The varsity football team faced their first loss on the new field with a score of 40-17 against Merrillville on Friday, Oct. 12. The home loss against a lower ranked team did not sit easily with the players.
“We worked so hard for it during the week, and it’s just when you work so hard for something and it fails on Friday night, it’s just not good,” Nicholas Lucas (11) said.
The Indians only placed the blame on themselves, both as a team and as individuals.
“Offensively we need to work better as a unit. I fumbled a ball so I’ve been saying all weekend that I lost the game when I fumbled, and I need to improve that,” Anthony Giles (11) said.
Not only did the team struggle offensively, but defensively as well.
“Defensively the biggest thing [we need to improve on] is that their receivers got behind our coverage every single time they scored a touchdown. That’s what we have to focus on at practices,” Lucas said.
With one more game left in regular season against Valparaiso, the players are trying to go into sectionals with a win.
“[To prepare for Valpo, we will need to] definitely come out ready, come out with a lot of energy, make sure we’ll be able to sustain it, make sure we can keep that energy up throughout the whole game and play the whole game instead of just playing the first half,” Joshua Benson (11) said.
The team hopes to repair their mental game before heading into post-season.
“I would say the team’s morale is pretty low right now, so we have to get the team’s mind right and make sure we’re all on the same page because sectionals is right around the corner. We’re still in it, there’s nothing to be down about,” Lucas said.
