By Anthony Mock
MaxPreps.com
Carmel surrendered a field goal to Penn on its first possession – the Kingsmen's only score of the game. The Greyhounds then went on a 38-0 romp, earning their third consecutive state finals appearance.
Two years ago, the Greyhounds lost in the championship game to Warren Central. Last season, Carmel snatched the title from Pike, 16-7. Last year’s championship was the sixth in school history and was the result of a lot of hard work by a deep and talented team.
Despite having lost several key players to graduation, amongst them the leading rusher in school history, Carmel still entered the season as the No. 1 team in the state and has lived up to that ranking all season.
“We graduated six of our front seven on defense, our primary running back, and four on our offensive line, so the fact that we are back (in the state finals) says a lot about our kids,” said Carmel head coach Mo Moriarity.
Even with plenty of depth on offense, the Greyhound attack is based around quarterback Morgan Newton. Newton has managed to make plays all season long to salvage comeback wins against some of the toughest teams in the state. His leadership and ability to find the end zone have helped Carmel rally against Cathedral, Center Grove, Warren Central and Fort Wayne Snider. He has been dominant against lesser opponents, playing nearly mistake-free so as to not allow an upstart team the opportunity to still be in the game late in the fourth quarter.
Combine that with a big offensive line that features two future Division I players, a slew of capable running backs, and several receivers who can make big plays after the catch, and the Carmel offense has run rampant throughout the postseason.
“He’s a special player,” Moriarity said of Newton. “But he’s got a lot of talent around him. We’re a resilient team, and our kids have a lot of confidence in each other, so we just keep playing football.”
Newton went 10-of-14 passing against Penn, tallying 106 yards and three touchdowns. He was also the team’s leading rusher, carrying the ball 16 times for 85 yards and a score.
Senior wide receiver Eric Ardaiolo caught five balls for 43 yards and hauled in two of the touchdown passes. Fellow senior Troy Stratford, who had two catches for 35 yards, got the other.
Starting running back Kurt Freytag had a minor shoulder injury and only carried the ball six times in the game for 31 yards. Evan Bergman picked up the slack, gaining 84 yards on 12 carries. Defensively, the Greyhounds picked-off three passes, two of which were by junior cornerback Chase Varndell.
Carmel has a big match-up on Saturday with Center Grove, the state’s current No. 1 team. The Greyhounds beat the Trojans at Center Grove, 33-32, on a last-minute fumble recovery for a touchdown and a two-point conversion. Ironically, two seasons ago the game ended in nearly the exact opposite way, with Center Grove scoring the final touchdown and a two-point conversion for a 32-31 win.
The rivalry between these conference foes is generating quite the buzz. Moriarity has the Greyhounds focused on their own game plan, not the name on their opponents jerseys.
“I don’t think that playing Center Grove matters to us, and I don’t think that playing us matters to them,” Moriarity said. “It’s still the state championship game, so it’s still very special, and any team that makes it here is going to be tough to beat.”
Center Grove Ends Ben Davis Run
After struggling through the first half of the regular season, Ben Davis had been the most newsworthy 5A team outside of Carmel and Center Grove. A storied, powerhouse program, Ben Davis pulled off some of its most spectacular wins in recent memory while riding a five-game winning streak to the semi-state.
In the last game of the season, the Giants held on to give Carmel its only loss on the year. Since then, the Giants rolled through Pike, Brownsburg, and Avon for the sectional title, outscoring those teams 105-38. Ben Davis looked like a state championship-caliber team after disposing of Warren Central in the regional, but it all came to an end when the Giants stepped onto the field against Center Grove.
Other than a second-week, one-point loss to Carmel, the Trojans have dominated their opposition, winning by an average margin of about 35 points. Ben Davis faired slightly better than that, coming out on the losing end of a 49-21 battle, but only by the mercy of the Trojans.
Center Grove put up the first four score of the game. The third touchdown came on a three-yard run, but the other three were on plays of 66, 95, and 43 yards, respectively.
Before the half even expired, running back Luke Swift had 238 total yards and two touchdowns and spearheaded a 35-14 lead going into the locker room. The Giants tried to make a comeback in the third quarter and briefly cut the Trojan lead to 14. Two fourth quarter touchdowns later, though, and Center Grove had secured a place in the state finals.
