IHSAA football: Top plays, turning points and players of game from Week 6's top matchups

Here are some snap thoughts from the biggest games across Central Indiana.

IndyStar will have more in-depth coverage of all of Week 6's action Saturday morning online and in Sunday's print edition.

Indiana high school football:Highlights, scores, and more from IHSAA Week 6

Center Grove 63, Lawrence Central 41

Three takeaways from Class 6A second-ranked Center Grove’s wild 63-41 victory over Lawrence Central.

Play of the game: Where to start in a game that featured 12 touchdown and 855 yards of total offense – IN THE FIRST HALF. Center Grove led 49-33 going into halftime after a second quarter that saw the teams combine for 47 points. Sheesh. Center Grove finished with 649 yards of offense and Lawrence Central had 517. The play of the game was probably a 40-yard touchdown pass from Center Grove’s Tyler Cherry to Noah Coy late in the first half. Coy was covered well, but plucked the ball away from a defender and ran up the left sideline for a touchdown with 29 seconds left in the half to make it 42-21. Of course, in this game, Lawrence Central came right back and scored before halftime.

Turning point: It was probably a defensive play in the first half by Center Grove. Lawrence Central trailed 20-15 but was on the move again, but Center Grove’s Ryder Woolwine got a hand on a third-down pass by Bryson Luter to get the Bears’ offense off the field. Micah Coyle scored on a 45-yard run to put the Trojans ahead 28-15 in the first minute of the second quarter. The game was never within one score after that possession.

Standout performer: Again, where to start. Coyle ran for four touchdowns and 286 yards on 30 carries. Coy caught seven passes for 134 yards and two touchdowns and Jalen Thomeson rushed for 158 yards and a touchdown on 19 carries. Tyler Cherry was 11-for-13 passing for 205 yards and three TDs. But how can you overlook Lawrence Central’s Ahmaad Duff? Sheesh. Duff had eight catches for 289 yards and two touchdowns and Luter passed for 302 yards. A strange game. And how about this – no points in the third quarter after 47 points in the second. Weird. — Kyle Neddenriep

Hamilton SE 31, Zionsville 13

Hamilton Southeastern celebrated homecoming with a 31-13 rout of conference foe Zionsville on Friday.

Turning point: A favorable bounce-and-roll on a second-quarter punt served as a precursor of things to come for the host Royals.

Braeden Totton did the deed, skying a punt from inside his own 50 that hit around the Zionsville 15-yard line and rolled all the way to the six.

The Royals' defense – which was very good throughout the night – nearly sacked quarterback Christian Abney in the end zone for a safety on first down, then forced the running back backwards on the next play (Abney had to help push him forward). A third down stop, gave way to a punt that set up the game-tying field goal – credit to the Eagles' defense for keeping HSE out of the end zone after the punt sailed out of bounds at their own 25-yard line – then a Donovan Rhodes interception initiated a three-touchdown outburst between the second and third quarters that put HSE firmly in control.

Play of the game: Yeah, so Donovan Hamilton is real good. He had quite the collection of highlight-reel catches Friday night – two for touchdowns – most notably a grab to set up the team's first touchdown of the night. Dealing with one-on-one coverage, he went all the way up with a defender on his hip to grab a high-arching pass from quarterback Ty Bradle and come down with it at the five. A play or two later, Azariah Wallace plunged in for a two-yard touchdown.

Player of the game: Hamilton. One grab to set up a touchdown, followed by a couple eye-opening touchdown catches – including a 59-yard reception late in the third quarter. — Brian Haenchen, IndyStar

New Palestine 42, Greenfield-Central 7

NEW PALESTINE – The top-ranked Class 4A New Palestine Dragons didn’t score their first touchdown until 9 seconds into the second quarter on Friday night.

But once they did, the Dragons never stopped.

New Palestine senior quarterback Danny Tippit completed 17 of 25 passes for 205 yards and five touchdowns, while junior running back Grayson Thomas rushed for 161 yards and a touchdown to keep the Dragons (6-0) unbeaten on the season.

