Razor Sharpe. Brownsburg goes back to back in Class 6A over Westfield

INDIANAPOLIS -- In the regular season game against Westfield, Branden Sharpe was limited to just 18 receiving yards.

On the big stage of Saturday night’s Class 6A state championship, Brownsburg’s junior receiver eclipsed that number on one first quarter catch. Sharpe did not stop there, zigging and zagging for 250 all-purpose yards in the first half of defending champion and top-ranked Brownsburg’s 38-31 win over No. 6 Westfield.

“He’s pretty good, isn’t he?” Brownsburg coach John Hart said.

That is two state championships in a row for Brownsburg, which made a dramatic run to last year’s first title since 1985 with crazy comebacks and wild finishes. This year? All business. Even on Saturday, most of the drama was gone when Brownsburg running back A.J. Jobe scored on a 1-yard run late in the third quarter to put the Bulldogs ahead by 21 points.

A big reason for that cushion was the play of the 5-11, 165-pound Sharpe, Brownsburg’s dynamo junior receiver. His first touchdown, a 63-yard catch, came on a beautiful pass from junior quarterback Oscar Frye, who placed it perfectly over the Westfield secondary for a 14-3 lead.

“Sometimes you are not right on what you call, but we made a commitment to make sure Branden was involved in everything we did this week,” Hart said. “They took him away the first time we played. We got the ball to him … and Branden Sharpe is arguably the best player in the state of Indiana as a junior.”

Westfield (11-3), which lost 22-17 to Brownsburg in last year’s 6A title game, matched the Bulldogs for much of the back-and-forth first half. After Deacon King scored on a 5-yard run to bring Westfield within 14-10, Sharpe caught a 55-yard pass from Frye, taking it to the Westfield 4. On the next play Jobe scored to put Brownsburg ahead 20-10.

“We knew they weren’t going to quit,” Sharpe said of Westfield.

Westfield came right back, converting a fourth-and-1 to the Brownsburg 4. King scored on a 2-yard run to pull the Shamrocks within 20-17 late in the first half.

But the next play was arguably the biggest of the game. Westfield’s kickoff fell one yard short of the goal line and into the hands of the dangerous Sharpe.

“First off, shout out to my blockers,” Sharpe said. “I’m running and Chancelor Adams, Brice Kapitan and Oscar Grant made blocks and then at that point I’m just trying to make somebody miss.”

Sharpe did, cutting across the field for a 99-yard kickoff return to put Brownsburg ahead 27-17. His return broke the all-time record in a state finals game. Sharpe also set the Class 6A record for receiving yards in a 6A game, putting up all 151 in the first half. Brownsburg took a 30-17 lead into halftime and never let Westfield within one score again until the game’s final seconds.

It was a sparkling performance on the biggest stage for Sharpe and the entire Brownsburg program, which has claimed the mantle as the state’s premiere 6A program over the past two seasons.

“I know I say this a lot, but Brownsburg is literally like taking a piece of Texas and putting it in Indiana,” Hart said. “The passion they have for sports, not just football, is incredible. And we’ve worked really hard to get there.”

Hart, who now has four state championships combined at Evansville Reitz, Warren Central and Brownsburg, joked that he might have resigned had the game been postponed due to the impending snowstorm, as the state championships (played outdoor) were in Illinois.

No concerns there. The bigger issue for Hart was identifying where Alex Aramboles was on the field for Westfield and making sure the senior defensive end was not taking up residence in the Bulldogs’ backfield. Earlier in the week, Hart called the Grand Valley State recruit the best defensive player in the state.

“We were going to make a plan for wherever he was,” Hart said. “Credit to our offensive line and coach (Chris Chang) our offensive line coach. We were going to move our blocking to wherever he was. We wanted to run at him instead of away from him because he makes so many plays from the backside. That was effective early and we just kept adjusting.”

Westfield did not quit, even down by 21 points in the fourth quarter. The Shamrocks cut it to 38-24 on a 20-yard run by sophomore quarterback Cooper Melvin with 7:35 left. Westfield was stopped on its next opportunity with 4 minutes left, but the defense got another stop with 2:59 left and the Shamrocks marched 98 yards, making it 38-31 with 17 seconds left on a 1-yard pass from Baylor Conner to Henry Everts.

Westfield had one final shot on the onside kick, but Brownsburg senior Drew Bostic – the same Bostic who sealed last year’s title with an interception – covered the kick and the celebration began for those in purple.

“We were running our offense,” said Jobe, who finished with 120 rushing yards and three TDs on 29 carries. “When we do that, we’re going to score points.”

Frye finished 7-for-14 passing for 178 yards and a touchdown. The teams set seven records for a 6A state finals, including combined offensive yards with 811 (407 for Westfield and 404 for Brownsburg).

But the night clearly belonged to Brownsburg. With Frye and Sharpe returning next season, is it too early to think about No. 3? That answer is a resounding “yes.”

“I’m going to enjoy this one for a month, probably,” Sharpe said. “Then after that, the training starts, and we can focus on year three. I’m going to enjoy myself.”

Call Star reporter Kyle Neddenriep at (317) 444-6649.

Brownsburg 38, Westfield 31, F

Team

1st

2nd

3rd

4th

--

Total

Brownsburg

14

16

8

0

--

38

Westfield

3

14

0

14

--

31

Scoring summary

B -- Aiden Jobe 1 run (Will Orlando kick)

W -- Diego Herrera 26 field goal

B -- Branden Sharpe 63 pass from Oscar Frye (Orlando kick)

W -- Deacon King 5 run (Herrera kick)

B -- Aiden Jobe 4 run (kick fail)

W -- Deacon King 2 run

B -- Sharpe 99 kick return (Orlando kick)

B -- Orlando 26 field goal

B -- Jobe 1 run (Avin Robinson pass from Frye)

W -- Cooper Melvin 20 rush (Herrera kick)

W -- Henry Everts 1 pass from Baylor Conner (Herrera kick)

Passing -- W: Cooper Melvin 19-35-0-265-0, Conner 1-1-0-1-1, Aiden Grabowski 0-1-0-0-0. B: Frye 7-14-0-178-1.

Rushing -- W: Melvin 12-75-1, Conner 8-32, King 14-29-2, Grabowski 2-5, Darts 1-1-1, Henry Everts 1-(-1). B: Jobe 29-120-3, Brady Lewis 6-54, Frye 6-30, Shakovon Sumpter-Bey 5-24.

Receiving -- W: Andrew Noble 6-75, Caiden Snow 5-102, Conner 4-50, Broc Parker 2-28, Darts 2-10, Everts 1-1-1. B: Sharpe 4-151-1, Robinson 2-16, Tez Virgil 1-11.

This article originally appeared on Indianapolis Star: IHSAA football: Brownsburg goes back to back in Class 6A over Westfield