Carmel headed back to state after knocking off previously undefeated Penn 28-13 in semistate

CARMEL – For once, a week off late in the season isn’t necessarily a bad thing in high school football.

Carmel quarterback Isaac James and fullback Shakir Paschall each rushed for 130 yards to help Carmel pull away from Penn 28-13 in the Class 6A semistate Friday night and advance to the Nov. 30 title game against conference rival Warren Central.

Because this is the inaugural year of Class 6A, the Greyhounds will have two weeks to prepare for state, which will be held at Lucas Oil Stadium.

“We are playing for the Class 6A state title,” Carmel coach Kevin Wright said moments after the game, to the delight of his players.

Carmel had already defeated Warren Central this season, 21-15 on Oct. 4 in Metropolitan Interscholastic Conference action.

“We couldn’t ask for a better state championship,” Wright said. “Both teams are very well coached. We’ve been planning for the possibility of having two weeks off since January.”

For the Greyhounds, they will be shooting for their eighth state championship and first since 2011, when they beat Penn 54-0.

It was a defensive battle for much of Friday night until Carmel pulled away late. Carmel (10-3), ranked No. 6 in Class 6A, held on to a 7-6 halftime advantage over top-ranked and previously unbeaten Penn (12-1).

The game was delayed about a half hour early in the second quarter when an official fell to the turf and laid motionless for several moments. Both teams were taken off the field while emergency personnel attended to him.

The official was able to wave his left hand as he was taken off the field on a gurney about 10 minutes later. Game officials said he was conscious while being taken off the field, although his exact condition was unavailable shortly after the game.

Wright said it was tough for his team to see the official fall, then have to continue playing.

“Seeing something like that, it really shakes you,” he said. “At halftime we said everything is fine, and that his heart is in the hands of God.

“I’m proud of the way our team came out in the second half. We showed resiliency. We’ve had to be resilient to get here. But every time they answered, we answered as well. I’m very proud of this group of kids.”

The Kingsmen came into the game having allowed only 45 points in 12 games but struggled to stop Carmel late.

“Our defense had a lot of stops, but just a few too short,” Penn coach Cory Yeoman said. “Their quarterback and running back are good players and did a nice job.

“I’m very pound of our guys,” he added. “We got close a couple times but had to settle for field goals. But we kept responding on both sides of the ball.”

The Greyounds made it 14-6 late in the third quarter on a 13 yard TD run by James. But the clincher came with 9:34 left in the game, when Carmel free safety Jack Conway stepped in front of a Zachary Oakley pass and returned it 30 yards for a touchdown and a 21-6 Carmel lead.

Paschall put the game out of reach in the final minutes, rushing five straight times for 74 yards to give Carmel its final touchdown with 1:54 to go.

“Our scout team did a nice job playing (Penn) this week and got us ready for game time,” James said.

Asked about Warren Central, James said: “We just have to execute and do what we did last time.”