Last Friday, your Rocks hosted the Carmel Greyhounds in a 6A heavyweight matchup. With the teams ranked neck and neck at second and third in the state, it’s safe to say that there was a lot of anticipation for this game and the gametime atmosphere did not disappoint. In front of a packed Riverview Health Stadium, Westfield defended its home turf and earned a 38-34 victory. The Rocks kicked off to start the game, and Carmel’s high-tempo offense quickly took the opening drive down for a score. Westfield was unable to answer on their first drive and the Greyhounds cashed in on their second possession as well, going up 0-14. The teams traded a pair of punts as the 14 point deficit transitioned over into the second quarter. The Shamrock offense went back to work and Elliot Clevenger ripped off a 42 yard run to cut the lead in half (Diego Herrera kick). The Rock D stymied the Greyhounds on the answering drive, forcing a punt. Maddox Novotney fielded the punt 87 yards away from the endzone, made a couple defenders miss, and then found blue sky and green field along the left side, motoring the return all the way back to the house to tie things up at 14 (Herrera kick). Westfield’s defense kept the momentum swing going with another stop, and the offense got the ball back with 3:34 to play in the half. The ensuing offensive play took twelve seconds for Cooper Melvin to find Caiden Snow for 80 yards and a score (Herrera kick). And, just like that, the Rocks had a 7 point lead. The Rock D kept the Greyhound offense bottled on their attempted answer, and then the offense put together another strong drive that ran short of time before the half. A long field goal try from the Rocks was blocked, so the 21-14 lead would stand headed into the break. Westfield received the ball to start the second half, and Melvin marched the Shamrocks down the field before finding Henry Everts for a score (Herrera kick). Carmel answered quickly with a score of their own, trimming the lead back to one score. Westfield saw their second drive of the half stall, and the Greyhounds looked to be gaining back some momentum. When the Rock D stiffened as Carmel pushed for an equalizer, the Greyhounds attempted to settle for a field goal to further chip away. Westfield’s block team surged through the middle, getting a hand on the kick and blocking it. Allan Dauss scooped the football, returning it to midfield for the Rocks. Westfield took the ball and a 28-21 lead into the fourth quarter. Herrera converted the possession into three points with a short field goal, extending Westfield’s lead to two scores. Carmel chipped 7 points back out of the lead on a scoring drive with a little over 6 minutes to play. Westfield’s offense put together another strong drive that ate up around four minutes of game time and resulted in Clevenger’s second score of the night (Herrera kick). With 2:19 to play and a very speedy Carmel offense, the restored two-possession lead didn’t feel entirely safe. The Rock D rose to meet the moment, forcing the Greyhounds to fight for every inch. A big Wade Washo sack forced Carmel to start burning timeouts with around 30 seconds left in the contest. Carmel was able to score as time expired, but it would not impact the victorious outcome for Westfield. 38-34 Rocks stood as the final. Next week, your Rocks will host the Zionsville Eagles for the first week of the conference rivalry portion of the schedule. Zionsville comes into the contest with a pristine 2-0 record, notching victories over Pike and Lawrence Central. Kickoff is scheduled for 7pm.