Who knew, honestly?

When I first started covering Greyhound football this year, I struggled to be optimistic. I wrote of how good Morgan Newton was last year, and how much his presence was going to be missed in the offense.

And these fears were confirmed in the first game of the regular season against Cathedral. The offense looked miserable in a rain-soaked game, as it failed to score a touchdown. Carmel lost 7-3.

Up in the press booth, I dropped my headset, stunned. We all knew that Carmel would struggle this year, but let’s face it, Carmel fans have it good. The Greyhounds always find a way to triumph, kind of a story-book thing. That “L” on the scoreboard was painful, I’m not gonna lie.

But then something clicked, and after the Greyhounds blew out Lebanon, they took on Center Grove in one of the biggest games of the entire season, a rematch of the previous year’s State title game. The veteran defense pulled out a huge game, and Carmel got their first big time win.

Two games later, in what would be one of the defining games of the season, the Greyhounds were caught completely off guard by Lawrence North.

Nonetheless, Carmel turned it on in the second half and came away with a three-point victory. In my opinion, this was one of Carmel’s greatest victories of the season. The Greyhounds proved that they could pull through in the face of adversity.

And finally, as the season was nearing its end, the Greyhounds came face to face with one of the greatest offenses in the nation in Warren Central on Homecoming game night.

Yet somehow, someway, Carmel came out victorious again. Thanks to the late-game heroics of Jordan Babcock, the team squeezed out a 24-22 victory and took control of the MIC conference.

Now, entering the tournament, Carmel is a top competitor, boasting the undisputable number one defense and one of the top five offenses in the MIC. The senior-led defense never allowed more than 22 points in a game.

I have to give a lot of credit to Adam Shaffer. I played Carmel Dad’s Club sports with him when we were younger, and he has always been a team leader, exactly what Carmel will need in a do-or-die playoff match.

Carmel opened up the tournament against Westfield. Westfield was led by their quarterback Wade Burton, who was severely hampered by muddy field conditions. Carmel came away with the victory 21-7.

After that game, everything becomes unpredictable. That’s the nature of the playoffs. The Greyhounds have a great team this year. That fact is undisputable.

But that’s the regular season, and the regular season means nothing in the “survival of the fittest” atmosphere of play-off football.

Nonetheless, you can never count the Greyhounds out. They’ve proved this time and time again.

Lose the first game of the season? Win the next seven. Surrender 200 kick return yards to Lawrence North and face a 14-point deficit in the first quarter? Get it done in the clutch. The Greyhounds have found a way, even if it is kind of storybook.

Parker Myers is a reporter for the HiLite. Contact him at <[email protected]>.