Football
SAC Wrap-Up: Sectionals Week 2
Carroll at Snider
Final Score: 42-31 Carroll
Let’s travel back in time to week 2 of the regular season. Carroll is playing Snider at Spuller Stadium and is going toe-to-toe with them. QB Jeff Becker would finish with 244 passing yds and 3 TD, and torched Snider on the ground with 132 rushing yds. It was one of his best games of the season. Late in the game, Carroll had outplayed Snider and Becker just threw another touchdown pass to bring Carroll to within 1, only needing an extra point to tie. But, the extra point was blocked and the Panthers would go on to win 21-20. It was a devastating loss for Carroll as they came close to a major victory early in the season.
But it just made this win that much sweeter for the Chargers.
The widespread opinion on Carroll was that Becker had to have a monster game for Carroll to have a chance. He did. His 18-28, 324 yd, 6 TD, and 0 INT performance was the difference as Snider couldn’t stop Carroll’s offense from scoring. After the game, Becker credited the win to how they played on both sides of the ball.
“We just kept on rolling. Our defense, they kept getting us the ball even if we failed, and on offense, the o-line was doing great, the receivers were getting open downfield. It just made everything easy and once we got rolling, we got rolling.”
The Chargers were definitely in a rhythm on Friday. WR Mason Englert was Carroll’s leading receiver with 8 rec, 143 yds, and 1 TD. WR’s Tyler Morrison and Layton Mitchell were also key contributors, together combining for 6 rec, 144 yds, and 4 TD. They were also stout on defense, as they added 3 to their interception total on the year. They now have a conference-high 16 interceptions this year.
It is important to note that Snider did fight their way back into this game, early in the third quarter. They were down 28-10 at halftime, before making it just 28-24 Carroll at one point. It was at this time that RB Lenny Bennett got loose and ran for 255 yds and 2 TD in this game. RB Kameron Trotter was also very effective with 140 yds and 1 TD. Even the defense got into it, forcing 2 fumbles. However, the Panthers’ major drawback in this game was their QB play. Senior Jon Barnes Jr was able to keep up with Jeff Becker’s last game, but this time he couldn’t match him. Barnes completed 11 of his 26 passes for 146 yds and 1 TD and the most dangerous part of his game, scrambling, didn’t show as he only had 6 yds rushing.
This will go down as Carroll’s biggest win of the season, so far at least, as they proved that the game earlier this season was a fluke. Becker said that he and his teammates were ready to show that going into this game.
“We’ve been waiting since week 2. We saw that draw of Snider and we knew we were going to come out strong. It just feels great to get a sectional win.”
Carroll’s revenge tour continues next week as they look to give their rival Homestead their first loss of the season and make up for their loss earlier this year. Meanwhile, for Snider, their season ends, as do the high-school careers of QB Jon Barnes Jr, RB Lenny Bennett, DL Gianini Belizaire, and many more talented Panthers.
Homestead at Noblesville
Final Score: 24-21 Homestead
We told you going into this game that this would simply be a tune-up game for the Spartans. It quickly turned into a dogfight as Homestead tried to survive a post-Halloween scare. Homestead had an uncharacteristically poor performance as they were out-rushed 212 yds to 75 yds and had 3 fumbles that prematurely ended drives. Still, QB Luke Goode, who had 267 yds and 2 TD, played well enough to lead his team to overtime and, with the help of kicker Gunnar Fry, an eventual win. This was way to close for Homestead as they nearly lost to a 1-8 Noblesville squad. They’ll need to regain their footing for next week’s game against Carroll.
Bishop Dwenger at North Side
Final Score: 35-22 Bishop Dwenger
As we described, this game would be much tougher this time around for Dwenger. QB Brenden Lytle was really struggling, only completing 6 of his 15 passes for 81 yds and 2 INT. That will just make Dwenger more happy that they’re a run-first team as it was WR Patrick Finley leading the team on offense with 107 rushing yds and 2 TD. North Side QB Duce Taylor gave it his all, throwing for 137 yds and 2 TD, but he didn’t get any help from his running back Alex Holliday-Robinson, who only ran for 28 yds and 0 TD. When Holliday-Robinson has played well, the Legends have often won, but the Saints did a nice job slowing him down and gutting out win.
Northrop at Goshen
Final Score: 24-6 Northrop
Don’t forget about the Bruins. This was the perfect game to get them back into a groove on offense with RB Jeremiah Green rushing for 105 yds and 1 TD, while RB Damarius Cowen gained 104 yds and 1 TD. Goshen QB Colin Turner played well too, going 14 for 21, with 165 yds and 1 TD. However, the Redhawks’ inability to finish drives and turning the ball over on downs 4 times didn’t help them in this game.
Norwell at Concordia
Final Score: 17-14 Concordia
The Cadets might have been lucky to win this game. The inconsistent play of QB Brandon Davis continues to hurt the Cadets, as he threw 3 more picks on Friday. The defense was able to make up for it with 3 interceptions of their own, with Jalen Vanderbosch snagging 2 and returning 1 all the way for a touchdown. The turnovers, the pick-six especially, are the only reason why Concordia was able to survive that game. They’ll need to be better in time for next week’s game against Peru.
Bishop Luers at Eastside
Final Score: 13-6 Eastside
Say good-night to the Knights. Their season ends with this loss as they finish the year 3-8. The good news is that the future is bright behind sophomore QB Carson Clark, who had 2 INT but was also able to go 18-36 with 243 yds against Eastside. We’ll have to see what this team looks like next year with a lot of young players becoming upperclassmen in 2020.
