Last night, your Rocks traveled to Lawrence Central to face the Bears on a sweltering night where the gametime temperature was over 90 degrees. Both teams were looking to move to 2-0 on the season, and Westfield came away with the thrilling 59-58 overtime victory. The Rocks started with the ball in this one, but weren’t able to get anything going on the opening possession. The Bears started the scoring instead, jumping out to a quick 7-0 lead. A long Gabe Aramboles catch and run on the second Westfield possession set up a short Jackson Gilbert run to even things up (Brody Boehm kick). Lawrence Central answered with a long play of their own, taking the lead back and ending the first quarter at 14-7 Bears. Westfield was unable to answer, and the Rock D was looking to get their first stop of the night. A short fourth down conversion for the Bears kept the defense on the field, and despite a big Mikeah Webster sack, the drive still ended in a score for Lawrence Central, extending their lead to 14. Gilbert found Aramboles for Westfield for another big play and a score, trimming the lead back to 7 (Boehm kick). With a penalty being assessed on the kickoff, the Rocks tried for an onside kick, nearly recovering before the ball trickled out of bounds, remaining with the Bears. LC made the Rocks pay with a deep scoring pass, pushing back out to a 14 point lead with three-and-a-half minutes remaining in the half. Westfield’s offense engineered a nearly perfect drive, eating up the remaining time in the half before Gilbert punched another score in on the ground (Boehm kick). The Bears would take a knee with the few remaining seconds, content to go into the break with their 28-21 lead. Westfield kicked off to start the second half, with the Rock D looking to make their impact in this game. The Bears, however, continued to light things up on offense with a quick, long score. An excellent Kendall Garnett return on the ensuing kickoff set the offense up to try and trim things back to 7. It was obvious that the heat was taking its toll on the players, as play was stopped on numerous occasions for cramping players. The Rocks would make it all the way down to the 2 yard line before coughing up the football. The Bears took back over with a chance to extend the lead even further and put Westfield in an even tougher situation. The Rock D got a big stop here, though, and a partially blocked punt gave the ball back to the Rocks, down 14, but with a short field. Gilbert would follow a big Webster block off the edge for his third rushing touchdown of the night (Boehm kick). Down 7, the Rock D was able to secure a takeaway on the next LC drive, with Andrew Lieske recovering a fumble. Westfield’s offense was unable to tie things up after the momentum swing, but they kept the heat on the Bears when Boehm expertly placed a punt that Jake Good downed inside the 1 yard line of the Bears. The Rock D was able to stifle the LC attempt to exit the endzone, securing a safety to trim the lead and get the ball back. Westfield took back over, down five, with a little over a minute left in the third quarter. With the Rock threatening to take the lead for the first time, the clock rolled over to the fourth quarter with a 35-30 Bears lead. Gilbert connected with Max Nosler on a big third-and-long play to take the lead (Boehm kick). The Bears got back on track offensively, though, and regained the lead with an explosive drive of their own. Westfield’s offense once more answered the call, putting together yet another scoring drive that culminated in Gilbert diving into the endzone for a score (Boehm kick). With around two-and-a-half minutes left in the game, the Rocks were hoping to come up with a big stop to protect their slim 44-43 lead. Lawrence Central exploded across the field for another quick score, converting for two points and a 7 point lead. With the game on the line, Westfield’s offense got the ball back with 1:46 remaining. Gilbert would connect with Parker Knott as regulation expired to knot things up and send the game to overtime (Boehm kick). With bonus football on the agenda, the Bears won the coin toss and elected to start on offense. They scored on their first play, putting the pressure back on Westfield’s offense to answer. The Rocks took things all the way down to a fourth-and-goal before Garnett punched it in. Westfield lined up to go for two and the ballgame, placing their hopes on a final play. Garnett again got the call and the ball, bouncing off a Bears defender near the goal line and powering in for the two points and a Shamrock victory. 59-58 Rocks would be the final. Your Rocks will return to action next Friday as they enter the rivalry portion of the schedule. First up is a trip to Zionsville to face the Eagles. Kickoff is scheduled for 7pm.