Carmel rallies, beats Warren Central 21-15
By CLIFF BRUNT
ISL Editor
The odds seemed stacked against Carmel and quarterback John Lampe.
The Greyhounds, trailing by two points in the final two minutes, faced a fourth-and-20 from their 10-yard line against a stingy Warren Central defense.
Lampe, unfazed, made it seem really simple.
“On fourth-and-20, it’s time to throw it to your best receiver, your best athlete and let him make a play.”
UCLA commitment Austin Roberts did just that, gaining the first down by a yard on a catch over the middle. Eventually, Chris Perkins scored the game-winning touchdown on a 3-yard run with 33 seconds left as Carmel defeated Warren Central 21-15 on Friday night.
Carmel never was worried, even on that critical fourth down.
“As coach (Kevin) Wright says, play every play,” Perkins said. “Don’t worry about the next play, just play that play.”
Lampe completed 11 of 21 passes for 215 yards and Roberts caught eight passes for 130 yards for the Greyhounds (5-2, 4-1 MIC).
Lampe talked about the game with ISL editor Cliff Brunt:
With Center Grove’s loss to Ben Davis, Carmel moved to within a half game of Center Grove for the conference lead.
Carmel overcame an outstanding night by Max Hernandez. The senior kicked three field goals and scored Warren Central’s only touchdown on a fumble return.
Jeff George completed 13 of 24 passes for 96 yards. Zach Gegner caught four passes for 46 yards and Tirone Young ran 12 times for 41 yards for the Warriors.
It was the second consecutive collapse for Warren Central (4-3, 3-3). The Warriors led Pike 28-0 the previous week before losing 38-28.
Warren Central seemed to be in control again this week, when Hernandez’s touchdown gave the Warriors a 12-0 lead in the middle of the third quarter.
Warren Central had a chance to take a more firm grip on control of the game. The Warriors, still up 12-0, had a fourth-and-1 at the Carmel 31, but Young was stopped short.
Two plays later, Roberts scored on a 66-yard touchdown pass from Lampe, and Carmel had new life.
Warren Central went three-and-out on its next possession, and Carmel kept the momentum going. Lampe connected with Thomas Baldwin for 35 yards, setting up a 25-yard touchdown run by Perkins that gave the Greyhounds their second touchdown in less than two minutes and a 13-12 lead.
Hernandez kicked a 40-yard field goal to give Warren Central a 15-13 lead with 2:32 remaining.
Carmel then took over on its 20 for what would be the game-winning drive.
Roberts made his big play, but the Greyhounds faced another fourth down later in the drive on the Warren Central 39. Lampe found Baldwin for 36 yards to set up a first-and-goal from the Warren Central 3-yard line.
Baldwin finished with four catches for 84 yards and a two-point conversion.
“We knew that Austin was going to attract a lot of coverage, so we ran a post with Thomas Baldwin behind him, threw it up, a 1-on-1 ball, and he came down with it,” Lampe said.
After that, Perkins delivered the final blow. He finished with eight carries for 37 yards and two touchdowns.
“Chris did a great job offsetting the passing game so we could set some stuff up,” Lampe said. “When he started running, everything started clicking.”
Warren Central had one more chance, but Noah Burke intercepted a pass by George and returned it to the Warriors’ 3-yard line. Carmel then kneeled and ran out the clock.
Warren Central gained just 191 yards. Darius Lee, one of the most dangerous offensive players in the MIC, was held without a catch and lost four yards on his only carry.
“It was a total team effort defensively to hold those guys under 200 yards total offense,” Carmel coach Wright said. “We kept giving them opportunities, but I thought our defense did a great job.”
Perkins said it was a tough game, but he was glad the Greyhounds came out with a win.
“It was ugly, but we got it done,” he said.
Warren Central (4-3) 3 3 6 3 — 15
Carmel (5-2) 0 0 13 8 — 21
WC — Max Hernandez 28 FG
WC — Hernandez 21 FG
WC — Hernandez 4 fumble return
C — Austin Roberts 66 pass from John Lampe (Adam Kremer kick)
C — Chris Perkins 25 run (pass failed)
WC — Hernandez 40 FG
C — Perkins 3 run (Thomas Baldwin pass from Lampe).
