Searching for answers in the dark

By Rex Kirts

South's players learned Saturday morning that you can tell time by the Big Dipper.
It's dark at 6 a.m. The moon glowed bright and the stars shined elegantly when coach Kirk Kennedy convened the Panthers.
The nocturnal gathering was their reward for not doing the things they're supposed to in Friday night's 42-17 football loss to Lawrence Central.
The Big Dipper was a beacon, and the air was cool and clear. There was light from the Brown Building, and someone on the field had a flashlight. On the adjacent tennis court sophomore Ronnie Schneider practiced, evidence of what it takes to be one of the best tennis players in the midwest.
J.R. Holmes, in his role as athletic director, stopped by. Asked why, he replied: "I heard there's a football practice." Then he headed to Martinsville to watch some girls' regional golf, and he returned at 10 to catch some of the freshman football game. The frosh beat LC, 7-6.
ON THE FIELD, in the dark, the Panthers did, indeed, practice. Nineteen of the 20 players who were supposed to be present were there. The jayvees, all 15 of them, would soon depart for Lawrence Central, where they would lose, 34-6.
There was no sound of complaints coming from the field as the 1-5 Panthers practiced in sweats. There was the sound of spirit, of a team trying to convince itself to do better, to not give up.
It was a normal conditioning routine with no pads, no hitting and no getting intimate with the blocking sled, as Kennedy said of the rough drills after the loss to Franklin Central.
"I liked it," said senior captain Alex Sarpa of the 6 a.m. practice. He is a linebacker and backup guard but played some impressive fullback against LC. "It was dark, we were on our own and it was senior-led, and Bower."
Junior quarterback and backup safety Michael Bower is a leader, too, because he's also a captain along with Sarpa and senior tackle Reilly Flynn.
"I THOUGHT IT WAS our best practice," Bower said. "We did monkey rolls, like in the third grade. Brother carries, 100 pushups, 98-yard sprints (and other things)."
Bower said he didn't mind being there at 6. "Last night we talked to the coaches about an hour after the game. We told them we'd do whatever they wanted us to do. We're not used to losing."
They lost for the fifth time in six games and third time in four Conference Indiana games Friday. Like most coaches, Kennedy doesn't like to blame a loss on a speed difference because he believes proper technique can overcome a speed deficit. But the Panthers weren't about to keep up with the Bears.
What worries Kennedy, still, is lack of blocking and tackling and the simple ability to line up correctly and carry out assignments.
"It's just frustrating," said Kennedy, who got very little sleep before 6 o'clock rolled around. Frustrating "because it's there. We've shown it in practice and in some games, Bedford, North.
"This football team is capable. Where we're lacking is in mental preparation and mental effort, which means we're causing our own problems."
The Panthers had plenty of chances to compete with LC, which fumbled the ball away five times. "We just didn't capitalize," Kennedy said.
THEY CAPITALIZED in the first quarter with a nice 77-yard drive with sophomore tailback Nolan Rogers carrying six times for 50 of the yards, ending with a four-yard touchdown run. Bower scored in the fourth quarter on a 13-yard keeper, and Drew Barlow kicked a 36-yard field goal.
The Panthers couldn't sustan much offense after their first TD, though. Rogers, for instance, netted only 19 yards the rest of the game.
A bright spot was Sarpa's first carries of his career at fullback in the fourth quarter. He attacked tacklers and had consecutive runs of 13, 13 and four yards to set up Bower's TD.
"Basically we're just grasping at straws," Kennedy said of Sarpa's use at fullback. Also used at fullback was sophomore Clayton Fiddler. Rogers was mostly a fullback until this game, when he carried 20 times for 69 yards.
DEFENSIVELY, THE PANTHERS made a few plays, but LC would overcome its fumbles and penalties and burn South with big plays and escapes in long-yardage situations.
South continues to be hurt in the kicking game. It gave lost an onside kickoff and, for the second straight week, had a punt blocked.
Also still hurting the Panthers is the end of the second quarter. Lawrence Central scored with 2;30 remaining to go ahead 21-7 and again with 0:04 left for a 28-7 halftime lead.
Lawrence Central quarterback Tre Roberson, an Indiana University recruit, was very effective and very fast. He ran for 82 yards and one TD and completed 10 of 15 passes for 139 yards and two touchdowns.
South faces another speedy opponent next Friday, traveling to Pike (4-2, 3-1).