It seems as though there is a trend occurring when East Chicago and the Indians face off for football.
Last year, due to a massive storm, the game was postponed until the following day. This year, lightning sightings delayed the game for two hours. There was debate about whether the game should be cancelled and postponed for the next day, but many players on the significantly-smaller East Chicago team have work on Saturdays.
“Trying to reschedule this game for Saturday with all these players’ work schedules is basically impossible,” East Chicago athletic director Trino Cavazos said.
There was also debate about moving the game to Monday, but IHSAA regulations state that a player can only play 5 quarters per week, meaning that the starting Varsity lineup would not be able to play against the Portage Indians the following week. Instead, the athletic director decided to continue play, and the game lasted from 9:20 p.m. to 11:12 p.m.
“We were really anxious to get back on the field. [During the delay] we talked about the game and worked out any problems or questions we had. What kept me in the competitive mindset [after the delay] was that we were 0-1. We needed to win this game so we could roll into next week feeling good and confident,” Logan Lambert (12) said.
The Indians took a major lead in the first quarter, scoring 14 points before the delay took place. Following that, the team continued to score an additional 35 points, with the Cardinals only scoring 13.
“It’s a great feeling to win no matter if we win by one or 36. It gives everyone a big confidence boost, but we still realize that we still need to work hard to accomplish our goals. The thing that kept us focused was the mindset we had before the game and the goals we wanted to accomplish. It was very exciting [to win] since it was our first win coming off the Munster loss,” Brandon Scott (12) said.
Following the late-night battle against the Cardinals, the Indians have a three-day weekend to recover and begin focusing on the upcoming showdown against the Portage Indians at 1:40 p.m. at Lucas Oil Stadium on Sept. 6.
“[Winning] felt nice, but we were trying to focus on getting better and the little things instead of the score. One thing we need to focus on is bringing a lot of energy not only to the game but throughout the week at practice. We have to be mentally prepared for our first conference game,” Lambert said.
