My View/Your View: You like defense? The Carmel-HSE game should oblige

These dogs have a lot of bite. Make that bad-to-the-bone bite.

And in the case of Class 5A No. 1 Carmel, one very big reason is the team’s top dog, 6-foot-3, 195-pound Greyhound Brian East, the leading tackler who has a nose for ball carriers much like he does for the finish line.

The fleet outside linebacker is an attention-getter. Quite tenacious. Not only does he play the game in a ferocious manner, which obviously rubs off on his teammates, he has a knack for holding things together. Just what you’d expect from the heart and soul of a defense.

While Carmel stated its case again Friday night, surviving 7-0 against No. 10-ranked and once-beaten Fishers in a driving rain, so did East. The only player on this year’s team to play in two straight state championship games - and winning it all in 2007 - stepped up and delivered like he has for the most part of three seasons while playing a big role in the Greyhounds winning 36 of 41 games.

With Fishers facing a third-and-9 at the Carmel 13 with roughly eight minutes remaining, East, saying he had a good feel for what Fishers would try to run, zipped around a would-be blocker and threw quarterback Alex Hines for a 10-yard loss. On a night where weather conditions limited both offenses, that appeared to be the game for all practical purposes. Not quite. The Tigers marched 77 yards. The longest drive of the night ended at the 18, thanks to Justin Todd and East, both of whom appeared to have a hand in breaking up the fourth-down pass with 20 seconds showing.

“They (Fishers) were great,’’ East told me, standing in the locker room, still soaked from a heavy and constant downpour. “It’s the playoffs, so we know everyone’s going to give us their best shot. It’s a tough road. I can’t imagine a better, tougher opponent. They extended us, and we left it all out on the field."

OK, now try and imagine seventh-ranked Hamilton Southeastern, the opponent this weekend in the Sectional 4 championship game. Like Carmel, the Royals are 10-1.

“We really don’t know much about them,’’ East said, matter-of-factly. “We know they had a tough game at Fishers earlier this season and barely lost, and we know they must be pretty good, especially defensively.’’

Yeah, you betcha, but “pretty good’’ might be putting it mildly.

Most football buffs know that what lies ahead at Carmel Stadium could be the biggest and loudest collision in 5A this weekend, possibly even this season. Though it’s hard to imagine a better defensive struggle than what we saw in the sectional semifinals, this battle between two 10-game winners has the makings of being so good that it might be one for the ages.

Like Carmel, which thinks of itself as the best defense in the state, Hamilton Southeastern also takes pride in its defense, which so far as produced a bend-but-don’t-break effort.

Still, though the Greyhounds could probably make an argument for being the best defense against the run and the pass, they are not No. 1 in scoring defense. Close, yes, just not the best.

Guess who’s the best? You got it. Hamilton Southeastern.

While the Greyhounds allow a meager 8.4 points-per-game, the Royals, who have shut out two playoff opponents by a combined 53-0, have given up only 6.4 points through 11 games.

If Carmel has a weakness, it may be penalties. The Greyhounds were whistled eight times for 80 yards, including three on the final Fishers drive. That gave the Greyhounds 57 penalties this season. They were only whistled for 15 all of 2008.

“I know we didn’t have many penalties last season,’’ said East, who seemed genuinely shocked to learn of the total so far this season. “We think of ourselves as a pretty disciplined team. We’ve been good enough to overcome mistakes because we usually make the right choices. That’s why we are where we are today."

And that’s why the Greyhounds undoubtedly like their chances of making it back to the state finals on Nov. 28 at Lucas Oil Stadium.

East, for one, certainly thinks so.

“We met with coach Mo (Moriarity) in the spring and we set our goals as seniors, both defensively and as a team,’’ he said. “And certainly our goal is to be the best defensive team and play for another championship. We really do expect to be the best.’’

So far, the Greyhounds seem to be pretty well on the right track, though there’s still work to be done before reaching the ultimate finish line. That includes getting three more wins to punch a return ticket to the state finals.

Normally no big deal for a program that knows all about playing on the big stage, you say? Well, maybe, but I’ve got a feeling Carmel’s biggest test will, in all likelihood, come this weekend.

Mark Morrow is an online columnist for VYPE High School Sports Magazine, Central Indiana. He can be reached at mediamarko@sbcglobal.net or by leaving a comment.

Photos courtesy of Jeff Rider/INHSPHOTOS.COM