Every year during the high school football season, new freshmen are introduced to the team while veteran seniors prepare for their last ride. Although the team experiences personnel changes, one thing remains: the bitter hatred between division rivals, which specifically for Carmel, is any team in the MIC Conference.

For Ethan Merriweather, a varsity wide receiver and senior, playing against rivals does not change much for him. “I always try my best during practice and do everything I can to improve so even when we play rivals, I don’t have to change the way I train,” Merriweather said.

According to Merriweather, these rivalry games still evoke a different mindset in him, along with other teammates. “During freshman year, we weren’t really into the traditions at Carmel because we didn’t feel the same way as some of the seniors. But now as seniors, these games are big for us,” Merriweather said. “We are willing to do anything for our teammates- we have their backs and they have ours. I think the mindset I have coming into rivalry games is different than other games because I have been playing against the same guys ever since I was in middle school. As the years go, these games have become more special because they have more history to them.

The mindsets of players coming into games have a profound impact on performance. Defensive Line Coach Sidney Swartzendruber said he believes that students with an emotional connection to games have a tendency to give more effort and perform at peak levels.

“When I was playing in high school and college, these rivalry games were the highlights of our season. All of the students paid attention to these games, so as players, our mindsets were to do our best and impress everyone,” Swartzendruber said.