Ben Murphy
Sports Scene
A season of perfection turned into a rough two-week stretch for the Carrollton football team. The Cavaliers fell to 7-2 after back-to-back losses to Ithaca and Montrose.
“We know that losing to them is nothing to be ashamed of,” head coach Greg Wasmer said. “I don’t know if [playing tough teams] gets us ready for the playoffs, it just lets us know how far we have to go as a program. We consider ourselves a good team, but Ithaca and Montrose showed us that we’re not at the level we want to be at yet. They are, in my eyes, top-tier teams in the state at any level.”
Defending Division 6 state champion and TVC foe Ithaca topped Carrollton 55-13 in week eight, a contest in which the Cavaliers had no one rush for more than 50 yards. The Yellowjackets racked up 200 yards on the ground, and Travis Smith threw for 186 yards and four touchdowns.
Week nine, the squad lost to non-league opponent Montrose 47-0, giving the Rams their first undefeated regular season since 2002, a year they won the state Division 5 state finals. The Yellowjackets and Rams combined for an 18-0 regular season record.
“Ithaca is on a roll with 23 straight wins, they are playing with a lot of confidence,” Wasmer said. “Montrose is having one of their best seasons since 2002, playing with an extreme amount of confidence, too. It has shaken our confidence a bit, that’s something we have to work on this week.
“They make you execute at a high level,” Wasmer added. “Throughout the year, we have not executed at a high level and that’s one of the things that we’ve tried to work on. We’re still a relatively young team, playing five senior starters. We expect to have 22 kids return next year, so hopefully it’s a learning experience. What we need to do is learn from it quickly and get ready for the first round of playoffs.”
The Cavaliers, who were awaiting their playoff matchup at press time, are back in the playoffs for the third time in four years, after missing the post-season with a 2-7 record last year.
“We feel as if we’re a good team,” Wasmer said. “It’s been a good year so far, and we’re hoping for a good match up in the playoffs. We’ve misfired the last couple of weeks. What I would like to do is to go out there and see what we are capable of, and win or lose, play better than we have the last couple of weeks. We’re going to get stronger as a result of this, and we’re looking forward to the next challenge that’s in front of us.”