New Palestine scored on six consecutive drives to beat Hoosier Heritage Conference rival Greenfield-Central, 42-7, on homecoming night and continued its dominance in the all-time series over the Cougars (25-5 overall).

Tippit’s five passing touchdowns tied New Palestine’s single-game record, which was set by quarterback’s coach and Dragons’ program record-holder Alex Neligh, a 2016 graduate.

The 12th-ranked 4A Cougars (4-2, 2-2 HHC) were without their top-two quarterbacks due to injuries but were able to prevent the shutout with a 25-yard touchdown pass from backup signal-caller Brayden Herrell, who connected with Kirk Knecht in the third quarter.

Two of Tippit’s touchdown passes went to senior Blaine Nunnally, who finished with 67 yards on four catches. Tippit’s final TD pass went to freshman Cameron Rollyson for 6 yards, marking the receiver’s first varsity catch.

The Dragons are now 4-0 in the HHC and are attempting to chase down their first conference title since 2020. — Rich Torres, Special for IndyStar

Brownsburg 31, Westfield 14

Player of the game: Brownsburg’s defensive line, led by end Bryce Patterson, made life miserable for the Westfield running backs all night long. Four of the Shamrocks’ first six attempts by running backs lost yardage. It culminated on one of the biggest plays of the first half. Facing fourth and short from near midfield late in the first half, Westfield running back Ryan Creager got the ball and ran into a wall of Bulldogs.

Effectively, Brownsburg made the Shamrocks a one-dimensional on offense, taking away any of Cole Ballard’s help on the ground and forcing the quarterback to try to beat the Bulldogs, still undefeated, by himself. Westfield didn’t score an offensive touchdown after its first possession.

Turning point: It started as a busted play. Ballard dropped the snap and started to scramble before looking over the middle. His attempt over the middle was picked by Nickolas Cloyd, who knew the ball was coming from his film study. It set Brownsburg up deep an enemy territory. Six snaps later, running back Garrett Sherrell punched in a touchdown at the goal line to give the Bulldogs a 14-7 lead after trailing early.

Play of the game: Another steady, methodical Brownsburg drive was in danger of stalling out. The Bulldogs had made it inside the Westfield 10-yard line, but a holding penalty followed by a run into the line for a loss of two had them facing third-and-18.

Throughout the game, Brownsburg moved the ball with its running attack and quick passing game. Up by a touchdown, quarterback Jayden Whitaker had to take a vertical shot for the first time all night.

He took a quick drop and lofted a fade down the left sideline. Junior receiver Corey Smith high-pointed the ball and tapped both feet in bounds to extend the Bulldog lead. — Wilson Moore, IndyStar

Martinsville 35, Whiteland 21

Franklin 28, Mooresville 21

Roncalli 31, Brebeuf Jesuit 14

Lutheran 28, Scecina 19

Class A top-ranked Lutheran (6-0) remains unbeaten with a 28-19 win over Scecina (5-1).

Turning point: Midway through the third quarter, Scecina answered a 99-yard kickoff return touchdown from De'Vuan Jones with a 10-play scoring drive capped by a 20-yard touchdown pass from DJ Mendez to Mason Beriault. The Saints went three-and-out on their ensuing drive and the Crusaders used a 50-yard pass from Mendez to Beriault to move back into Saints territory. Mendez's next pass was heading to the end zone, but a deflection led to an interception by CJ Ervin. On Lutheran's next possession, Jackson Willis capped a 13-play drive four-yard touchdown pass to Micah Mackay, putting the Saints up for good.

Play of the game: Both quarterbacks delivered pinpoint passes throughout the night, but the play of the game goes to the Lutheran special teams. Jones took the kickoff at the one-yard line, started left, weaved his way through traffic and turned on the jets for the 99-yard score.

Player of the Game: Willis. The sophomore quarterback finished 14-of-24 for 168 yards two touchdowns and one interception. — Akeem Glaspie, IndyStar

Bishop Chatard 31, Guerin Catholic 30

Lebanon 21, Tri-West 14

This article originally appeared on Indianapolis Star: Indiana high school football: How biggest games of Week 6 were won