Dionte Day sat down on Monday morning. The Merrillville senior had a smile on his face. He knew. He simply understood.
"I sat down in the wet grass and I knew it was football time,"
said Day, one of the Region's top defensive players at linebacker. "When else would you sit in wet grass?"
Merrillville had 106 players, sophomores through seniors, out for the first football practice of the year, which was broken into two 90-minute non-contact sessions.
Last November the Pirates lost to Carmel 35-13 in the Class 5A northern semistate. It was the second time in three years the Bucs were one game away from the RCA Dome.
That sense of loss has motivated the team that many expect to make a strong run toward Indianapolis again this fall.
When asked if this Pirates squad has enough to stop knocking on the door and finally kick it in, coach Zac Wells smiled before responding.
"If Kirk Kennedy will tell me, I'd be able to find out,"
Wells said of Lowell's coach, who has taken his team to the Dome twice in the past three years. "He has the answers hidden somewhere."
And with a trip to Warren Central awaiting on Aug. 22, followed by a trip to The Bone Yard in Griffith in Week 2, Merrillville can't afford to worry about last November or this November.
Standout senior quarterback Dilapo Macarthy understands his Pirates can worry about only one thing.
"Last season is in the books; it's over and done with,"
Macarthy said. "We got a taste of it all last year, but when we left Carmel we had a bad taste in our mouth. We're itching and scratching to get back."
"But we have to focus on one day at a time. We have to be better tomorrow than we were today. We have to keep repeating that until the end of the year."
The Pirates lost two defensive linemen and three defensive backs. But the Bucs' defense should again lead the way with James Travis and Aaron Kaczmarski on the ends and all of the linebackers returning.
"We've got a lot of real good young guys,"
Day said. "They made us better last year as practice players and now they're ready to help us in games. Last year was a good year but last year is over. We want to take it one step further this time."
For Kaczmarski, who recently verbally committed to Central Michigan, the one-day-at-a-time theme resonated when he spoke of his goals for the season.
"Warren Central, Game 1,"
he said.
For Wells the early morning lightning that delayed the already shortened practice schedule, as mandated by the IHSAA, made it tougher, along with tying up the loose ends of paperwork, jersey numbers and locker space.
But the third-year Pirates skipper is excited to get going, one day at a time.
"(Monday) was the first day of practice because that's what the IHSAA says,"
Wells said. "But on Wednesday, when we start (full-contact) hitting, that's when we'll start getting some answers."
PREP FOOTBALL | FIRST DAY OF PRACTICE
Highland to open on road
Originally scheduled to open the season with two home games, Highland's football team now will play those games on the road. The Trojans will begin their season at Wheeler on Aug. 22 at 7 p.m. Highland will play at Portage on Aug. 29 at 7 p.m. Highland has moved its tailgate party to Sept. 19 prior to a home game against Lowell.
