Football Game Preview: Carmel Greyhounds vs. Lawrence Central Bears

Carmel is 8-2 against Lawrence Central since October of 2015 and they'll have a chance to extend that dominance on Friday. The Greyhounds will venture away from home to take on the Bears at 7:00 p.m. One thing working in Carmel's favor is that they have posted at least 31 points in their last four games.

Carmel is coming in fresh off a high-stakes matchup with another one of Indiana's top teams: Warren Central, who was ranked 15th at the time (Carmel was ranked second). The Greyhounds blew past the Warriors, posting a 42-7 victory. Give some credit to the fans of both teams: the last five times they've met, the home team has come away the winner.

Andrew Pemberton

Rushing Yards (Career)

10/10/25 vs Warren Central	171
11/01/24 @ Zionsville	146
09/12/25 @ Trinity	136
10/03/25 @ Ben Davis	119
08/29/25 vs Westfield	108

Multiple players turned in solid performances to lead Carmel to victory, but perhaps none more so than Andrew Pemberton, who rushed for 171 yards and a pair of TDs. Those 171 rushing yards gave Pemberton a new career-high. Josiah Gilmore was in the mix as well, providing Carmel with two touchdowns.

They were just one part of a punishing run game: Carmel was unstoppable on the ground and finished the game with 307 rushing yards. That strong performance was nothing new for the team: they've now rushed for at least 162 rushing yards in nine consecutive contests dating back to last season.

Carmel didn't go easy on the quarterback and picked off three passes before the game was over. The picks came courtesy of Drake Coellner and Will Massey. Massey is also crushing it when it comes to total tackles: he's made at least six every time he's taken the field this season. Carmel got some further help from Drew Jones: he picked up two sacks and made eight total tackles (3.0 for loss).

Meanwhile, Lawrence Central was just a hair shy of victory on Friday and fell 31-30 to Ben Davis. The loss continues a trend for the Bears in their meetings with the Giants: they've now lost six in a row.

Carmel's win was their fifth straight at home, which pushed their record up to 7-1. Those home victories came thanks in part to their offensive performance across that stretch, as they averaged 48.6 points over those games. As for Lawrence Central, their defeat dropped their record down to 4-4.

Carmel couldn't quite finish off Lawrence Central in their previous matchup back in October of 2024 and fell 17-14. Can the Greyhounds avenge their loss or is history doomed to repeat itself? We'll find out soon enough.