FB 5A SECT. 5: #2 Carmel clubs #8 Lawrence Central, 35-14

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By E. Shawn Aylsworth
Managing Editor

LAWRENCE – Two interceptions and a matching pair of shanked punts certainly didn’t help Class 5A eighth-ranked host Lawrence Central, but in the end it was simply a combination of too much Jalen Duncan and too ferocious an opposing defense as No. 2 Carmel rolled to a 35-14 Sectional 5 semifinal victory Oct. 28 before a crowd of 3,216 at Smysor O. Bruce Field.

The win sets up a juggernaut sectional championship game Nov. 4, when the Greyhounds (10-1) get their rematch by hosting top-ranked Warren Central (11-0) – the team that second-year coach Kevin Wright led to three straight state titles from 2003-06. Carmel suffered its only loss of the season in a 22-20 thriller back in Week 7 as Warren won with a field goal on the last play of the game at Lucas Oil Stadium.

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The Greyhounds dominated the line of scrimmage against defending state runner-up Lawrence Central, rushing a whopping 47 times for 280 yards (a shade under 6.0 yards per carry) while limiting LC to a sickly 31 yards on 19 carries (1.6 ypc). That assault was led by Duncan, a 5’10”, 210-pound senior bruiser of a running back who carried 26 times for 180 yards – a hefty 6.9 ypc – and four touchdowns.

Carmel mixed in its usual highly efficient passing game, too, as senior quarterback Brandon Denning finished 9 of 12 for 121 yards with a rushing TD and no interceptions to keep LC off-balance. But it was disciplined defense and a hard-nosed rushing attack that made all the difference on a night where the ’Hounds did not turn the ball over once.

Conversely, Carmel took advantage of several LC miscues. The first of two interceptions tossed by Lawrence Central senior QB Dre Townsend and a shanked 17-yard punt hurt the Bears badly as Carmel turned those plays into 14 points.

The first pick occurred on the game’s seventh play as senior linebacker Justin Todd intercepted a Townsend pass over the middle and returned it 28 yards, setting the Greyhounds up at the LC 28. Five plays later, Duncan busted up the middle and broke free of several attempted tacklers in bulling his way in from 11 yards out, giving Carmel a 7-0 advantage just under five minutes into the contest when junior Billy Stumbo nailed the first of his five extra-point kicks.

The second significant Central setback came on the first play of the second quarter when senior Cameron Jones’ punt traveled just 17 yards, giving Carmel the ball at the LC 39. Duncan tallied his second touchdown on a one-yard run seven plays later, and the Greyhounds had opened up some distance at 21-7 at the 9:04 mark.

Between the pick and the punt, Lawrence Central registered its lone big play of the night when Townsend (18 of 32 for 218 yards) lobbed a ball deep down the right sideline and speedy senior wingback Anthony Shelman ran under it for a 50-yard gain that put the ball at the Carmel 18.

Three plays later, fellow senior speedster Marciellion Gardner scooted around left end for a two-yard TD that tied it at 7-7 on senior Kevin Nguyen’s PAT with just under five minutes left in the opening quarter.

But Carmel answered with a grinding 13-play drive that featured four gains of 10-plus yards and a huge pass interference call against LC on third down and long. All that set up Denning’s five-yard TD run over left tackle off an excellent fake on 1st and goal that made it 14-7 with 57 seconds left in the first period.

The shanked punt mentioned above would set up Carmel’s third score, and the Greyhounds would need just five plays to go 69 yards for a three-TD lead following a three-and-out-possession by the Bears. Duncan ripped off runs of 15 and 34 yards before finding paydirt for the third time on a five-yard jaunt over left guard to make it 28-7 midway through the third quarter.

Duncan finished off the Carmel scoring with a 68-yard run over right guard with 7:20 remaining in the contest on the Greyhounds’ first touch after a nine-play Lawrence Central drive stalled with an incomplete pass on 4th and 15.

Defensively, Carmel simply shut down a vaunted LC offensive attack that came in averaging 42.6 points a game, including a season high in last week’s 56-7 sectional-opening win at Southport. The Greyhounds did so by hemming in 5’8”, 155-pound burners Shelman and Gardner, who were a part of Lawrence Central’s state championship 4x100 meter relay teams the last two seasons.

Carmel was exceptionally proficient with its rush defense. Shelman carried seven times for 20 yards, while Gardner had just six yards on three rushes. While Shelman did pile up 91 yards on six receptions, Gardner managed just two catches for 29 yards.

Throw in Carmel’s corralling of Townsend (four sacks for -34 yards) and touchbacks on four of its six kickoffs, and there was just no momentum to be found for fourth-year coach Jayson West’s youthful Bears.

