November 28, 2003

BY TINA AKOURIS Staff Reporter

Top-ranked Carmel will make school history Saturday in Champaign at the Class 6A state-championship game.

The Corsairs (13-0) have never been to a state football final -- the farthest they've gotten is the 2001 semifinals against Richards -- and they hope to bring home a championship when they face Bloomington (13-0) at 1 p.m. at Memorial Stadium.

Carmel's offense has averaged 42 points per game and has racked up 5,700 yards of total offense. That's because of an offensive line that features All-State pick Dan Osterhout (6-3, 276 pounds), Luke Krombach (6-4, 260), Eddie Adamski (6-3, 225), Drew Cairo-Gross (6-3, 295) and Paul Lyons (6-1, 230).

Tight end-strong safety Jack Simmons (6-6, 220) is the only Carmel player who is a two-way starter. The Minnesota recruit has 33 catches for 634 yards and four touchdowns; defensively, Simmons has 54 tackles and six interceptions. Simmons also logs time on special teams as a punt returner.

"Our line is very good at blocking a blitzing team and is also good at pass protection,'' coach Andy Bitto said. "It's nice for [quarterback Mark] Venegoni when he knows he won't get touched too much and he can step into the pocket.''

Bitto is not surprised that his offensive line has protected Venegoni and the backs so well. When the offensive-line mates were sophomores, they were on a team that averaged 35 ppg, and last year they were part of an offense that averaged 36 ppg.

"I don't necessarily want to say that it's all because of the backs and the linemen,'' Krombach said. "But it's a combination of both. We play a big role in opening up holes and making the gaps bigger. I think it's just a testament to our hard work.

"We do get teams that come in here and try to push us around. But we just have to work harder to keep them away from Mark.''

Though Carmel is continuing its dream run, Krombach still can't believe he will be playing in a state final.

"I think it's unreal to me,'' he said. "It's really cool that we've gotten here, but it would be even cooler if we won.''