“The experts give us a chance, but I don’t know how we get in,” Aregood said. “I always felt like we should play an eight-game season and have everyone get in the playoffs, then half the teams still get at least 10 games. But it’s hard to get in, and that’s why it is so exciting to get into the playoffs.”
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So instead of crunching numbers as his 5-4 Falcons prepare to square off with 1-8 Carroll at Krusling Field on Friday night, Aregood is focusing more on a goal the team set when they were 1-4.
“We said that we wanted to run the table,” Aregood said. “If we don’t get in, we can take that in to next year and build on it.”
The Falcons will see a team truly building on it in the finale.
Carroll has had times this season where it’s had more freshmen (2) on the field than seniors.
“They are busting their butt and that is all we can ask,” Patriots coach Ben Rulli said. “They have seen Friday night for the first time, earlier than a lot of them expected, and now they realize this is why they have to work so hard.”
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Carroll is near the bottom of the Greater Catholic League Coed Division in offense and defense, averaging 258.7 yards per game while yielding 349.9.
Trent Fox leads the offense with 620 yards through the air on 64 of 134 passing with two scores and 10 picks. Evan Howard has turned in a nice season on the ground with 562 yards on 134 carries.
“They still have a chance to get in,” Rulli said. “With the season we’ve had, it’s been a rough year, but there has been no quit. It is a new game and a new 48 minutes.”
Fenwick is averaging 288.6 yards per game and while giving up an average of 217.7. Keegan Corbett has 896 yards on 179 carries, while Caleb Davis has added 579 yards on 125 carries.
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“They have a heckuva running game,” Rulli said. “They have a very powerful running back, and we are going to have to sustain drives to keep them off the field.”
Sustaining a drive may be difficult against a Falcon defense that features the top two tacklers in the conference. Joe Durham leads the way with 83 tackles, while Bradley Davenport is second with 80.
If things work out and there is a Week 11 for the Falcons, they will enter the postseason on a roll. And if Week 10 is it and they close out a 5-0 second half of the season?
“We’ll say, ‘OK it was a pretty good year,’ ” Aregood said. “It should have been better, but it was a pretty good year.”
Friday’s game
What: Carroll (1-8, 0-6 GCLC North) at Fenwick (5-4, 4-2 GCLC North), 7 p.m.
Where: Krusling Field, 4855 Ohio 122, Middletown
Last year: Fenwick won 23-2
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