CARMEL — Carmel quarterback Jackson Treadway rolled out right and scanned the field. With his target locked, he tossed a five-yard pass to receiver Alim Broadnax, who reached the right pylon for the team’s fifth touchdown of the game against Fishers on Friday.
The song “tv off” blared through the stadium speakers after the home team extended their lead, 33-0, in the third quarter.
“Turn his TV off, turn his TV off.”
Kendrick Lamar’s hit song fit the Week 1 blowout. Having spent the summer in a quarterback battle, Treadway walked into Carmel stadium as the main man under center. The fourth-year varsity player led the Greyhounds to a 47-0 win over the Tigers.
He completed 10 of 14 passes for 139 yards and three touchdowns. He also rushed for a score.
“Everything great takes time,” Treadway said. “I was behind Anthony (Coellner) and he was a great role model for me and he also shaped how I am today, competing with Chris (Harris) and Mychael (Lewis) was also a great thing. They pushed me to be great, so yeah, I’ve been waiting for this.”
Treadway was a field general who posted three touchdowns by halftime and helped the team take a 27-0 lead into the break.
Carmel sophomore receiver Aidan Carpenter scooped up a fumble by teammate Lewis and ran it to the house for the opening touchdown from about 49 yards out. During the first play of the team’s third drive, Treadway found Carpenter for a 29-yard completion. Four plays later and faced with a fourth-and-8, Treadway connected with Ayden Johnson on the left side of the endzone for an eight-yard score.
With seven minutes and 40 seconds left in the second quarter, Treadway walked in a touchdown from a yard out. On the next drive, he was faced with a fourth-and-1 at the Fishers 25 before he found space and kept the chains moving with a four-yard run. Two plays later, he threw a dime to an open Broadnax from 20 yards out at the 7:53 mark. That completed a 8-play, 48-yard drive for the Greyhounds, earning them a 27-0 lead in quarter three.
The first half wasn’t flawless for Treadway and the Greyhounds. The were a few low snaps and near fumbles that could have been disastrous. They also failed to manage the game clock before the halftime break.
With under a minute left in the second frame and working with a running clock, the Greyhounds had a chance to add to their advantage. Fishers blanked on a trick play resulting in a fumble recovered by Carmel defensive lineman Kendrell Watson. With the ball back with the Greyhounds’ offense, a botched snap led to a 9-yard loss and sack on Treadway. Hoping to blow the game wide open, they came up empty on their final first-half possession – failing to drive down the field in time before halftime.
Those mistakes were early growing pains as the Greyhounds cruised past the Tigers in the first 24 minutes.
“Obviously, a great game for us,” Treadway said. “There’s a lot of things we can improve on when we went to halftime … We went 27-0, should’ve been 35-0 and even more but I give all my credit to my guys up front. My receivers did it all for me.”
Treadway was backed by a defense that played rock solid against Fishers. Fishers freshmen quarterback Roman Wessell went 5-for-11 passing for 40 yards in the first half with his longest throw being 12 yards. As a team, the Tigers went 1-of-5 on third down through the first two quarters.
Before he was subbed out of the game in the third quarter during garbage time, Treadway found Broadnax for a 33-yard connection. He ended his night with four touchdowns, including three in the air and one on the ground.
“I have all my faith in Jackson, all of our dudes, everybody out there,” Carpenter said. “It’s going to be a fun season.”
After the game, Treadway was the man of the hour. Walking around beaming with victory glow. His dream of being the team’s solidified starting quarterback was realized. He worked hard for his new role and yearned for the weight that came from being a Class 6A gunslinger.
He doesn’t give all the praise to himself. He’s given kudos to the front five that guards his every move and the pass-catchers that make his job easier.
Friday’s performance was the dawning of a new era in Greyhounds football. A win that introduced Treadway as the main man in charge with more work left to be done after Week 1 of the Indiana high school football season.
“Obviously, we want to go fast and physical and that’s all we try to do and it was working,” Treadway said. “They couldn’t keep up … Like I said again, all the credit goes to the o-line and the receivers.”
Marc Ray is a high school sports reporter at the IndyStar. He can be reached at marc.ray@indystar.com , and on X, formerly Twitter, at @themarcszn.
This article originally appeared on Indianapolis Star: ‘I’ve been waiting for this’: Carmel QB Treadway accounts for four TDs in win over Fishers
Reporting by Marc Ray, Indianapolis Star / Indianapolis Star
USA TODAY Network via Reuters Connect
By Marc Ray, Indianapolis Star | USA TODAY Network
