On Saturday, your Rocks represented the north well in the 6A state final. Though they would fall to the Brownsburg Bulldogs by a final score of 31-38, they fought with all they had until the bittersweet end. Brownsburg scored first, but Diego Herrera quickly added 3 to the board for the Shamrocks with a 26-yard field goal. The Bulldogs hit back with a long pass for a score, jumping out to a 14-3 lead to end the first. Westfield’s offense put together a strong answering drive that ended with Deacon King punching it in to trim the lead (Herrera kick). The Rocks D struggled to find answers as Brownsburg scored yet again to widen things back to 20-10. The Shamrocks relied on some big plays, both from quarterbacks Cooper Melvin and Aiden Grabowski, to set up another King punch-in (Herrera kick). Trimmed back to 3, the Rocks looked to be gaining some momentum, but Brownsburg took the subsequent kickoff back to silence the Shamrock faithful. Westfield was forced to punt on their next drive, and Brownsburg pushed hard to squeeze in another score before halftime. They ended up settling for a long field goal, and the Rocks went into the break facing a 17-30 deficit. The Rocks came out with resolve in the second half, forcing Brownsburg to punt. Westfield’s offense went three-and-out on its own opening drive, and then the Bulldogs drove down for a back-breaking score. The Shamrocks would start a drive and head to the fourth, even further down at 17-38. Westfield would turn it over on downs, and the Bulldogs started to try to salt things away. The Rocks looked to be down and out, but they had worked too hard and loved too deeply to go away quietly. The Rock D got the stop, and then Melvin took Westfield down the field and ran it in himself (Herrera kick). The Rock D held through four downs to take back over with under five minutes to play. Westfield’s offense pushed hard but turned it over on downs. Still, a couple of timeouts and another solid stop, and Brownsburg had to punt it back. A great punt put the Shamrocks back on their own 2-yard line with just under three minutes to play. Westfield’s offense moved quickly down the field, scoring when Baylor Conner found Henry Everts for 6 (Herrera kick). With only 13 seconds left to play, the Rocks would need to recover the kick to set up a deep pass opportunity, but Brownsburg secured the ball on the kick and the title. In the end, the valiant Shamrock effort came up just short. Thanks to all of the fans who help to make the Friday night experience what it is in Westfield. Riverview Health Stadium continues to be a great place to be a Shamrock, and we remain grateful for the steadfast support of this special community. Thank you to the parents who have put countless hours into these fantastic young athletes and managers. We appreciate the time we get “on loan” with your kids. They are, ultimately, what make this program what it is. Westfield football is recognized throughout the state as a perennial contender these days. We set the standard, and then “out work and out love” our way to a state final more often, now, than we don’t. Please do not take that for granted. Many programs would love to have this kind of sustained success. The culture here is special. You were all a part of something special. Most of all, we want to thank our seniors for the excellent example of championship habits in progress. We appreciate you adding your own unique flavor to our winning culture. We hope that this experience will continue to be counted as one of the most amazing experiences of your life as you set sail on new journeys. Remember that you once shared a ship with us, and we will always be your biggest fans. Once a Rock, always a Rock.