Carmel ends Lawrence Central’s 18-game win streak in defensive battle
By CRAIG DRAGASH
ISL Correspondent
A week ago, Lawrence Central took down then-nationally ranked Louisville Trinity 17-13.
The week before that, Trinity beat Carmel 42-35.
So it would stand to reason that in the chain of events that led to Friday’s matchup with Lawrence Central, ranked #16 in the most recent USA Today national poll, Carmel shouldn’t expect to even its record at 2-2 with a victory over the Bears.
Cue the Greyhound defense…
LC entered the contest with the reputation for having one of the best, if not the best defense in the state, but Carmel showed on Friday that its defense is deserving of some accolades as well, as the Greyhounds held the Bears to just under 200 yards of total offense. That, combined with a 3-for-3 field goal effort by senior kicker Adam Kremer, propelled the Greyhounds to a 17-7 upset.
That effort on defense somewhat overshadowed the Greyhound offense, which only amassed 151 yards. Carmel re-introduced its triple option offense, which seemed to catch the Bears’ defense by surprise early, but they quickly adjusted, and they kept the Carmel offense at bay for most of the remainder of the game.
Carmel got on the scoreboard first on a 29-yard field goal by Kremer after the Greyhounds offense was presented with excellent field position in Bears’ territory. That would be the only score of the first half, as Carmel, while owning a huge advantage in field position, failed to convert two fourth down situations deep in LC territory. Both teams were 1-for-4 in fourth down conversions on the night.
The Greyhounds would get another field goal from Kremer in the third quarter, this time from 30 yards, to increase the lead to 6-0. After the teams traded three-and-outs, quarterback Tyler Redfern would go around the right end, and scamper for 59 yards, in what was the only play of significant yardage for Lawrence Central, and the Bears would take a 7-6 lead into the fourth quarter.
Austin Roberts fielded the kickoff and gave Carmel great field position again on the visitor’s side of the 50-yard line. The Greyhounds would score their only touchdown on the drive, as John Lampe found Roberts for a 29-yard touchdown pass, and Lampe hit Jason Baldridge for the two point conversion to give Carmel a 14-7 lead with 10:44 remaining. Kremer would add a 38-yard field goal with just under three minutes remaining, and Lawrence Central couldn’t answer, securing a victory for the Greyhounds, and the first loss for the Bears since…a loss to Carmel in the 2011 regional.
Carmel is now 2-2 and will host Lawrence North in its homecoming contest next Friday. Lawrence Central, now 3-1, hosts Center Grove, likely to be the new 6A #1 team, next Friday. The Trojans squeaked by #6 Pike 14-13 on Friday.
