six-yard line. Deacon King handled things from there, running the ball four yards for Westfield’s first touchdown of the game. Owen Wright’s extra point kick would be the first of many points for the kicker.
The Bulldogs answered back, with quarterback Noah Ehrlich connecting with Logan Urbaniak for a 44-yard touchdown reception. Oliver Brewer made the extra-point kick to tie the game at 7-7, and that would be the score after one quarter.
Westfield would make a big play midway through the second quarter. Carsen Melvin threw a perfect pass to Beau Braun, who dashed into a wide-open field and ran all the way to the end zone. The play totaled 66 yards, and the Shamrocks took the lead for good.
The ‘Rocks scored again on their next drive. King took off for a 19-yard TD run and Wright made his third extra-point kick of the game to put Westfield ahead 21-7.
“I think our defense helped us a lot, getting those stops and not letting them score those quick touchdowns,” said King. “And I feel like our offense just grinding away at the clock and scoring when we needed to was really helpful.”
Westfield’s Beau Braun scored on a 66-yard touchdown reception. (Joshua Herd)
That would be the Shamrocks’ last touchdown of the contest, but Wright wasn’t done scoring points. He booted a 44-yard field goal for the final play before halftime, sending Westfield into the locker room with a 24-7 lead.
Neither team scored in the third quarter. Westfield began a long drive with 3:17 left in the third that culminated in another Wright field goal, this one for 37 yards with 10:16 left in the game. Wright finished the Shamrocks’ scoring with a third field goal, connecting from 23 yards at the 3:55 mark.
“I only started playing football two years ago, and so being able to be a part of this team, contributing, getting us to a state championship, it’s awesome. It’s unbelievable,” said Wright. The kicker also credited the Westfield fans for cheering them on.
“I didn’t know how much they were going to show out,” said Wright. “It was cold, but they brought their ‘A’ game today and they definitely helped us with this one.”
The semi-state victory was the third time this season the Shamrocks held an opponent to seven points or less. Miracle agreed that it was one of Westfield’s better defensive games of the season. Aramboles made three sacks, while Mikeah Webster had 12 tackles, including one for a loss.
“I think those guys have played some pretty good defense here in the last month,” said Miracle. “Cato having two takeaways is huge. He’s really improved over the course of the year, just a big-time playmaker for us. Our front got a lot of pressure then at the end, too, to seal the game.”
“When our offense plays good, that really helps our defense. When the defense isn’t playing that well, offense picks it up and vice versa,” said Aramboles, who also said the two sides “bring each other up as a team.”
Melvin had a solid game at quarterback, completing 12 of 16 pass attempts for 138 yards.
“I think he made some really good decisions,” said Miracle. “There’s some plays in there, too, where it was just making the right decision, throwing it away and living another down, too. And I think sometimes that goes unnoticed when you’re making the right plays and had some good timely runs on the move as well.”
King led the rushing with 145 yards, while Braun totaled four catches for 84 yards.
Westfield is 12-1 and plays Brownsburg next Friday at Lucas Oil Stadium in Indianapolis for the Class 6A state championship. The Bulldogs held off Center Grove 31-27 to win the 6A south semi-state. It will be the first time two Hoosier Crossroads Conference football teams will meet in a state championship game.
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