And then there were two
regular season games remaining. Next week at this time we'll be anticipating the IHSAA Sectional Draw and the high school football post-season. As I've mentioned before in this space, nothing better than the air getting a bit cooler and being on the field for Football Friday Nights.
As I write the Week 7 Rewind, I find myself marveling at the job done by two teams who played for the Class 5A Title one year ago. Both Carmel and Center Grove had a tremendous amount talent in 2008. Both figured to lose a little momentum this season, Center Grove by graduating 32 seniors & Carmel by losing Mr. Football Morgan Newton. Here we are looking ahead to week 8, and both the Trojans and Greyhounds are 7-1. I never thought this was possible, but there is a chance we could see a CG-Carmel rematch in the Class 5A Championship Game.
* Just Win Baby: Just like last year, Carmel is the top ranked team in the Class 5A poll through seven weeks of play. The Greyhounds have won seven straight games since a season-opening loss to Class 4A #1 Cathedral. They haven't always done so in dominating fashion, but it is clear Mo Moriarity's guys expect to win every time they take the field. How else would you explain Friday's 24-22 win over Warren Central? After leading 21-2 at halftime, the Warriors caught fire in the second half, scoring three straight touchdowns including the go-ahead score when Carmel QB Adam Schaeffer fumbled in the end zone. Schaeffer calmly rallied the troops and led his team down the field to put kicker Jordan Babcock in position to be the hero. The Carmel kicker delivered and the Greyhound defense came up with a huge interception sealing another heart-stopping MIC victory.
* Reload, not Rebuild: Eric Moore is one of the best coaches in Central Indiana to deal with. In the last two years, I've never seen him without a smile on his face. (except for that one practice last year prior to the Carmel regular season when I caught him pretending to be angry at his players for having a 'bad' practice) How could he be upset, not only did Moore beat Carmel in one of the best State Championship comebacks ever, but he is a close loss to those same Greyhounds away from perfect 7-0 start. If you aren't a believer in the boys from Johnson County, take a look at some of the video from Friday's 27-7 win over Ben Davis. The Giants are a VERY good football team and the Trojans had little trouble in dispatching the conference counterparts. Carmel vs Center Grove at Lucas Oil Stadium Thanksgiving weekend? I wouldn't bet against it.
* 0-6 Beats 6-0: We were glad to welcome former Fox 59 Sports Director Chris Denari to the Football Friday set last week, allowing him to talk about both the Indiana Fever and Indiana Pacers. At the end of the interview, he said, "Gotta mention Guerin Catholic who won their first game of the season tonight." While I believed him, I had to double-check the score when the show was over. I know the winless Golden Eagles were playing undefeated Winchester. The Golden Falcons haven't played an incredibly difficult schedule, but I still figured they would win and stay unbeaten. That's why they play the game, it's hard to believe that an 0-6 team could beat a 6-0 team, but that is exactly what happened, so congrats to the Guerin players for believing in themselves through a trying season. The Colts next two games might be undefeated verses winless match-ups. This Sunday 0-4 Tennessee tries to knock off the 4-0 Indianapolis, and I'm already looking ahead to the Colts upcoming trip to St. Louis. Coach Caldwell's guys could enter the game 5-0 while the Rams are likely to be 0-6 perhaps Guerin Coach Andrew Kremer should give the Titans or Rams the pre-game pep talk to let them know anything is possible.
* Speaking of Unbeatens: A couple other Central Indiana Schools featured on Fox 59's Football Friday Night fell from the ranks of the unbeatens Friday. I have been talking for a few weeks about a Week 9 game between 8-0 Delta and 8-0 Shelbyville. Perhaps the New Palestine Dragons are readers of Indysportsnation and were determined to not let this happen. Aaron Pfieffer hit a 30-yard field goal with :05 left to hand the Bears their first loss. I knew Fishers would have it's hands full with Zionsville on the Eagles Homecoming. However, I didn't think Zionsville was capable of scoring 39 Points against the Tigers defense. Rick Wimmer's Tigers lose their first game of the season in a highly entertaining contest, 39-35. Another score I must mention is Mishawaka's 26-10 victory over previously perfect Penn. The Kingsman had won 153 consecutive Northern Indiana Conference games. Mishawaka hadn't defeated Penn in nearly three decades! There are currently 25 teams in Indiana with 7-0 records.
* Congrats Kicker: Westfield senior Ian MacDougal is pretty busy this week. Not only is he getting ready for the IHSAA Boys soccer sectionals which get underway Thursday, but he's also no doubt recieving plenty of pats on the back leading the Shamrocks to a 24-21 win over McCutcheon. While last week's Hoosier Crossroads Conference game between 2-4 teams wasn't a glamorous match-up, MacDougal's heroics made everyone take notice. The soccer player by trade proved there is no INDYSTAR jinx. He was profiled in a nice article by Chris Nelson earlier in the week, then hit a key 74-yard punt early in the fourth quarter. He followed that up with a 51-yard game winning field goal helping the Shamrocks knock off the Mavericks. This week, MacDougall will be playing Carmel in an opening round soccer match, then will lace up the pads on Friday for senior night football game against Noblesville. Congrats to a busy, talented Shamrock senior.
