Westfield football鈥檚 鈥榝amily鈥� takes pride in another special season
WESTFIELD, Ind. — Three yards.
That was all that stood between Westfield High School and a Class 6A state title. Just nine feet before the Shamrocks could taste Indiana football glory. The clock continued to tick, with just under 1:30 left in a championship bout between two old rivals.
Down 27-21 to Center Grove, the defending champions who had eliminated Westfield in last year鈥檚 title game, quarterback Maximus Webster threw a potential game winning pass. It was completed – to the other team. Game over.
To a casual observer, that might be the lasting memory of the 2021 Shamrocks. However, for the young men who led their school to a stellar 12-2 record and a shot at the state鈥檚 ultimate prize, this season was about building each other up in their quest for on-field success. That effort started at the top with head coach Jake Gilbert.
鈥淲estfield isn鈥檛 just a high school team, it is an entire program,鈥� senior Micah Hauser told in November. 鈥淐oach Gilbert started with us back in second grade and knew everyone by name, by grade, by position, and he still does to this day. He isn鈥檛 concerned with a particular football team. He has created a family.鈥�
Still, even for Gilbert, the agonizing finale to an otherwise exceptional year was a difficult pill to swallow.
鈥淭his is a devastating loss,鈥� Gilbert said to the . 鈥淚 know the average person鈥檚 like 鈥極h, wow, you guys played Center Grove really well!鈥� We came here to win. So we are devastated, but super proud of our kids.鈥�
At the start of the year, it would have been reasonable to question if the Shamrocks were even any good, let alone capable of being the best in the state. The team was shut out 14-0, a concerning offensive outing in front of Westfield鈥檚 home fans. However, things began to click the following week against Harrison with a comfortable 33-11 road win. This sparked a 12-game winning streak, which carried the surging Shamrocks to the top of their conference. During that stretch, the team never scored below 20 points, topping the 40-point mark in half of their games.
The biggest key to the offense鈥檚 turnaround was the play of senior quarterback Webster, who threw for 16 touchdowns, ran for seven more and had 2,806 total yards on the season.
鈥淢aximus is one of the best leaders we鈥檝e ever had here,鈥� Gilbert said in September, according to . 鈥淗e鈥檚 tough as nails. He plays extremely hard and is always prepared. He鈥檚 a great mentor and big brother but also a great peer who fits in with everyone. He鈥檚 an All-State player and an All-State person.鈥�
Webster, a Ball State commit, said that his biggest areas of improvement this season were his completion percentage, ability to read coverages and leadership off the field.
鈥淚 have a better connection with the guys,鈥� Webster said to . 鈥淭here are people looking up to me this year. I learned from mistakes I made.鈥�
Sadly, for Webster and the Shamrocks, the one mistake he made in the endzone against Center Grove may have cost the team a state title. Still, that shouldn鈥檛 erase the accomplishments of Westfield鈥檚 group of student athletes who earned four straight playoff wins and the respect of their head coach.
鈥淲hen we elevated to a 6A program, we had to do things in a 6A way to compete out here against a team like that,鈥� Webster said to the . 鈥淲e weren鈥檛 just tough tonight, we鈥檙e tough people. We weren鈥檛 just hard workers tonight, we have worked hard for a year since we left here last year to be ready to win this game. We didn鈥檛 come here just to take part, we came here to take over, and I hope that showed.鈥�
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