FB STATE FINALS: The observations of Uncle Mike

Once again, the IHSAA put on quite a show at Lucas Oil Stadium. These finals had a little of everything – from blowout to suspense, from sportsmanship to controversy. 

Here are some of the things Uncle Mike will remember from these championships …

I have blasted Lafayette Central Catholic on these pages for running up the score against outmatched opponents. I stand by that. On several occasions, the Knights have done exactly that and then given woeful excuses. 

At the finals, however, the Knights’ coaching staff showed nothing but class. They pulled star quarterback Chris Mills and many others very early. The Knights did not throw a single pass in the fourth quarter. The bottom line is they tried to keep it from getting completely out of hand. 

For that, they are to be commended.

The story of the Monrovia Bulldogs is maybe the best of the entire finals. Every week during the season, we so-called experts found another reason to dismiss the Dogs:

Just wait until they fall behind and have to pass because they can’t … This upcoming opponent simply has too many athletes for the Bulldogs to handle … Monrovia’s schedule will eventually catch up with them.

Well, the truth is the Bulldogs were half a yard away from having a chance to win the whole thing. It is a sweet story, and Kevin Hutchins is quite a coach. Folks in Morgan County should be very proud of the boys.

No offense to Evansville Memorial, but West Lafayette is the feel-good story of these finals. 

To start with, you gotta love Daniel Wodicka. This kid is our own version of Tim Tebow. He was a three-year wide receiver who moved to quarterback this season because the Red Devils graduated all-Mr. Everything, Matt Lancaster. So all Wodicka does is lead his team to an undefeated state championship, wins the Mental Attitude Award, and we find out the rest about this kid. 

He ranks No. 1 in his class, will take one day off and then start basketball practice because he is a three-sport guy, is in the orchestra, and – oh, by the way – is going to study biogenetics at one of those universities that is so fancy it has to have two names. Talk to the kid sometime. He is humble and witty and downright fun. This is the kind of person we like our winners to be.

Along those same lines, I am happy for coach Marshall Overley, who is one of the genuinely nice guys in Indiana football. Note that I did not say a glad-hander, or a great quote for the media. I said genuinely nice. 

West Lafayette is simply a great story.

Let’s face it. This game will be remembered in great part for who did not play in it. When you get into the larger classes of Indiana football, the sport is very predictable. 

No offense to Cathedral and Dwenger, who may have been the two best teams in the state, but it is good for Indiana football to have a north-south battle that does not include Indianapolis or Fort Wayne. As far as the game itself is concerned, we now know where all the Polish and Serbian kids we always associated with the old Lake Conference have gone. 

Did you get a look at the Lowell roster? Man, I pity the poor radio announcers.

And as an aside … My goodness, what are the private school haters going to do now? Neither of the big, bad monsters even made it to the championship game!

Yes, it was a bad call. Yes, Carmel got robbed a little bit. Do not, however, let it overshadow the fact this was a magnificent game. 

The fact is there were no great teams this year. This game proved you do not need great teams to stage a great game. Do not take away from Warren Central’s triumph because of the bad call. Carmel has won a lot of games over the years because the breaks went its way. I doubt they ever considered giving any of them back. 

I know that is easy to say when you are not directly involved, but it is still true. If handled correctly – and that is a big if – this is a life lesson just like all the others.