Do you believe Carmel is back now or what? The Greyhounds left no doubt in all three phases with an impressive 34-10 blowout win Friday night over Class 6A No. 2 Westfield.
Carmel senior quarterback Anthony Coellner rushed to the sideline to call his shot ahead of a decisive 4th-&-2 at Westfield’s 30-yard-line with 5:46 left in the fourth quarter. With the Greyhounds clinging to a 20-10 lead, the Troy commit knew the exact play call to relay to Carmel head coach Kevin Wright.
Coach Wright considered sending the field goal unit out, while evaluating the gamble to go for it on fourth down inside of field goal range. But Wright put his faith, trust, along with the ball in the hands of his 6-foot-2, 205-pound senior captain. Despite playing through pain, Coellner was the mastermind behind the designed read option. Coellner recognized Westfield’s Alex Aramboles biting on the run, so he pulled it and dashed left untouched for a 30-yard rushing touchdown to put the home opener on ice.
“I give our kids a lot of credit,” Coach Wright said. “They are really good at talking on the sidelines and making adjustments.”
Coellner engineered an 11-play drive, which featured three consecutive snaps that resulted in first downs. Carmel senior running back Andrew Pemberton stretched the field and rushed right for a 15-yard chunk gain, then Coellner kept it himself to move the chains, then found senior receiver Jacob Bellin wide open and threw a dart at the sticks to breach enemy territory. Carmel struck again as Coellner used a pump fake to connect with Bellin in the end zone for a 25-yard passing touchdown. Collner showcased exceptional poise when he had to escape pressure and finished with 187 passing yards and two total touchdowns.
Coellner set up another score with a 36-yard strike up the seam to senior receiver Dominic Shockley before sophomore running back Aydon Johnson capped off the drive with a 1-yard TD run. The Greyhounds pounced to a 20-0 lead behind a methodical offense, plus a smothering defense that didn’t allow Westfield to convert its first true first down until there was just 70 seconds left before halftime.
“The reality of it is, when you have seniors that want to win and play hard,” Wright explained. “We talk about chasing lions, because we play really good football teams. Our defense played their tails off.”
The Greyhounds forced five consecutive three-and-outs to start the first half and nearly doubled the 2024 6A state runner-up Shamrocks (393 to 199) in total offense. Carmel could have forced six straight three-and-outs if a roughing the passer penalty didn’t gift Westfield its first drive of more than four plays.
Westfield found its rhythm after the penalty and carried the momentum into the second half. The Shamrocks forced two turnovers and a three-and-out over the Greyhounds’ next 10 offensive snaps. Westfield took advantage of a recovered fumble inside Carmel territory, then junior kicker Diego Herrera made a 40-yard field goal to put the Shamrocks on the scoreboard.
Westfield head coach Josh Miracle was forced to pull out a clever trick play to ignite the offense as quarterback Aiden Grabowski tossed a swing pass to senior receiver Nick Fero, who found sophomore receiver Andrew Noble wide open and launched a deep double-pass for a stunning 49-yard gain. Sophomore quarterback Cooper Melvin capped off the comeback drive with a 2-yard rushing touchdown to cut the deficit in half to 20-10.
The Shamrocks stormed downfield after getting the ball back, but the rally was terminated inside the red zone as Carmel senior Greyson George recognized the play-action deep shot and picked off Grabowski at the goal line to effectively end Westfield’s threat late in the third quarter.
“Big win,” Wright said. “We played really well in the first half and then come out and turn the ball over the first two times we had it in the second half. Made it a little bit too close for comfort against these guys. They are really good. I loved the way we responded. We got a stop on defense, made a couple of big plays.”
The Greyhounds leaned on Pemberton to punish the Shamrocks with 115 rushing yards, including a 32-yard TD run to seal the win with just over two minutes to play. Carmel linebacker Dane Bathurst, who Coach Wright mentioned is such an impactful leader to the football program, pressured both of Westfield’s quarterbacks all night and carried the defensive effort with 2.5 sacks. Carmel delivered a statement win in Wright’s return, who is back commanding the Greyhounds after leading the program to a 5A state championship in 2011 and three finals appearances from 2010-2015.
Carmel hosts Centerville (Ohio) next Friday, while Westfield travels for the Hoosier Crossroads Conference opener against Zionsville.