Swift had 180 yards on 18 carries, caught three balls for 92 yards, and had three touchdowns. Quarterback Jordan Luallen, a Georgia Tech commit, went 4-of-4 passing for 122 yards and a touchdown. Luallen also tacked on 90 yards and two scores on 9 carries.
Ritter Rallies, Stuns Linton
Cardinal Ritter has pulled off some great wins this season, including close victories against 2A state finalist Heritage Christian and 3A Brebeuf.
If those wins were great, though, the Raiders’ 30-26 win at Linton was momentous.
With only 6:34 left in the game Ritter needed a huge break. The Miners’ defense had been omni-present against the run and had held the prolific Raiders to only 15 points at the time. Ritter took the ball 73 yards on 10 plays, scored, and added a two-point conversion to make it a 26-23 game. When the Miners got the ball on the next possession, they immediately fumbled right back into Raider hands. Things looked up for the resurgent Ritter offense, but it was their defense that really brought the semi-state crown home.
The Ritter offense turned the ball over on downs after the fumble with only 3:25 left on the clock. Linton looked to run out the clock, but the Raider defense, which had had trouble stopping Linton’s misdirection offense, stood stout and forced a three-and-out.
Quarterback Ross Hendrickson, who went 6-of-6 passing on the final drive, marched the Raiders into the end zone for the winning score.
In the game, Hendrickson was 26-of-44 for 305 yards. Though he did throw three interceptions, he also tossed the final two touchdowns of the game and converted two two-point conversions. Wide receiver Tyrone Walker, the state’s leading receiver, caught 14 passes for 211 yards and a score.
Ritter will take on Sheridan in the state championship, the team that beat them in the state finals in overtime two years earlier.
Sheridan Strikes Early Against Southern Wells
After surviving a tough 21-19 regional game against Pioneer, Sheridan scored on all four first half possessions and glided to 48-14 win over visiting Southern Wells.
For a time, Southern Wells looked as though they might put up a pretty good fight.
Trailing 14-0 entering the second quarter, the Raiders drove down to Sheridan’s 5-yard line before turning the ball over on downs. On the ensuing possession, Blackhawks quarterback Nick Zachery ran 95 yards for a score, putting Southern Wells in a hole that they could not climb out of.
Zachery carried the ball 15 times for 162 yards and three touchdowns. He also went 1-of-1 passing for a 22-yard touchdown. Running back Ty Perkins also rushed for 116 yards and a touchdown on 15 carries.
Sheridan was the first team to win a high school state championship in the RCA Dome, former home of the Indianapolis Colts, in 1984. It will face Cardinal Ritter on Friday in an attempt to win the first state championship at Lucas Oil Stadium, their fourth in a row, and 11th overall.
Other State Finals Match-ups;
4A
Cathedral vs. Fort Wayne Dwenger
No. 4 Cathedral blew past No. 1 Columbus East 41-10. Olympian quarterback Dustin Kiel, an Indiana University recruit, was picked off four times in the second half by the Irish defense. Cathedral ran for 336 yards on 53 carries with quarterback Kofi Hughes accounting for 149 of those yards and three touchdowns. Dwenger (14-0) advanced by beating Lowell 38-22.
3A
Bellmont vs. Evansville Memorial
No. 4 Bellmont took out No. 9 NorthWood in the semi-state, 35-21. This is the first time the Braves have won a sectional, regional, or semi-state.
No. 5 Evansville Memorial beat two-time defending state champion Bishop Chatard, 27-14. Memorial quarterback Grant Gibbons had four touchdowns (three rushing) and 294 yards of total offense.
2A
Heritage Christian vs. Lewis-Cass
No. 4 Heritage Christian took an early 24-0 lead on Brownstown Central in the semi-state, but it took a defensive stand inside their own 10-yard line for the Eagles to come away with a 24-16 win. Quarterback Jackson Kirtley went 13-of-22 for 215 yards, two touchdowns, and two interceptions.
No. 3 Cass trounced No. 9 Jimtown, 28-7. Cass is riding a 12-game winning streak.
