Westfield’s Deacon King has rushed for 618 yards, placing him fourth in Class 6A. King has scored six touchdowns this season. (Joshua Herd/File photo)
By CRAIG ADKINS
For The Reporter
No. 5 Westfield Shamrocks (4-2, 3-1 HCC) at Avon Orioles (3-3, 1-3 HCC)
Tonight in Hendricks County is the 26th meeting between Westfield and Avon. The Orioles lead the series with 17 wins to the Shamrocks’ eight. The Rocks have won five in a row, including last year’s 45-13 blowout win at Riverview Health Stadium.
Avon started off well with wins at home over defending Class 5A state champion Decatur Central in overtime (30-28) and at Ben Davis 35-14.
Since then, the Orioles have gone 1-3 with a couple of single-digit losses at Hamilton Southeastern (17-14) and to Brownsburg (55-47). They got a win against Franklin Central (35-10) before dropping their Week 6 contest at Fishers, 29-15.
Jace Cameron leads Avon with 1,231 passing yards, good for seventh in 6A. He’s an efficient 62 percent (106-171) with 11 touchdowns and just four interceptions. Andre Warfield is third in 6A with 639 rushing yards on 93 carries and nine TDs. Shawn Curry is the leading receiver with 36 catches for 582 yards, which puts him 23rd in the state and seventh in 6A. Curry has five touchdowns.
Westfield’s three-game win streak was snapped last week by Brownsburg (14-10); its other loss came in Week 2 at Carmel (34-10). The Rocks opened with a shutout of Homestead (35-0) and then began September with wins against Zionsville (27-3), Noblesville (41-7) and HSE (21-17).
The quarterback combo of Aiden Grabowski and Cooper Melvin has passed for 60 percent (73-121) and 959 yards, seven TDs and six INTs. Grabowski (160, 3 TDs) and Melvin (47, TD) are both run threats.
Deacon King is fourth in 6A with 618 rushing yards on 103 runs and has six TDs. The quartet of Andrew Noble (300 yards), Caiden Snow (221), Broc Parker (191) and Baylor Connor (122) are all viable pass catchers, combining for six scores.
Alex Aramboles’ 7.0 sacks is ninth in the state and first in 6A. Alex McDonald is at 4.5 sacks, sixth in 6A. Defensive back Logan Loring has three interceptions, good for second in 6A.
Kicker Diego Herrera’s six field goals rank him fourth in the state and second in 6A.
3A No. 13 Guerin Catholic Golden Eagles (3-3) at Pike Red Devils (1-5)
Last season was the first time that Guerin and Pike met on the football field. The Red Devils used an offensive mix to stun the Golden Eagles, 42-3.
Guerin is looking to return the favor tonight, but it will be a tall task.
Pike plays a tough schedule outside of its Metropolitan Conference slate. Starting the season with three straight losses at Zionsville (27-7), home to No. 4 Crown Point (21-0) and at Ben Davis (31-14), they won at Southport in Week 4 in grand fashion (48-0).
The last two weeks, Pike has losses to Lawrence Central (42-13) and in overtime at Warren Central, 31-28.
Quarterbacks Mychael Lewis and Kevin Tichenor III are just 61 of 118 for 52 percent, 552 yards with just three TDs and 4 INTs.
Bobby Thomas leads the ground game with 441 yards (five TDs).
Latrell Morton (177), Sean Nash (123) and Joshua Murray (107) total 30 catches between them.
Guerin Catholic also plays a top-notch, tough schedule. Opening with a win at McCutcheon (30-13), they dropped the home opener to Pendleton Heights, 34-0. The Golden Eagles won two straight on the road at Heritage Christian (28-25) and Brebeuf Jesuit (36-25).
Their final two Circle City Conference games got away quick and they lost both at home to Roncalli (49-7) and Bishop Chatard (56-14).
Last week against Chatard began pretty well, but after the game was tied, Chatard’s run game quickly helped it run away from Guerin.
After Chatard scored, Guerin junior Isaac Justin broke free for a 95-yard kickoff return, tying the game 7-7.
Quarterback Quentin Klee got the Golden Eagles their second score early in the second when he connected with Aiden Horn for a four-yard touchdown strike to cut it to 28-14.
Guerin will be looking to reestablish its running game to complement Klee’s passing.
