Mount Carmel Prepares for Spring Football

Mount Carmel football prepares to play a spring season, after Coronavirus wiped out the fall.

Next in sports ... when you think of spring ... you think of baseball ... march madness ... but high school football ???

........... well ... in a year like no other ... illinois schools are set to stage a season like no other ... it's heartbreaking.

It was pretty frustrating.

It was odd for sure.

The hallowed snake pit at mount carmel has been the home state title contending football in the fall for decades.

However, in 2020 it remained silent and empty, as coronavirus shut down the entire state of illinois.

Adding to the sting of a lost season, the golden aces had to watch as their interstate rivals for indiana play.

We got started kind of in july, with our normal summer routine, and then kind of had the brakes put on you.

So, everything stopped.

And then you have to kind of deal too with watching indiana play.

That was frustrating, just to know that 15 minutes away, common opponents that you're used to playing, were playing football and you weren't.

It was like sitting around, couldn't really do much, but every once in a while, a couple of guys got together and watched some indiana teams play.

It made us pretty mad.

We weren't really happy, but we got to watch football i guess.

However, after more than a year off, those bystanding days are over, as the illinois high school athletic association has devised a plan to play a spring schedule.

Unfortunately, it conflicts with traditional spring sports.

So, mount carmel will be without some of its top players, including four- year starting quarterback caleb appleby.

Considered a likely major league draft prospect, he's turned his attention to baseball.

However that's given younger players an opportunity to get a jump start on their varsity career.

Cole broster will be our quarterback this year.

He's a sophomore, but he's played in our program since third grade.

We've had some guys like that we've lost.

But for the most part, we have everybody we expected.

It's kind of a challenge, but i think my coaches and my teammates helped me out and got me ready.

I think i'm pretty ready for this.

Now adding to this already odd situation of spring football is the fact that season is only six games-long and that their is no post season, per the state of illinois' rules.

However, these guys are just happy to be back on the gridiron.

We wished we had a playoff and we wish we had an opportunity for a postseason, but we're making the best out of a bad situation.

Just the fact that they lost it.

It felt like something got taken and