Warren Central gets it right this time, beats Carmel for 6A title
By CLIFF BRUNT
ISL Editor
INDIANAPOLIS — The scenario unfolding at Lucas Oil Stadium was eerily similar to one that didn’t turn out well for Warren Central two months earlier at Carmel High School.
Back on October 4, Carmel trailed Warren Central 15-13 late and had no choice but to go for it on fourth-and-20 from its 10-yard line. John Lampe threw a ball up and Austin Roberts, the UCLA commitment, caught it and gained the first down by a yard. The Greyhounds eventually scored a touchdown in the final minute and won the game 21-15.
Fast forward to the rematch in the Class 6A state title game on Saturday night. Carmel trailed 7-6 with 1:28 remaining and had a fourth-and-20 from its 2-yard line. This time, Lampe’s pass sailed over Thomas Baldwin’s head. Warren Central took over, ran out the clock and won the state title.
Warren Central coach Jayson West said the regular-season scenario crossed his mind as the Warriors prepared for Carmel’s desperation play.
“We got a little bit more pressure,” West said. “That pressure creates bad and quick throws. And it was the same type of play, and now that we played it right instead of wrong, looky looky, we’re here.”
West became the first Indiana coach to win state titles back-to-back years at two different schools.
“It’s special wherever you’re at and whatever time it is because it’s so rare,” he said. “There’s only one a year in a class, so it’s a pretty neat deal. I’m very fortunate to be in this position.”
Jeff George, son of the former Colts quarterback of the same name who led Warren Central to state titles in 1984 and 1985, now has his own story to tell. He threw the game-winning touchdown pass to Zach Gegner with eight seconds left in the third quarter.
“Just play action, rolled out right,” the younger George said. “I saw him open, and I knew it was one on one, and he’s my go-to, he’s my playmaker, so I kind of just throw it up to him. The line gave me enough time to get it off, so I just tried to have him make a play.”
Carmel outgained Warren Central 196 yards to 178 but made several critical mistakes. The errors negated a strong performance by junior Shakir Paschall, who ran for 113 yards on 24 carries.
“It comes down to field position and turnovers,” Carmel coach Kevin Wright said. “The one that killed us was the one they scored on. They did a good job.”
George said though the team struggled offensively, the Warriors remained confident they would somehow do enough to win.
“We just knew we had to stay calm and things would work out in the end,” he said. “We’ve been in this situation before, being down and having to come back. We knew that all we had to do was make one play.”
The touchdown pass by George followed a fumble by Carmel’s Isaac James that was recovered by Warren Central’s Darion Howard at the Carmel 18. George connected with Gegner on the next play.
The opportunistic play was typical for George. He only passed for 131 yards and completed fewer than 50 percent of his throws.
But he won.
“That’s him,” West said. “That’s us. Carmel’s a great defense. They’re not going to give us anything, and we’re small up front, we don’t give Jeff a whole lot of time all the time, but he makes plays when we call on him, when we need him the most. I’m really proud of him.”
After George’s touchdown pass, Carmel’s Austin Roberts returned the kickoff for a touchdown, but it was called back because of an unnecessary roughness penalty. Wright was unsure what happened.
“You’ll have to ask the officials,” he said. “They didn’t tell me anything.”
The mistakes continued. James threw an interception to Warren Central’s Mykelti Williams with 3:18 remaining.
“They had tendencies where they were going to run a post, so I just read the play and broke on the ball and tried to make a sound play,” Williams said.
Warren Central tried to add to its lead, but Max Hernandez’s field goal was blocked by Joey Scott, giving the Greyhounds one final chance.
Lampe, the senior who little-by-little had been squeezed out of the quarterback rotation, entered the game in the most intense of pressure situations. He was sacked on first down, threw incomplete to Roberts on second down, was sacked on third down and overthrew Baldwin on fourth down.
“Our defense is phenomenal,” George said. “They’re the best defense in the state by far. Holding a team like this to six points — it’s ridiculous, really. Our athletes — they’re awesome.”
The win gave Warren Central an unlikely eighth state title. The Warriors avenged all three of their regular-season losses during postseason play.
“No one expected it,” West said. “Two returning starters, not a bunch of D-1 guys or anything and have all this transition — we had a lot of things against us, and that’s why those guys went out with that chip on their shoulder. It was them against the world. And good for them, they took it on and won.”
Here is video from Fox 59’s Ken Sothman:
