Carmel outlasts No. 15 Warren Central in another Indiana instant classic

CARMEL, Ind. - In the dictionary, "drama" has five entries beneath it. Had Noah Webster been familiar with Indiana football, he may have added "see also: Warren Central (Indianpolis) vs. Carmel (Ind.)."

Indiana's top-ranked teams kept that drama going as Jalen Duncan scored on a 16-yard run with 23 seconds remaining and Race Johnson intercepted a pass at the goal line as time expired giving Carmel another epic 34-30 victory over the nation's No. 15 team in a 5A Section final Friday night.

On the game-winning drive,  Carmel converted on two fourth downs and senior wide receiver Sean Barrett found a hole in coverage for an 11-yard gain. That set up Duncan's game-winning touchdown. He finished with 17 carries for 85 yards on 17 carries.

In front of a packed home crowd of more than 10,000 fans who  poured over onto the grass behind each end zone, Carmel overcame a 10-point halftime deficit and picked-off a 40-yard desperation pass by Kyle Faunce as time expired.

It was the game‘s only turnover.

This was another Indiana instant classic between powers who met four previous times in three years, with two being decided by two points, one by 10, and the other a state championship game that ended in double-overtime.

It was sweet redemption for the Greyhounds from Carmel (11-1), whose only loss this season was on a last-second field goal to Warren Central in Lucas Oil Stadium, 22-20.

"We were down 19-0 at halftime in that game, so 10 (down in this game) was nothing," said Johnson, who snatched the game-ending interception at the goal line. "They're a good team and they thrive on big plays, so we knew that if we kept everything in front of us that we could come back."

Carmel held Warren Central scoreless the final 13:41, otherwise this was an offensive showcase. The teams combined for 893 yards.

Brandon Denning overcame a 2-of-7 start to finish 18-of-27 passing for 227 yards and three scores for the winners, all to speedy wideout Damian Pennington, who amassed 111 receiving yards on six catches.

On the other side, Carmel had no answer for Warren Central running back Deionte Buckley, who rushed 30 times for 173 yards and a touchdown. Faust did his part through the air as well, throwing for 245 yards and two scores on 10-of-20 passing and earning five first downs on sneaks and keepers.

Carmel second-year head coach Kevin Wright, who guided Warren Central to three state crowns, said patience and determination were keys.

"I said the same thing to them at the half that I said before the game; and that was simply the game is 48 minutes long and we need to play 48 minutes of football," he said. "We knew it would a tough one; we knew what we were in for. The poise that these guys showed tonight, especially for high school kids, was remarkable. We've got a lot of tough kids with a lot of heart."

The longer the game went on, the more difficult it was to tell not only who would win, but who the better team truly was. The momentum seemed to shift with every other snap; a botched Warrior punt scooped-up and ran for a first down would be counteracted by a holding penalty on a long run on the next play.

Denning was under duress most of the night, often taking hits or having to throw on the run, yet the linemen were there to fall on the ball whenever a Carmel runner fumbled.

The one play that Denning had to sit out due to an ankle sprain in the third quarter, a moment when the entire Carmel crowd held a collective breath, back-up quarterback Brandon Lugar promptly came in and ran the ball for a 12-yard touchdown.

Warren Central bobbled the opening kickoff, then ran backwards attempting to outrun pursuit and finally started their first drive on their own one-yard line.

Two solid runs later, Faunce threw a 15-yard strike to senior receiver Ronnie Alexander, who scampered the remaining 70 yards to the end zone.

In the end, though, a combination of clutch catches for Carmel and their own mistakes coupled with fatigue sealed Warren Central's fate.

Warren Central (11-1) ended up yielding 80 yards in penalties, many of which occurred on positive plays.

Furthermore, the Warriors simply couldn't get in rhythm of offense or off the field on defense when it mattered the most.

Carmel opens regionals against Ben Davis, a 64-41 winner over Avon.