Harrison football ends season with sectional semifinal loss to Lake Central

WEST LAFAYETTE — As Harrison senior wide receiver Deon Brown brought down an 8-yard touchdown catch to go up 26-14 at the end of the first half against Lake Central in a Class 6A, Sectional 1 semifinal, the Raiders looked like they had more juice left in the tank for the postseason.

But a third quarter in which Lake Central outscored Harrison 22-0 sank that optimism. The Raiders fell 57-40 on Friday, Oct. 30, and much of that loss came down to that 12-minute stretch.

The majority of the damage was done in the ground game for the Indians. Two powerful runs, a 21-yard rush from Jacob Turley and a 19-yard touchdown from Jayden Carpenter-Mansfield, quickly got them back some momentum to cut the deficit to five points at the 10:40 mark of the third quarter. 

Carpenter-Mansfield got a huge break on the next offensive drive, breaking through for a 71-yard rush that set him up a touchdown near the goal line to go up 29-26 with 5:29 left in the quarter. Those backs, coupled with an offensive line that’s size was impossible to match up against, gave the Harrison defense trouble all night.

“The size of their offensive line and their tight ends is something that I’ve lost sleep over the last couple of weeks,” Harrison coach Kyle Holderfield said. “And those nightmares kind of came to fruition, right? They kind of ran the ball at will.”

Just 17.3 seconds before the third quarter came to a close, Lake Central tagged on another. This time it was a 10-yard touchdown pass from quarterback Wes Lalich to Frankie Verta to give it a 36-26 lead. The Raider offense got things clicking again to start the fourth, resulting in quarterback Henry Ade hitting receiver Ryan Sinks for a 14-yard touchdown, but a costly mistake set them back once more. 

More: Follow LIVE Lafayette area Indiana high school football sectional semifinal scores

Q4, 11:53: Lake Central 36, Harrison 33Ade hits Sinks for a 14-yard touchdown and Schneider drills the XP. Going to be a battle here down the stretch. https://t.co/BuP17votbJ

— Chase Gemes (@chasegemes) October 31, 2026