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Monday, October 1, 2007
Give Me Some Mo
Central Indiana, IN
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For a stretch through the 1990s and early this century, the Carmel football program had become almost an afterthought in the large-school scene. Then came the arrival of coach Mo Moriarity, bringing with him a brand of football that has put the Greyhounds back on the map.
As sports slogans go, it breaks ground in the field of succinctness. In and around Carmel, it's been scribbled on folders, silk-screened on T-shirts, painted on car rear windows and spoken by athletes, coaches and countless ardent Greyhound sports fans:
Tradition never graduates.
When your place of learning has cranked out an astounding 83 state sports championships since 1970, one may be so bold. Let others talk the talk; the numbers prove Carmel walks the walk.
This is the ocean of expectation Mo Moriarity waded into in 2005 as he embarked on his first season as head football coach at Carmel High School, taking over a program that during the era known for disco's demise and Reaganomics looked up to no other in the state of Indiana. From 1978-89, the Greyhounds produced five state football championship teams, the final four coached by Jim Belden.
On the gridiron, Carmel resided ahead of the curve. Talent. Coaching. Strength-training. Enthusiasm. Community support. And in the fall of 1991, the debut of a new 6,300-seat stadium, the one that for 16 years has produced thousands of wide-eyed double-takes from those driving either direction on Interstate-421.
The only question at that point was, 'Would the Greyhounds continue their dominance into the 1990s and, eventually, the 21st century?'
Surprisingly, for a long stretch of time the response was 'no.'
Albeit from afar, Moriarity, the head coach at Bloomington South from 1987-2001 and the tackles and tight ends coach for then-Indiana University football coach Gerry DiNardo for three and a half seasons, noticed.
"Here, the kids do everything that is asked of them, but you have to lead them. The football kids were just kind of in cruise control when I got here," said Moriarity.
The numbers backed him up. From 1994-2004, Ben Davis defeated the Greyhounds nine times in 11 meetings, with the Giants clicking off three Class 5A state championships to Carmel's zero during the same time span. This, teamed with Warren Central's headline-grabbing four consecutive 5A titles (2003-06), reduced Carmel to the back-burner of conversation topics on crisp Friday autumn evenings in Central Indiana.
Enter Moriarity, a whirling dervish of a linebacker for the Martinsville Artesians in the early-1970s who garnered All-State status before going on to become one of the state's most accomplished head coaches. Moriarity's resume includes two 5A state championships at Bloomington South while steering the prep fortunes of Indiana Mr. Footballs Bo Barzilauskas (1993) and Rex Grossman (1998).
Those Bloomington South squads and others mirrored their coach. Tougher than stale beef jerky, the Panthers sidestepped finesse and beat you with fundamentals, strength and plain old execution.
Since making the move to Hamilton County, Moriarity has slowly but surely placed his own unique stamp onto the Carmel program. In 2006, only the coach's second season in blue-and-gold, the Greyhounds took a two-footed leap back onto the state's large-school radar by qualifying for the 5A finale against Warren Central at the RCA Dome.
Greyhound football was back.
Greyhound football is back.
"The positive that Carmel always had is that this community is committed to excellence. The things that go on inside this building (Carmel High School) are pretty remarkable," said Moriarity, 52. "These kids truly come here motivated to learn. If that's how they come to school, if they choose to participate in something extracurricular, it's 10-fold."
Moriarity credits last year's 30 senior players for playing a major role in the 'Hounds playing beneath a Teflon ceiling for the first time in 17 years. In Moriarity's mind, that group established a standard of leadership future Carmel senior gridders will be gauged against.
That includes the 2007 crop, featuring the likes of guard Zach Stayre, running back Aaron King, linebacker Connor O'Banion, Purdue-bound wide receiver Jordan Brewer and towering offensive lineman Ryan Barnes, who has committed to play at the University of Louisville.
These players were green-around-the-gills sophomores when Moriarity first set foot on the Carmel campus. Naturally, time was required for them to adjust to his ways of thinking and mannerisms and vise versa.
"Coach Mo has two sides to him. He's more playful at school, but on the practice field he's a little intimidating," said Stayre, a two-year starter at left guard. "But he's a good guy. When he yells at you it's so you get better. The seniors tell the younger guys that. It's just part of football."
Adds Carmel athletic director Jim Inskeep, "As with any coaching transition, the student-athletes enter into the relationship with a bit of hesitancy. This was the case two years ago, but coach Mo showed the kids early on that hard work was going to be the backbone of the program.
"They bought into this philosophy and the results have been evident. Coach Mo has been able to mentor his staff into a loyal group which knows the game and continually works to get better. We are glad coach Mo is here and his drive for excellence lives in each practice, meeting and workout. His career record and accomplishments speak volumes about his abilities as a head coach."
Stayre says the area in which the Carmel program has really been upgraded since Moriarity's arrival its strength training. Over the summer months, players arrived at the school for Monday, Wednesday and Friday lifting sessions – at 6 a.m.
There goes the theory that Greyhounds are merely sleek.
"We don't want to be outworked by anybody," said Moriarity. "We do that in the weight room, in practice and in conditioning."
If final scores are an accurate barometer, Carmel is doing it in games, also.
Now, as before, when it comes to Carmel football, tradition never graduates.
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