As I write the Week 7 Rewind, I find myself marveling at the job done by two teams who played for the Class 5A Title one year ago. Both Carmel and Center Grove had a tremendous amount talent in 2008. Both figured to lose a little momentum this season, Center Grove by graduating 32 seniors & Carmel by losing Mr. Football Morgan Newton. Here we are looking ahead to week 8, and both the Trojans and Greyhounds are 7-1. I never thought this was possible, but there is a chance we could see a CG-Carmel rematch in the Class 5A Championship Game.
* Just Win Baby: Just like last year, Carmel is the top ranked team in the Class 5A poll through seven weeks of play. The Greyhounds have won seven straight games since a season-opening loss to Class 4A #1 Cathedral. They haven't always done so in dominating fashion, but it is clear Mo Moriarity's guys expect to win every time they take the field. How else would you explain Friday's 24-22 win over Warren Central? After leading 21-2 at halftime, the Warriors caught fire in the second half, scoring three straight touchdowns including the go-ahead score when Carmel QB Adam Schaeffer fumbled in the end zone. Schaeffer calmly rallied the troops and led his team down the field to put kicker Jordan Babcock in position to be the hero. The Carmel kicker delivered and the Greyhound defense came up with a huge interception sealing another heart-stopping MIC victory.
* Reload, not Rebuild: Eric Moore is one of the best coaches in Central Indiana to deal with. In the last two years, I've never seen him without a smile on his face. (except for that one practice last year prior to the Carmel regular season when I caught him pretending to be angry at his players for having a 'bad' practice) How could he be upset, not only did Moore beat Carmel in one of the best State Championship comebacks ever, but he is a close loss to those same Greyhounds away from perfect 7-0 start. If you aren't a believer in the boys from Johnson County, take a look at some of the video from Friday's 27-7 win over Ben Davis. The Giants are a VERY good football team and the Trojans had little trouble in dispatching the conference counterparts. Carmel vs Center Grove at Lucas Oil Stadium Thanksgiving weekend? I wouldn't bet against it.
* 0-6 Beats 6-0: We were glad to welcome former Fox 59 Sports Director Chris Denari to the Football Friday set last week, allowing him to talk about both the Indiana Fever and Indiana Pacers. At the end of the interview, he said, "Gotta mention Guerin Catholic who won their first game of the season tonight." While I believed him, I had to double-check the score when the show was over. I know the winless Golden Eagles were playing undefeated Winchester. The Golden Falcons haven't played an incredibly difficult schedule, but I still figured they would win and stay unbeaten. That's why they play the game, it's hard to believe that an 0-6 team could beat a 6-0 team, but that is exactly what happened, so congrats to the Guerin players for believing in themselves through a trying season. The Colts next two games might be undefeated verses winless match-ups. This Sunday 0-4 Tennessee tries to knock off the 4-0 Indianapolis, and I'm already looking ahead to the Colts upcoming trip to St. Louis. Coach Caldwell's guys could enter the game 5-0 while the Rams are likely to be 0-6 perhaps Guerin Coach Andrew Kremer should give the Titans or Rams the pre-game pep talk to let them know anything is possible.
* Speaking of Unbeatens: A couple other Central Indiana Schools featured on Fox 59's Football Friday Night fell from the ranks of the unbeatens Friday. I have been talking for a few weeks about a Week 9 game between 8-0 Delta and 8-0 Shelbyville. Perhaps the New Palestine Dragons are readers of Indysportsnation and were determined to not let this happen. Aaron Pfieffer hit a 30-yard field goal with :05 left to hand the Bears their first loss. I knew Fishers would have it's hands full with Zionsville on the Eagles Homecoming. However, I didn't think Zionsville was capable of scoring 39 Points against the Tigers defense. Rick Wimmer's Tigers lose their first game of the season in a highly entertaining contest, 39-35. Another score I must mention is Mishawaka's 26-10 victory over previously perfect Penn. The Kingsman had won 153 consecutive Northern Indiana Conference games. Mishawaka hadn't defeated Penn in nearly three decades! There are currently 25 teams in Indiana with 7-0 records.
* Congrats Kicker: Westfield senior Ian MacDougal is pretty busy this week. Not only is he getting ready for the IHSAA Boys soccer sectionals which get underway Thursday, but he's also no doubt recieving plenty of pats on the back leading the Shamrocks to a 24-21 win over McCutcheon. While last week's Hoosier Crossroads Conference game between 2-4 teams wasn't a glamorous match-up, MacDougal's heroics made everyone take notice. The soccer player by trade proved there is no INDYSTAR jinx. He was profiled in a nice article by Chris Nelson earlier in the week, then hit a key 74-yard punt early in the fourth quarter. He followed that up with a 51-yard game winning field goal helping the Shamrocks knock off the Mavericks. This week, MacDougall will be playing Carmel in an opening round soccer match, then will lace up the pads on Friday for senior night football game against Noblesville. Congrats to a busy, talented Shamrock senior.
