The heavy rains that blanketed central Indiana on Friday night forced many teams out of their regular offensive schemes and helped to produce a number of very close games in the second round of sectionals.
There was no better example of that than 5A No. 1 Carmel’s match-up with No. 10 Fishers. The Greyhounds have used their plentiful supply of athletes to propel a powerful passing attack that has helped them in some of their biggest wins this season. The Tigers boast one of the top quarterbacks in the state in Alex Hines, a senior who had tallied 18 passing touchdowns to just four interceptions through 11 games.
In the end, it was Carmel’s defense that made the difference in the game, coming up with four big plays in the red zone to preserve a 7-0 win. In untypical Greyhound fashion, Carmel’s defense committed three penalties on Fishers’ final drive: a holding, a pass interference and an unsportsmanlike conduct. Starting on the Greyhound 13-yard line, the Carmel defense came up with four good plays to force a turnover on downs with 20 seconds left in the game.
Carmel scored the game’s only touchdown in the second quarter on a 15-yard gallop by running back Devin Brinson, who tallied 98 of his team’s 181 rushing yards. Quarterback Adam Shaffer attempted just two passes but did not complete either of them, as Fishers could muster just 107 yards of total offense. Hines went 3-of-17 passing for 31 yards in the loss. Carmel will face No. 7 Hamilton Southeastern (10-1) on Friday in the sectional final. Fishers finished its season 9-2, its best season of its four-year existence.
Avon's late field goal topples Pike
5A No. 6 Pike was riding an eight-game winning streak coming into Friday night’s matchup with Avon, powered by the Red Devils’ passing and outside rushing attacks. Friday night’s slippery field helped the Orioles’ defense hold Pike to just 217 yards in a 10-7 win, secured by a last-second goal-line stand.
Starting at their own 20-yard line late in the fourth quarter, the Red Devils drove down to the Avon 5, but were stuffed on four consecutive plays and turned the ball over on downs with less than 10 seconds left. It was one of the few times that Avon, now 5-6, has been on the winning side of a close contest.
Pike was able to get a score from star receiver DyJuan Lewis on an 11-yard screen pass, but got just 72 yards overall through the air. Cameron Crabtree had 104 rushing yards on 19 carries, but was stopped about a foot short of the end zone and for a loss of two on the game’s final two plays. Avon finished with less than half of the total yards that Pike had (105) and scored off a 1-yard plunge from running back Darren Oliver and a 32-yard field goal from Trevor Schmidt. The Orioles play Brownsburg (8-3), which defeated them 21-17 on Sept. 18, in the sectional final on Friday.
Defending champs knock off No. 2 Columbus East
Columbus East has been a 4A powerhouse for the past five years, but the Olympians were a question mark this season after losing many key pieces of 13-1 team and moving up to 5A. Columbus East put up 10 wins in a row, including a one-point win over rival Columbus North last week. That victory earned the Olympians a date with defending 5A champion Center Grove, which has found a way to win despite returning just two starters from last season’s title squad.
In addition to lots of new faces, the Trojans have had to struggle through injuries to key players. Junior running back Jimmy Daggett returned to the lineup just in time, though, as he scored Center Grove’s winning touchdown in a 21-10 win.
Daggett is probably the fastest player on the offense and has contributed in many ways on offense, but he has missed the last three games and most of Friday’s game at Columbus East. Daggett only contributed 35 of the Trojans' 215 rushing yards, but his final carry was a 20-yard touchdown scamper with 1:37 remaining in the game.
The Trojans’ other two running backs, Jimmy Boshears and Nolan Weldman, each scored once and combined for 157 yards. The Olympians scored their touchdown passes on throws of 18 and 27 yards from quarterback Gunner Kiel. He was 25-of-34 passing for 246 yards and two touchdowns.
Columbus East ended its season at 10-1. Center Grove (8-3) will travel to Bloomington North (8-3) on Friday for the sectional final.
Despite low score, Ritter dominates on both sides
The last time 2A No. 1 Ritter met up with defending state champion No. 7 Heritage Christian, Ritter ended up on the good side of a 55-31 shootout. This time around, Ritter dominated a game of field position as both passing attacks were stifled by the weather, scoring in the fourth quarter for a 6-0 win.
In the first three quarters, Ritter had five possessions that started between Heritage Christian’s 2- and 33-yard lines, but came away with no points in any of them. It was on the first drive of the fourth quarter that the Raiders found their mark. Quarterback Ross Hendrickson led his team on a 92-yard drive that was capped by a 7-yard touchdown pass to Eddie Cmehil.
The Eagles had a chance to win it with 2:40 left in the game, starting at the Ritter 36-yard line. Heritage Christian got down to a first-and-goal on the five, and even threw a touchdown pass that was called out-of-bounds by mere inches, but could not punch the ball into the end zone. Quarterback Jackson Kirtley was 7-of-17 passing for 35 yards, 188 below his average, and the Eagles tallied just 71 yards total.
Though Ritter scored just once, the Raiders gained 435 total yards and kept the Eagles pinned back all game. Hendrickson was 13-of-25 passing for 140 yards, one touchdown and one interception. Running back Michael Timko had 187 yards on 26 carries. Ritter (10-1) will travel to Speedway (6-5) for the sectional final.
Week's other top performers
4A New Palestine’s defense held Indianapolis Arlington (6-5) to 12 yards of total offense, forced five turnovers and scored two touchdowns and a safety in a 33-0 rout. The Dragons (9-2) will host Anderson Highland (7-4) in the sectional final on Friday.
Bloomington North running back D’Angelo Roberts had another huge night, rushing for 421 yards and five scores in a come-from-behind 49-42 win over Whiteland. 3A No. 1 Bishop Chatard traveled to Southmont (8-3) and won 35-0, led by running back Ari Pappas with 264 yards and four scores.
Cross country: Columbus North wins both state titles
Columbus North walked away from Saturday’s state championship meet with both the boys and girls titles.
The Bulldogs’ top-ranked boys team won its third title in the past eight years by topping No. 2 Chesterton 63-131. Defending champion No. 4 Carmel finished fourth with 203 points, while No. 7 North Central finished third behind sophomore Futsum Zeinasellassie, who was nearly 10 seconds faster than the second-place finisher, with a time of 15:51.6.
The Columbus North girls team was ranked fourth, but ended up dominating top-ranked Carmel 96-178. Junior Jessica Richardson finished ninth for the Bulldogs with a time of 19:48.0. Terre Haute North freshman Tapring Goatee won the race in 19:07.9.
Soccer: Zionsville, Carmel emerge at state finals
No. 4 Zionsville lost on penalty kicks in last year’s state championship game, but managed to hold on for a 3-1 win over No. 13 Homestead. Dylan Mares scored his 24th goal of the season and Adam Ward scored Zionsville’s second goal off an assist from star senior Harrison Petts. Petts scored the Eagles’ third goal and their lone goal in a 1-0 win over No. 7 Homestead in the semifinal.
The Cathedral girls team won its second title in three years with a 2-1 win over No. 4 South Bend St. Joseph’s and a 2-0 win over No. 11 Ft. Wayne Snider. The Irish played Snider to a 2-2 tie earlier in the season, but outshot them 20-2 on Saturday. Junior forward Sophie Spenia and sophomore midfielder Jasmine Whitaker each scored against Snider, while seniors Anna Ventimiglia and Mariah Whitaker provided the offense against St. Joseph’s.
