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Football team looks to defend title

November 1, 2007

By: Andrew Browning <abrowning@hilite.org>

Tonight the football team looks to capture its second consecutive Sectional title, which would be its fourth in the last five years. A Sectional championship would cap off a 7-2 regular season and strong postseason before the team heads off to the Regional.

After finishing the regular season with a 7-2 record, with each loss coming by only a point to Metropolitan Interscholastic Conference rivals Center Grove and Ben Davis, running back Aaron King said he was pleased with how the team performed during the regular season.

“The team has performed great in my opinion,” King said. “We’re ready for the playoffs. This is the time of the season that really matters. Everything we’ve been doing up to this point is to get us ready to make our run.”

King said that each playoff game, no matter the competition, reinforces the notion that one team is playing for its last time.

“It’s intense the whole way,” King said. “It’s a constant reminder that if you lose you go home and you’re finished.”

Despite the different atmosphere the playoffs bring, Head Coach Mo Moriarity said that nothing has changed in practice and preparation each week.

“The thing we stress with our kids is we prepare for the first game of the season the same as the last game of the season,” Moriarity said. “The only thing that changes when the tournament gets here is the situation; when you lose you’re done.”

Moriarity said the key to postseason success for the Hounds is to continue improving throughout the tournament.

“I feel our football team has improved but must continue to improve,” Moriarity said. “That will be the key to the success we have from here on out.”

King said that the thing the Hounds have to avoid at this point in the season is getting complacent.

“We’ve just got to stay persistent and stay hungry,” King said. “It shouldn’t be a problem staying motivated and working hard since it’s one game and you’re out. We’re ready and we want to win.”

One of the team’s themes all season has been to take the season “one game at a time.” That idea may be more important than ever for the Hounds. According to King, although an outsider may think a top-ranked team like the Hounds would have trouble focusing “one week at a time” in the Sectional, he said there is no such problem for the Hounds. He said the team knows it cannot afford to look ahead to the tough competition it may face down the road because one loss ends any team’s season.

“The reality is you have to take it one game at a time because you lose and you’re done,” King said. “It’s what you have to do to get to the State game.”

While the Hounds keep their focus on only the upcoming game, there will likely be much more media build-up centered around a possible State Finals rematch from last season. Warren Central is looking to capture its fifth straight State Championship, and the possibility of another Carmel-Warren Central match-up, after Carmel’s 42-35 victory over Warren on Homecoming, would warrant a boatload of publicity. Warren would be out to avenge its only MIC loss this season, while the Hounds would be looking to steal the title of State Champions from the Warriors, an opportunity they couldn’t cash in on last year.

However, Moriarity said that the loss in last year’s State Finals provided the team with some valuable experience for this season. He, however, doesn’t want the team to dwell on last year’s disappointment, but instead try to focus on winning each week.

“I don’t know that we’ll talk much about that we came up short,” Moriarity said. “We’ll talk about that each game’s important if you want to play for a State Championship because you’ve got to win now if you want to keep playing.”

King said last season’s loss was a humbling experience for the Hounds, but they’re keeping their hopes high for this season.

“(The loss) humbles you a little bit knowing you’re not invincible,” King said. “Obviously the goal is to win a State Championship this year, but it’s a long journey to get there.”

Updated by John Zhong · Filed Under Sports 

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