The only red flag on this night for Carmel? Eleven penalties totaling 109 yards. We’ll see if the ’Hounds can rectify that problem next week in the state’s latest Game of the Century …

The box score (thank you, Joe Steele!):

SCORE BY QUARTERS     1     2     3     4     Final
Carmel                               14     14     0     7     35
Lawrence Central               7      0     0     7     14

Carmel: 7:09     48 Jalen Duncan run up middle 11 yards (11 Billy Stumbo kick)
          Drive: 5 plays, 28 yards, 2:04
LC:    4:56     23 Marciellion Gardner run left end 2 yards (97 Kevin Nguyen kick)
          Drive: 7 plays, 60 yards, 2:13
Carmel: 0:57     17 Brandon Denning left tackle 5 yards (Stumbo kick)
          Drive: 13 plays, 75 yards, 3:59
                              
Carmel: 9:04     Duncan run up middle 1 yard (Stumbo kick)
          Drive: 7 plays, 38 yards, 2:49
Carmel: 6:28     Duncan run left guard 5 yards (Stumbo kick)
          Drive: 5 plays, 70 yards, 1:58
                              
Carmel: 7:20     Duncan run right guard 68 yards (Stumbo kick)
          Drive: 1 plays, 68 yards, 0:44
LC:     0:17     3 Jordan Morris 22-yard pass from 11 Dre Townsend (Nguyen kick)     
          Drive: 9 plays, 72 yards, 2:21

                            Car     LC
Rushes-yds     47-280  19-31
Passing yds     121    225
Comp-Att-Int    9-12-0 19-34-2
Fumbles-lost     0-0     1-1
Punts-avg         2-42    4-25
Penalties-yds   11-109     5-45
Time of poss    25:47     22:13
 
Rushing               Att     Yds     Avg     Lg     TD
Carmel            
48 J Duncan         26     180     6.9     68     4
13 D Pennington   8     58     7.3     12     0
17 B Denning         7     12     1.7     7     1
34 J Thompson     1     11     11.0     11     0
31 C Hobbs           3     10     3.3     9     0
18 B Lugar              2     5     2.5     4     0
21 C Perkins          2     4     2.0     8     0
TOTAL                   47     280     6.0     68     5
    
Lawrence Central
14 A Shelman         7     20     2.9     17     0
34 A Rodriquez      4     16     4.0     9     0
23 M Gardner         3     6     2.0     3     1
22 D Wortham        1     2     2.0     2     0
11 D Townsend      8     -13     -1.6     11     0
TOTAL                    19     31     1.6     17     1
     
Passing                Att    Cmp     Int    Yds     Avg     TD
Carmel
17 B Denning         12    9     0    121     13.4     1
    
Lawrence Central
11 D Townsend     32     18     2    218     12.1    1
18 T Redfern          1     1     0    7     7.0    0
14 A Shelman         1     0     0    0     0    0
TOTAL                    34     19     2    225    11.8     2
     
Receiving               No     Yds     Avg     Lg     TD
Carmel            
4 A Kehoe               3     62     20.7     37     0
13 D Pennington   2     35     17.5     18     0
82 S Barrett           3     21     7.0     9     0
85 D Mallory          1     3     3.0     3     0
TOTAL                    9     121     13.4     37     0
    
Lawrence Central
14 A Shelman       6     91     15.2     50     0
3 J Morris              9     74     8.2     22     1
89 T White             2     31     15.5     20     0
23 M Gardner        2     29     14.5     22     0
TOTAL                  19     225     11.8     50     1
     
                                                       Carmel                             Lawrence Central
                                                 1H    2H    Game                     1H 2H Game
Total Offense (plays/yds)        41/265     20/136     61/401         24/126     33/130     57/256
Rushing Offense (plays/yds)     34/181     13/99     47/280         9/23     10/8     19/31
Passing Offense (plays/yds)     7/84     7/37     14/121             15/103     23/122     38/225
Passing (comp-att-int)             5-6-0     4-6-0     9-12-0             8-14-2     11-20-0 19-34-2
Field Goals (made/att)              0/0     0/0     0/0                   0/0     0/0     0/0
Punts (no/yds)                       1/47     1/37     2/84                   3/74     1/25     4/99
Fumbles (no/lost)                   0/0     0/0     0/0                       0/0     1/1     1/1
First Downs                             14     3     17                        7     9     16
3rd Down Eff. (no/att)            2/6     0/4     2/10              0/3     3/7     3/10
4th Down Eff. (no/att)            0/1     0/2     0/3                  0/0     0/3     0/3
Penalties (no/yds)                4/28     7/81     11/109         4/40     1/5     5/45
Time of Possession             15:46     10:01     25:47         8:14     13:59     22:13