Crown Point outlasts Carroll for 2nd straight regional

Crown Point outlasts Carroll for 2nd straight regional

6A No. 2 Crown Point 38, No. 10 Carroll (Fort Wayne) 21

By Paul Honeycutt

CROWN POINT — While 6A No. 2 Crown Point had a lot to deal with in Iowa recruit Jimmy Sullivan, it also had worrisome talent that caused havoc for the opposition.

Crown Point senior running back Larry Ellison ran for over 200 yards for the second straight week to lead his team to a 38-21 win over No. 10 Carroll, which secured the Bulldogs’ second straight regional title.

“I thought our defense was outstanding and the game plan was to keep the ball away from them,” Crown Point coach Craig Buzea said. “He (Sullivan) is probably the best quarterback we’ve played since I’ve been here.”

Crown Point (12-0) struck first with an Oliver Brewer 30-yard field goal on its first drive.

After a Carroll three-and-out, the Bulldogs were facing a fourth-and-5 on the Chargers 14 after an illegal substitution was called on Crown Point.

Bulldogs senior DL Josh Miller recorded a crucial sack on that first drive of the highly-touted Sullivan.

Bulldogs senior quarterback Noah Ehrlich then connected with Lucas Szymborski on a screen pass, which the senior wide receiver caught and found no space on the left, so he reversed course and followed a wall of blocks on his way to the end zone to make it 10-0.

“I saw that there wasn’t any running room on the one side, so I saw an open hole and used my speed,” said Szymborski. “My coaches always make fun of me because I don’t have any speed, so I had to show them.”

After another stalled Chargers drive, Ellison got into the act by capping an 11-play, 72-yard drive with a 7-yard rushing score.

He added his second 7-yarder to finish off a 9-play, 79-yard scoring drive, as Crown Point took a 24-6 lead going into the half.

Ellison ended with 30 carries for 220 yards and three touchdowns coupled with five catches for 41 yards.

Crown Point’s starting defense came into the game allowing just three touchdowns all year with 11 running clocks, but that was not the case on Friday night.

While Sullivan passed for 286 yards on 19 of 32 passing with three scores, the Bulldogs limited the Chargers to just 70 rushing yards, including 18 yards for Nate Starks, who is the school’s all-time leading rusher.

Junior wide receiver Jaidon VanPelt went off for the Chargers (9-3), hauling in nine catches for 185 yards and three scores of his own.

His first came on a 9-yarder in the second quarter after Ellison’s first score, while his second was on a 36-yarder in Carroll’s first drive to start the second half.

Ellison notched his third and final score of the night with a 13-yard rushing TD at the 4:41 mark of the third.

On the ensuing Carroll drive, sophomore defensive back Carson Cavalcante picked off Sullivan and ran it in from 36 yards out to put the Bulldogs up comfortably 38-13.

That was just Sullivan’s fifth interception of the year.

“I knew I had safety help over the top, so I was able to jump the route,” said Cavalcante. 

VanPelt added his third touchdown on a 17-yard TD catch with 1:22 left in the game.

Ehrlich passed for 84 yards on 10 of 15 passing with one score, which puts him just 116 yards away from jumping into the top 25 for career passing yards in IHSAA history.

Carroll junior wide receiver Mason Baughman caught five passes for 62 yards while senior running back William Jeffries ran for 48 yards on 10 carries. 

Crown Point will travel to No. 3 Westfield (11-1), who beat Fishers 42-28 in the other 6A Northern Regional.

This sets up a rematch of last year’s 6A Northern Semistate that ended with Crown Point winning 38-31 in a double-overtime classic, but this time it’ll be played at Westfield.

“Everybody says they’re the best team in the state, so we’ll get on the bus and give it everything we’ve got,” said Buzea. “I like our guys and we travel pretty well, so hopefully we’ll be able to continue to do that.”

Crown Point 38, Carroll (Fort Wayne) 21

Carroll; 0 6 7 8 – 21

Crown Point; 10 14 14 0 – 38

CP – Oliver Brewer 30 FG, 8:41 1st

CP – Lucas Szymborski 14 pass from Noah Ehrlich (Brewer kick), 5:24 1st

CP – Larry Ellison 7 run (Brewer kick), 10:07 2nd

C – Jaidon VanPelt 9 pass from Jimmy Sullivan (kick failed), 8:21 2nd

CP – Ellison 7 run (Brewer kick), 4:12 2nd

C – VanPelt 36 pass from Sullivan (Corbin Dempsey kick), 10:10 3rd

CP – Ellison 13 run (Brewer kick), 4:41 3rd

CP – Carson Cavalcante 36 int return (Brewer kick), 2:47 3rd

C – VanPelt 17 pass from Sullivan (Sullivan pass to VanPelt), 1:22 4th

Carroll;Crown Point

First Downs;18;21

Total Yards;356;365

Rushes-Yards;23-70;44-281

Passing;286;84

Comp.-Att.-Int.;19-32-1;10-15-0

Penalties-Yards;2-15;2-20

Fumbles-Lost;1-0;0-0

INDIVIDUAL STATISTICS

RUSHING – CARROLL, William Jeffries 10-48, Nate Starks 6-18, Jimmy Sullivan 5-12, Jaidon VanPelt 1-3, Corbin Dempsey 1-(-11). CROWN POINT, Larry Ellison 30-220, Jayden Rodriguez 7-32, Noah Ehrlich 7-29.

PASSING – CARROLL, Jimmy Sullivan 19-32-286-3-1. CROWN POINT, Noah Ehrlich 10-15-84-1-0.

RECEIVING – CARROLL, Jaidon VanPelt 9-185, Mason Baughman 5-62, Griffin Scheele 2-19, Logan Heath 1-10, Brady Rhoad 1-5, Nate Starks 1-4. CROWN POINT, Larry Ellison 5-41, Caydon Smith 2-1, Lucas Szymborski 1-14, Logan Urbaniak 1-15, Jacob Soley 1-13.