Last night, your Rocks traveled to Noblesville to meet the Millers for another familiar sectional championship matchup. Westfield extended its grip on the sectional to four years running with a 24-12 victory. The Rocks started the night on defense, and the Millers got rolling with a strong first offensive possession. The Rock D stiffened, however, and held them to a field goal. Westfield answered with its own field goal drive, with Brody Boehm splitting the uprights to tie things at 3. The Millers were back on the move, chewing clock and field, and the first quarter ended during their second possession of the night. The Rock D elicited a punt early in the second, and Westfield’s offense took its second crack at getting in the endzone. This possession ended with a turnover on downs for the Rocks, and the Millers got the ball for a third time at midfield with only a couple minutes left in the half. They were able to push down and put another field goal in the closing seconds of the half, and Westfield would go into the break with a 6-3 deficit. Westfield received the ball for only the third time in the ball game to start the second half. They weren’t able to even things on the drive, and ended up punting it away. The Rock D really buckled down on the next Miller drive, forcing a three-and-out to get the ball back a bit more quickly than had been the first half trend. Westfield was able to move into field goal range on their next drive, but the try sailed right and the 3-point Miller lead was preserved. The Rock D forced another three-and-out to set up another Miller punt with less than three minutes to play in the third quarter. Noblesville mishandled the punt snap, and the Shamrock special teams pounced on the opportunity, tackling the fleeing punter at the Miller 9 yard line. Kendall Garnett came alive for the offense and punched it in for the first endzone visit of the night by either team (Boehm kick). The score put the Rocks on top by four, and the special teams trotted out for the kickoff. Another opportunity presented itself when the Millers mishandled the deep kick. Shamrocks raced down the field, with Landon Porter diving on the ball and recovering it for the Rocks at the Miller 9 again. Garnett cashed in for the Rocks again (Boehm kick) and, just like that, the Rocks found themselves with a 17-6 lead to start the fourth quarter. The Millers responded with a gritty score early in the quarter to trim the lead, the Rock D got a big stop on the 2-point conversion attempt. With only a 5-point lead, the Shamrock offense was unable to extend things, and the game was put back in the hands of the defense with 5:39 to play. Deacon King came up big, then, with an interception on a tipped pass from the Millers. The Rocks pushed hard to try to seal the game away with a back-breaking score. The Millers fought hard, though, and held the Rocks to a fourth down at the 1 yard line before the Rocks again turned to the special teams. Westfield lined up for what looked to be a short field goal attempt, but Jackson Gilbert as the holder flipped the ball to Brody Boehm racing around the end and into the paint for a 6-pointer this time. Boehm caught his breath for the extra point kick, and the Westfield lead was extended to 12 with under two minutes remaining. The Millers came out with uncharacteristic urgency, attempting to throw the ball to potentially dig out of the hole, but Jacob Good intercepted a pass midway through the drive, taking it back for the Rocks for the final time. Westfield would kneel it out to secure their 24-12 win and the sectional crown. Your Rocks survive for another week, and will host the Hamilton Southeastern Royals for the regional crown next Friday. Kickoff is scheduled for 7pm.