More than midway through the regular season, the Carmel High School football team stood at 2-3.
After losing its opener to Hamilton Southeastern, the Greyhounds had a shot against Center Grove in the third game.
“We were tied 6-6 with three minutes to go,” Carmel coach John Hebert recalled. “Center Grove scored and we didn’t respond (losing 19-6). Two weeks later, we lost to Lawrence North. Our kids were confused. I was not confused. I knew we were a good team.
“We were the same team we thought we were. We’re playing great people. Great people are going to give you great challenges. We just tried to learn from our mistakes and keep working on the areas we needed to.”
The Class 6A No. 7 Greyhounds (9-4) have won seven of their past eight games to set up a rematch with defending state champion and No. 3 Center Grove (12-1) in the Class 6A state championship game.
“I don’t think our kids questioned our approach,” Hebert said. “It was just a matter of continuing to work and continuing to stay positive. We pull out a couple of those games later on that we might have lost early. The kids started believing. We were excited to play each game no matter what our record was.”
Hebert said the turning point that sticks out is beating Ben Davis 40-36 Sept. 30 after rallying from a 24-7 deficit in the third quarter.
“The special teams, offense, defense, everyone contributed to it,” Hebert said. “So we could see what happens when we’re all committed to overcoming challenges.”
Nonetheless, Hebert said there was still room to improve.
“The biggest component for us is we tried to stay as level as we could when we had the losses and when we had the wins,” Hebert said. “We weren’t going to try to make either of them more significant than they actually were.”
Hebert said the Greyhounds don’t talk about winning as much as they do about fighting and keeping spirits high.
“We know we’re not invincible,” Hebert said. “We’ve been exposed. We’ve been beaten by four teams, all different styles of teams. We grew from being forced to look at our weaknesses. We tried to make them strengths. I don’t think we totally got where we need to be, but I think we’re close.”
Senior running back Jerome Halsell has rushed for a team-high 952 rushing yards and seven touchdowns. Halsell was Carmel’s special teams player of the year in 2015 after transferring from Lawrence North before his junior year.
“He’s a tough physical kid and a guy that wants to win really bad,” Hebert said. “He was a linebacker at Lawrence North, but he came to us and tried to convince us he was a running back. We still had our doubts, but he proved it this year.”
Junior quarterback Jake McDonald, who has thrown for 31 touchdowns with just seven interceptions, averages 168.9 passing yards per game.
“He’s gotten better every game,” Hebert said. “It’s a big reason why we improved, because our quarterback play has gotten better and better all season and gives you a chance.”
Senior receiver Jalen Walker, who has committed to the University of Cincinnati, owns a team-high 67 catches for 856 yards and 16 touchdowns.
Kurt Rafdal, a 6-7, 241-pound senior tight end, and senior receiver Ethan Merriweather, a Ball State commit, each have 36 catches. Rafdal has committed to Indiana University, as has senior 6-5, 262-pound defensive lineman Britt Beery. Senior offensive lineman Mark Stickford (6-6, 250) is a Purdue commit.
The offense will have a difficult task; Hebert describes Center Grove’s defense as fantastic.
The Trojans are facing a MIC opponent for the third straight game, having beaten Warren Central in the regional and Ben Davis in the semistate.
“They’re staying sharp and they know how to prepare for a team for a second time,” Hebert said. “They cause you to really be mentally and physically sharp. Watching their last two games, they were functioning from the very first snap to the last. To me, that’s coaching.”
[sc name=”pullout-title” pullout-title=”THE ROAD TO STATE” ]
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HAMILTON SOUTHEASTERN
Aug. 19 // LOSS 27-21
at NOBLESVILLE
Aug. 26 // WIN 24-9
at CENTER GROVE
Sept. 2 // LOSS 19-6
PIKE
Sept. 9 // WIN 65-27
at LAWRENCE NORTH
Sept. 16 // LOSS 27-20
at NORTH CENTRAL
Sept. 23 // WIN 48-22
BEN DAVIS
Sept. 30 // WIN 40-36
at WARREN CENTRAL
Oct. 7 // LOSS 40-30
LAWRENCE CENTRAL
Oct. 14 // WIN 35-20
at HAMILTON SOUTHEASTERN (sectional)
Oct. 28 // WIN 17-14
FISHERS (sectional)
Nov. 4 // WIN 23-10
at HOMESTEAD (regional)
Nov. 11 // WIN 42-7
PENN (semistate)
Nov. 18 // WIN 21-10
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