By Ralph Wilson/Sun-Gazette Correspondent Muncie’s Landin Womer gains yards during a high school football game against Montgomery on Friday, Sept. 27, 2024. Muncie won 41-7.
If you ask most Muncie players about their most important play of the season, you’ll probably hear something like this:
“Next.”
Football is difficult. It’s even harder to win a football game. The veteran team learned along the way that it is important to keep looking forward and not backwards. Some plays go their way, others don’t, but Muncy keeps the focus on what’s going to happen next, regardless of what happened before.
“No matter what adversity happens, we all have to come together and remember that if you’re frustrated, it’s not important to be frustrated.” Quarterback/Cornerback Stiles Eyer said. “The important thing is to make the next play.”
Muncy took full advantage of that mentality a week ago against Lackawanna Trail, staying focused through the peaks and troughs to earn a 47-46 thriller victory. With this, the Indians (11-2) qualify for tonight’s Class A state quarterfinal matchup against Delone Catholic.
The District 3 champions are the newest team in a long line of postseason foes. And like any game, there are ups and downs. Muncy intends to go with the flow and ride the wave of the changing tide rather than succumb to it, as he has all season.
“It’s going to be a tough battle. You know every team is really strong in the state playoffs.” Ia said. “We are focused on performing 100% of our ability to give ourselves better opportunities. Coach (Mike) Weber said we have all the talent we need. I often preach that if we stay focused and do our job and execute our assignments, we will be able to perform at 100%.”
Muncy studies film and knows everything DeLone can do. Still, the company’s focus is on Squires, not Squires itself. It is important to control what can be controlled and for the Indians to play to the best of their ability.
It’s a simple philosophy, but one that many champions have embraced over the years. And it helped Muncie win league and district titles in the same year for the first time since 1986 and advance to the state quarterfinals for just the second time in program history.
In that sense, it’s the same approach Muncy has taken since the first practice of the season, so it hasn’t changed.
“We’ve been preaching to our kids all year long: We don’t care who lines up across from us. We play our game, no matter where we play or who we play.” Muncie coach Sean Tetreault said. “I believe if we focus on ourselves and our execution, we can get into some tough situations.”
Muncy showed it last week. The game was a battle of wills, giving the Indians plenty of chances to fold. Instead, they just kept looking at the next play, the next opportunity, and tried to take advantage of that opportunity.
So entries continue tonight. Since the beginning of last year’s offseason, all efforts have been made for opportunities like this. Muncie is embracing this moment that few people get to experience. All the while, their eyes are glued to the most important play of the night: the next one.
“Our mindset all year was, let’s play our game, they’ll play their game, and at the end of the game we’ll know where we are.” Tetreault said. “DeLone has always had a good tradition and it’s going to be a tough game this far. We’re very excited and can’t wait to strap in and play.”
Five members of the Lycoming University football team were recognized as members of the All-Landmark Conference team –…
LEWISBURG — Ian Motta scored 15 points, becoming one of five Bucknell University players to reach double digits in scoring.
