The Shamrocks are heading back to semi-state as they continue their expedition towards avenging last year’s 6A title loss to Brownsburg.

Last year, nearly to the day, as they were en route to Lucas Oil Stadium, the Shamrocks leaned on their offense in a shootout against Fishers in the Regional Championship. This year, a defensive battle that saw Westfield hold the Tigers to just three points up until the final quarter in a 20-10 triumph.

“I think every team is a little bit different,” head coach Josh Miracle said. “You learn the personality of your team, and our team has been pretty resilient throughout the year and [I am] just so dang proud of them.”

The two teams exchanged field goals in the first quarter, with junior Diego Hererra nailing a 41-yarder in the second quarter to put Westfield up 6-3.

As the Tigers mounted their drive, senior quarterback Gage Sturgill stacked impressive runs all the way down to the 10-yard line with two minutes left in the half — eyeing up a 10-6 halftime lead.

Then the aforementioned defense came into play, sacking Sturgill two of the next three plays and forcing a turnover on downs at the 28-yard line.

Westfield would quickly drive down the field thanks to a 44-yard scamper from sophomore quarterback Cooper Melvin before junior ATH Baylor Conner plowed forward for a 13-3 lead going into halftime.

“We’re constantly practicing clutch situations,” Miracle said. “These guys went out there and executed, and that’s a sign of complementary football, too. Defense sets the tone and gets [the ball] back and the offense is able to have a couple of explosive plays [to] score before the half.”

Coming out of halftime, the third quarter saw both offenses stall out drive after drive.

Entering the final period, it was senior quarterback Aiden Grabowski to put the game away with a 12-yard sprint towards the endzone with eight minutes left, and several big runs down the stretch to prevent a Fishers comeback.

“That’s what you expect out of seniors,” Miracle said. “The seniors in our program … they’ve waited their turn, and he’s taken advantage. But it starts with the guys up front, [and] it’s a pretty senior-heavy front. That’s who we really want with the ball in their hands at the end of the game, is those big guys up front.”

Westfield will be traveling up North next week to take on the winner of Penn and Carroll.