CARMEL, Ind. (WTHR) — The wait to high school football season is almost over.
Season is just around the corner with games kicking off Friday. Carmel head coach John Herbert is ready to go.
"The start of the football season is such a special time," he said. "I'm always excited. I always have goosebumps and a little bit of the jitters, and that's what makes it really special."
Senior Cole Brevard said he's finally ready to hit an opposing quarterback.
The Greyhounds are starting the season ranked the No. 1 6A school, which could create some early-season pressure. But they're confident they've got what it takes to hold their own.
"I feel like we're mature enough to handle this competition," Brevard said. "But we have to feel like that we earned being No. 1."
Brevard will play for Penn State University next year, but for now, he's focused on leading Carmel to a state championship.
"I've never had any player that I've been around that I have just continued to be amazed on a daily basis like Cole," Coach Herbert said. "The player he is, is secondary to the person he is."
Brevard is one of 14 returners on the team who are motivated by last year's loss in the state finals to Warren Central.
"We walked out of Lucas Oil Stadium with just a really bad feeling," Herbert said. "When you lose by 20, your mind just starts going to all the things that you need to do to improve."
"It's been driving us all summer," quarterback Gabe Quigley said. "We missed out on a great opportunity last year and we've been using that to push us to this season."
Carmel opens the season Friday on the road against one of the top teams in the country: Trinity High School in Louisville, Kentucky.
Herbert knows it's a tall task, but is excited because he knows there's no way to reach success without putting their best foot forward.