Carmel took the opening kickoff and scored quickly on a three play, 71-yard drive, as Jimmy Potempa broke through the Shamrock line for a 62-yard run that put the Corsairs up 7-0. The Shamrocks went three and out on their first possession, and the Corsairs struck again, this time on a 4 play, 59 yard drive, capped by a 31 yard pass from Tyler Ankney to Steve Hironimus.

Tom Barrett had a pass bounce off the hands of his receiver and intercepted by Carmel’s Dan Hauser, setting the Corsairs up at the Shamrock 39.

The Shamrock defense showed their first signs of stiffening, forcing Carmel to run 13 plays before scoring on a 6-yard pass from Ankney to Darren Davis off of a fake field goal.

At this point, with 11:06 remaining in the first half, Carmel had run 20 plays for 169 yards and scored three touchdowns, while Saint Patrick had 28 yards on 13 plays.

From that point on, the Shamrocks physically dominated this game on both sides of the ball. Saint Patrick got on the board with a long scoring drive as Kevin Golden finished off a 12 play, 89-yard drive with a one-yard touchdown plunge. A Mark Dietz fumble stopped the Shamrocks next drive, and the game went to the half with the Corsairs ahead 19-7.

Saint Patrick got the ball to open the second half, and Mike Lupa set them up with a 62-yard return to the Carmel 35 yard line. Five consecutive carries by Dietz, including a 21-yard gain on fourth and one from the Carmel 26, and a five yard touchdown run made the score 19-14 in favor of the Corsairs.

The Shamrock defense stopped Carmel on their next possession, and Saint Patrick took over at their own 32 following a Corsair punt. On the first play of their drive, Kevin Golden broke off a 49-yard run, down to the Carmel 19.

On fourth and six from the Carmel 15, Dietz appeared to be stopped before bulling his way over the right side for a first down at the Corsair seven. Three more Dietz runs (2,4,1) punched it in, and the Shamrocks were ahead 20-19 with 2:59 remaining in the third quarter, after George Hickey was stopped on a reverse, going for the two-point conversion.

The Shamrocks forced a three and out on Carmel’s next possession, then held the ball for over four minutes, and gained 45 yards before punting to the Corsair 16. That Carmel drive was stopped by a fumble near midfield, and the Shamrocks ran 3:23 off the clock before Dietz punted the ball through the end zone to give Carmel the ball at their own 20 with 2:52 remaining in the game.

Brandon Kreczmer sacked Ankney on 1st down, but Carmel was able to cross midfield. Facing fourth and six from the Shamrock 49, Ankney was swarmed by both Dietz and Kreczmer as he attempted to set up a screen pass to put the final touches on the Shamrock victory.

The Shamrocks won with their power running game, rushing for 304 yards on 45 carries. Dietz (20-132) and Golden (10-114) both topped the century mark. Golden was a dominant force all night. When he wasn’t running the ball, he was opening gaping holes for his tailbacks.

Defensively, Dietz, Kreczmer and Jason Genova paced the Shamrocks. Kreczmer tallied 10 tackles, 3 tackles for loss, 3 quarterback hurries, and 1.5 sacks. Dietz and Genova added eight and seven tackles respectively.