Rivalry – a word that conjures up the magic of football season to the fans of our wonderful sport. Rivalries embody all that is good in the game of football – the energy, intensity, pride, and pageantry come alive during a school’s rivalry week. The freshman Rocks of Westfield High School got a taste of their biggest rivalry on September 12, 2016, as they traveled east down the old Midland Rail Line to Hare Chevrolet Field – the confines of the Noblesville Millers.
Coming fresh off a stinging defeat to other archrival Zionsville, the Rocks arrived focused and prepared for a battle against Noblesville. Westfield received the ball first, and the Rocks took the field with quarterback Hunter Will getting his first start of the season. The Westfield ground game took off immediately, with the offensive line paving the way for runs by running backs Eli Patchett and Trevor Lickfeldt. The quarterback Will also advanced the ball with a big completion to Patchett, forcing the ball into Miller territory.
A fumble late in the drive turned the ball over to the Millers, and the Westfield defense got its first shot at the action. Linebacker Gabe Henderson made it very apparent that the Miller road to the end zone would not be easy, as he found himself involved on nearly every tackle. The defense consistently swarmed the football, but a Noblesville touchdown put the Millers up 6-0. The point after attempt was no good.
The exchange of the first drives took the entire first quarter of play, and in the second quarter, the Rocks began to make their presence felt on the scoreboard. In one single big play, the Rocks offensive line, led by player of the game Mark McLaurin, took on the stacked defense of Noblesville and opened up a hole for running back Trevor Lickfeldt to explode through for a 60 yard touchdown. Riddle’s point after was good, leaving the score at 7-6 in favor of the Rocks.
Both teams then exchanged quick drives with one another – the Millers with a turnover on 4 downs, and the Rocks with a 3 play drive followed by a great punt by special teams player of the game Camden Simons. Late in the second quarter, with Noblesville on its third offensive drive, Dane Wheeler stepped up with his very own big play for the defense, intercepting a Noblesville pass attempt and getting possession of the ball back for Westfield.
After another offensive punt, the defense went back to work, and cornerback Zach Allen, this week’s defensive player of the game came to life, intercepting a Noblesville pass and giving the Rock offense the ball in Noblesville territory with less than a minute to go in the half. The offense fired on all pistons, with passing completions from Simons to Patchett and thunderous Lickfeldt runs behind the offensive line. Lickfeldt finished the drive sprinting into the end zone uncontested. Jacob Riddle, wearing one of his many hats for special teams made the point after attempt, increasing the Rocks’ lead to a score of 14-6.
The Millers refused to go down without a great fight, and as the 3rd quarter began, the Miller offense went to work, driving and scoring to tighten the score up. The extra point attempt was no good, and the count was 14-12.
The Rocks knew that they had to answer the call in order to win the game and the offense came onto the field with this sense of urgency. Trevor Lickfeldt and Offensive Mr. Consistency Simons each had runs of 10+ yards that set up a great pass from Simons to Patchett, getting the Rocks down to the Miller 5 yard line. Patchett finished off the drive with a touchdown run of his own. The point after attempt was good, and the Rocks’ lead jumped to 21-12.
As the game wound down, Noblesville went more and more to their passing game to create big plays. Zach Allen saw this change and timed up what may be the interception of the year as he snatched the ball from the clutches of the diving Noblesville receiver.
On the Rocks’ final scoring drive, the dual-headed monster of Patchett and Lickfeldt, following the titanic offensive line, each had big rushes toward the end zone. Lickfeldt scored the TD, and Riddle’s PAT was good, giving the Rocks 28 over the Millers’ 12.
After a final Miller touchdown, the Rocks were able to take the field in victory formation. The young men from Westfield were certainly excited to come out on the winning end of such a great rivalry, but they were not content with everything. The freshmen of Westfield know that the meat of the HCC season awaits them, and they are ready to keep improving and to attack the rest of the schedule with an energy never before seen by man.
Please come support your freshman Rocks this Monday, September 19th, at Riverview Health Stadium in beautiful Westfield, where the young men will take on the Royals of Hamilton Southeastern High School.
Go Rocks!
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