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Carroll’s McComas, Escobar take their hits, keep on ticking
Whatever awaits Carroll in its season-opening football game at Center Grove (Greenwood, Ind.) can’t be any rougher than the Patriots’ first scrimmage.
Carroll, Valley View and defending Division I state champ Cincinnati St. Xavier squared off at Northmont on Aug. 9. Let’s just say the Thunderbolts’ newly renamed house was a rockin’.
Patriots running back David McComas was knocked out of Carroll’s next two days of practice.
Also, senior QB Mike Escobar was crunched and missed half a series. Coach Steve Bartlett reports that both will be ready to go in the non-league opener on Friday.
Escobar is the younger brother of former Carroll standout lineman Dave Escobar, a two-year starter at Ohio University.
“(Mike) took a shot,” Bartlett said. “He’s got a bad habit of running straight up and down. He doesn’t do that near as much now.”
It’s a given that Carroll will lean heavily on McComas, but not as much as you might think. He’ll be the only Patriot going both ways after winning an inside linebacker spot. That means Carroll likely will go easy on him offensively, perhaps 25-30 carries instead of 35-40.
Besides, Bartlett labels McComas the team’s second-best defensive hammer behind senior strong safety Taurean Young.
Center Grove was the Hoosier state’s top-ranked big school team most of last season and is nationally ranked by several media this fall. McComas and Escobar — and every other Patriot who suits up — will have to be at high-end production if Carroll is to take this intriguing matchup.
Can’t make the trip to the Indianapolis suburb? No problem. Check out a live web cast at http://nhsbn.ezstream.com/broadcasts/index.cfm?fuseaction=usrbrd&broadcasterid=5 4636&Org=NHSBN
The web cast is provided by Center Grove and is audio only. Even better, it works: CG’s military parents report that they can listen to games wherever they’re stationed around the globe. The site also is capable of provided video by tape delay.
Carroll will take the area’s longest opening road trip because it couldn’t rework a deal to open with Beavercreek. Instead, the Beavers will open at Stebbins and Carroll is at Beavercreek in Week 2.
There’s history in Creek-Carroll season openers.
Before Carroll built its stadium in the mid-’70s, the Patriots used Frank Zink Field as its home, much like Alter rents Fairmont’s Rousch Stadium. Creek and Carroll opened there for many years, with Carroll suffering six straight losses. The last in that string was the 1970 opener, but the Patriots won their final nine games, then hung a series-altering 35-6 loss on the Beavers in the ’71 opener.
All Carroll did was go 9-0-1 that season for its greatest two-year run, 18-1-1 under former coach Jim Spoerl.
Another great rivalry element is much of Carroll’s student population comes from Beavercreek. The schools are just five miles apart on essentially the same road: Dayton-Xenia/Linden Avenue.
“We’re all disappointed we couldn’t have the opener with Beavercreek,” Bartlett said.
“But if we get a win (over Center Grove), we’re talking big playoff points.”
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