Published: November 06, 2009 12:31 am      

Fountain Central goes for sectional

VEEDERSBURG, Ind. — When the Fountain Central Mustangs were preparing for postseason play last season, their biggest concern might have been simply winning a game.

Finishing the season with a 3-7 record marked the worst finish for the program since going 2-9 in 2001, and was deemed “unacceptable” by many of the players.

But the script for this season has so far read quite differently.

The Class 1A No. 3 ranked Mustangs have made a dramatic turnaround this year and, sitting at 11-0, are entering tonight’s sectional championship game against the Rockville Rox (8-3) with the opportunity to win the program’s seventh title and first since 2006.

“This season really started the minute last year’s sectional game was over with,” Fountain Central coach Rick Malone said. “Our juniors, who are the seniors now, they were not happy with a 3-7 season. They knew, and we’ve been talking to them all year about the things that they needed to do to take us to the next level. They made a commitment from that day that 3-7 was going to be something of the past.”

But to win their second sectional title in four years, they might have to look to the past.

The Mustangs and Rox matched up just three weeks ago in the regular-season finale in a battle that gave Fountain Central a 14-7 win and the Wabash River Conference championship.

Other than the familiarity of already facing the Rox, the Mustangs are prepared for an intense title game and are focused on taking nothing for granted.

“I have a little more confidence knowing that we’ve already beat them once, but you can’t underestimate the Rox,” FC senior Trent Spear said. “They’re going to come out and play. The intensity out there on the field is going to be like we’ve never played them. We’re just going to go out there and play our game.”

Not only would the win mean another sectional title, but defeating the defending conference champs twice in the same season.

The Mustangs have averaged 45 points per game this season while giving up only 8, but were held to their lowest point total of the season in the October 16 win against Rockville.

If it were up to Malone, there might not even be a mention of this week’s opponent or the names on their uniforms.

“We approach every game the same way,” Malone said. “We are going to prepare our kids for everything that we think (Rockville) can possibly do so that anything they do on Friday night, it’s not going to come as a surprise to them. They’re going to know the adjustments they have to make. Other than they know they’ve played Rockville, we don’t talk about our opponent, we talk about what we have to do.”

In the previous meeting, that meant a defensive effort that saw Scott Moore grabbing two interceptions and an offense that scored 14-unanswered points to secure the win.

But though the result of the regular season game ended in their favor, the Mustangs realize the stakes are much higher in tonight’s contest.

“It’s more important than conference,” FC senior Sam Shoaf said. “It’s just a huge step. As a team, we need to all play one notch higher and give that much more.

“We’re ready for it. It’s been a long week waiting for Friday.”

Kickoff at Fountain Central High School is scheduled for 7 p.m. EST.