It was a beautiful night for high school football last Friday! The Lawrence North Wildcats took on the visiting Carmel Greyhounds in The Bill Duke Pigskin Trophy Game. There was no doubt coming into the game that the Greyhounds were the better team, but Lawrence North gave it their all. It was not more than a minute and twenty-two seconds before the Greyhounds scored the first points of the game. The points came from Jack Kazmierczak who completed a 78-yard pass to the 6A receiving yard leader Reece Bellin, giving the Greyhounds a 7-0 lead. The Greyhound offense has struggled with injuries all season, but most recently Carmel suffered the loss of Aiden Alfayed. Without Nick Beidl and Aiden Alfayed, the Greyhounds had to find somebody who could control the ground game. That man was Levell Stewart; a freshman running back making his Varsity Season Debut. It did not take long before Stewarts’ skill showed. After the first quarter, Stewart led the Greyhounds in rushing yards with 30 yards, 6 carries and a touchdown! Levell and Carmel’s offense was not the only moving part in Friday’s victory vs Lawrence North, but the Greyhound defense and Special Teams also put on a show! Carmel’s Christian Peterson showed his fight in the third quarter with a 57-yard punt return into the back of the endzone. Followed by Winston Berglund’s interception. Entering into the fourth quarter leading 21-0 the Greyhound defense allowed two late touchdowns by the Wildcat Offense. Those touchdowns came from Wildcat quarterback Montez Jones and Wildcat backup quarterback Tanner Aspeslet. Eventually, after a long-awaited 48 minutes, the clock struck zero and the Greyhounds were leading 38-14. Carmel then hoisted the Bill Duke Pigskin Trophy adding to the series lead with a 25-3 record. Carmel’s win brought them over .500 with a 3-2 record and the Wildcats fell to 2-3. 

Last week the Center Grove Trojans shut out the Panthers 36-0. It may seem like it was total Trojan domination through all four quarters, but that’s not the case. The Panthers had a total of 42 plays which is just 3 short of Center Grove’s 45. Also, the Panthers possessed the football for 26 minutes and 54 seconds but struggled to gain offensive progress. North Central, led by Brody Gibson threw 8-17 with 82 yards, but the ground game looked a bit different. Controlled by Kiandre Perkins the Panthers rushed for 43 yards on 23 carries providing nearly 50% of all offensive yardage.  

Tonight is homecoming for the 0-5 North Central Panthers who take on the visiting 3-2 Carmel Greyhounds. In the 68th matchup between the two teams, Carmel looks to tack on another win to their 40-28 series record. The atmosphere will seem more energetic tonight since it is homecoming, but Carmel defensive coordinator Scott Alexander believes “the guys know how to handle it and know what to expect, so the atmosphere should not affect Carmel’s game.” It was a surprise to all last week when Freshman Levell Stewart rushed for 63 yards with 11 carries, but Stewarts’ energy fueled the team so much that he will get his 2nd varsity start tonight. Blake Matthews, a wide receiver for the Greyhounds said “Levell has a different mindset and keeps his feet moving, so we are excited to see how he plays tonight.” However, tonight’s game will not come easy for the Greyhounds, as North Central is prepared to give it their all. It has all come down to this moment in less than 4 hours. Football will be played in Indianapolis, Indiana, but will the Greyhound come out on top? Tune in to 91.3 FM at 7:00 PM to find out!