INDIANAPOLIS — Few things in sports are more difficult than building a football program from scratch, as the Marian College Knights found out last fall.
In its first season, Marian went 1-9 and was outscored by an average of 24 points per game while playing five NAIA ranked teams. No one knew the difficulty of the task more than Marian head coach Ted Karras.
“It’s one of the biggest challenges I’ve ever taken on in my coaching career, but it’s been rewarding and I think we laid a good foundation and are building slowly but surely,” Karras said after the Knights’ spring practice session on Thursday.
Marian had just 40 players in uniform last spring. This year the number is up to 70, and the Knights hope to build on last year’s valuable experience and offseason growth.
“I think the guys have come together as a team,” Karras said. “I think chemistry is growing and they know the system a little bit now. That’s a huge thing.”
Helping cement Marian’s foundation are nine former Hendricks County players — Stephen Howe, Devin Owens, Ricky Parrish, and Mike Keltz of Avon — with the latter two playing baseball this spring; Robb Hornett and Jeff McClure of Brownsburg; Brock Caraboa and Austin Thomen of Plainfield; and Ben Berger of Tri-West.
In his freshman season at linebacker, Caraboa finished as the Knights’ third-leading tackler and had five tackles for loss, an interception, and six passes defended. The team went full-contact — even on the quarterback — in Thursday’s workout, much to the liking of the former Quaker.
“It’s awesome — the defense has been talking about that the whole week,” Caraboa said. “Now we want to get our shot at (the quarterbacks). It’s a good time out here.”
Caraboa was like most of the Knights last fall. On a team made up mostly of freshmen and sophomores, they had to go up against players much older, bigger, and more seasoned.
“I thought I knew a bunch of stuff but got here and realized I didn’t know anything,” Caraboa said. “It’s a totally different game, especially as a freshman playing against seniors. We’re still a young team, but I think we’ll be all right this year.”
Hornett joined Caraboa, Parrish, and Keltz on the defense last season and was eighth on the squad in tackles. He will be one of the Knights’ few seniors in the fall and feels the team will be much better prepared than they were last season.
“We have a better knowledge of the game,” Hornett said. “We’ve got a lot stronger in the weight room. We have a pretty tough conditioning program and we’ve had 6 a.m. workouts. It’s been a pretty tough spring.”
Howe — who had six catches for 87 yards in his freshman season at tight end — is a prime example of how hard the Knights have been working. Since graduating from Avon, he has added 50 pounds to his solid 6-6 frame. Being able to go through the experience with three of his former high school teammates has made it all the better.
“It’s great and we have great chemistry,” Howe said. “We’ve been playing together all our lives. We know what we expect from each other, we push each other in the weight room and on the field, and it’s great playing together at the next level.”
Like their inaugural campaign last fall, Marian will play its home games at Pike High School’s sparkling facility. But just over the hill from where they are practicing, the Knights can see their new stadium — where they will play starting in 2009 — coming to life.
Going into the team’s second year, Karras expects his squad to make significant gains on the field.
“We want to improve in the win department — I’m not going to put a number on it, but we have to improve there,” Karras said. “I want us to get better at our positions, keep learning the system, and grow more as a family. I think that’s really happened here after going through a season, a winter, and now a spring.”
Sports
Related Photos
-
Dorian McDaniel
Marian looking to take next step
- Sports
-
-
Hawks clip Orioles
INDIANAPOLIS — In basketball, it is said teams live and die by the three. Last night, the Avon Orioles girls’ basketball team fell victim to the Decatur Central Hawks 3-pointers.
-
Bethesda falls to Indiana Deaf
BROWNSBURG — After losing to Indianapolis Deaf 37-24 just over two weeks ago, the Bethesda Christian girls’ basketball team matched up with the Deaf Hoosiers Tuesday night. This game was much closer, but the Patriots’ result was the same as the Deaf Hoosiers knocked Bethesda from the first round of sectional action with a 42-38 victory.
-
Speedway shoots down Cadets
CLAYTON —The IHSAA tournament can often bring out the best in a basketball team. It certainly worked out that way on Tuesday night for the Speedway Sparkplugs girls’ basketball team. After taking a 16-point defeat to Cascade just 10 days earlier, the Sparkplugs followed leader JoJo Daghe’s 40-point outburst and turned the tables on the Cadets with a 72-61 decision in the Class 2A Sectional 44 at Cascade High School.
-
Hornets sting Warriors
BEECH GROVE — Despite a tough season, any team can make a run come sectional time.
-
County sends multiple grapplers to semistate
MOORESVILLE — County wrestling teams advanced 18 grapplers into the Evansville semistate this weekend and came away with six individual champions at the Mooresville regional over the weekend.
-
Orioles end drought, win sectional title
PLAINFIELD — Winning 8-of-12 events, the Avon Orioles girls’ swim team took home the hardware from the Plainfield sectional Saturday afternoon. The Orioles celebrated as coach Jon Karr leapt into the pool as the assistant coaches and team followed him into the water after the awards ceremony.
-
Mistakes cost Patriots fourth title
INDIANAPOLIS — It would have been the most remarkable final play in Super Bowl history.
New England Patriots quarterback Tom Brady wound up from just beyond the 50-yard line and threw a high-arching pass into the center of the end zone. Tight end Aaron Hernandez attempted to box out three New York Giants defenders in the end zone and leap for the ball. -
Simply Super!
INDIANAPOLIS — It was a vintage Manning come-from-behind performance in the ‘House That Peyton’ built.
-
Eli(te) status
INDIANAPOLIS – Early this season, Giants’ quarterback Eli Manning made headlines for mentioning that he considered himself among the game’s best quarterbacks.
There is no debate anymore. -
Cadets push past Patriots, 50-43
BROWNSBURG —Senior night festivities took place before the Bethesda Christian Patriots and Cascade Cadet boys’ basketball teams took the floor Friday night. Unfortunately for Bethesda and its seniors, the Patriots could not come away with a victory as the visiting Cadets pulled out a 50-43 win.
- More Sports Headlines
-
White House Attacks Romney on Birth Control
Homs Bombardment Continues, Global Outcry Grows
Mo. Teen Gets Life Sentence for Killing Girl, 9
Lower-hassle Screening to Be Tested at Airports
Raw Video: Dog Rescued From Icy Colo. Water
Helmet Camera Captures Calif. Fire Rescue
Worker Tells 911: Powell 'exploded the House'
Triple Win: Santorum Takes Minn., Mo., Colo.
Injured Marine Inspired by Homecoming
No Rape Charges Against Son of NYPD Commissioner
Egypt's Ruling Generals Play Risky Game With US
Former Komen Exec Defends Funding Cut
Skip the Coffee Cup and Inhale Your Caffeine Fix
Calif. Gay Marriage Ban Ruled Unconstitutional
Jury Selection for Ex-UVa Athlete Enters 2nd Day
Cab Driver Helps Wis. Family Escape House Fire
Staff Removed at LA School During Abuse Probe
Runaway Goat Leads Police on Wild Chase
