The regular season has ended and now teams will begin looking toward the ultimate goal — winning a state title. The post-season has had plenty of success for the three county teams over the years.
Athenians had early success
Crawfordsville was the first county team to make the playoffs as it played its first game in 1977 when it lost to Mooresville 30-8. On Nov. 2, 1982, under head coach Rick Schavietello, the Athenians made it to the playoffs again. The Athenians entered the game ranked 13th and went toe-to-toe against sixth-ranked Franklin Central before losing a defensive struggle 9-6. Ironically, the winning field goal was kicked by Burt Austin, and the 25-yard field goal was the first the Flashes had kicked in four years.
That loss ended the Athenians’ season at 7-4. For the season, the Athenians went through the entire season without allowing a single point in the fourth quarter. For the year the Athenians allowed just 85 points and 55 of those came in the first three games, which were losses to Lafayette Jeff (34-0), McCutcheon (14-7) and Harrison (7-6).
Crawfordsville didn’t waste any time
returning to the playoffs as they posted the school’s first playoff win the following year against seventh-ranked Edgewood 21-14 at historic Hoover Field. The following week the Athenians beat second-ranked Oak Hill 16-14 before losing to Fort Wayne Luers 19-6 to finish 9-4.
As was the case for most Schavietello teams, the defense led the Athenians against Edgewood by coming up with a goal line stand on a fourth-and-3 when the Mustang receiver was shoved out of bounds at the Crawfordsville 2 with just 32 seconds to play.
The Athenians ended a 17-year losing streak in post-season play last year when they beat Speedway 35-0 before losing to Guerin Catholic in the second round. Not only was that the first sectional win since a 36-0 win over West Vigo in 2007, but it was also just the ninth shutout in 63 post-season games.
Overall, the Athenians have a 19-44 playoff record. That includes a 16-40 record in the sectional round and two sectional titles (1983 and 1989). The Athenians are 2-0 in regional play and 0-2 in semistate action.
Chargers have best record
North Montgomery had to wait until the IHSAA began including all teams into playoffs in 1985 before making its first playoff appearance. Like Crawfordsville, the first playoff appearance wasn’t a pleasant one for the Chargers.
In their first playoff game, the Chargers fell to sixth-ranked Zionsville 26-21 in a game where North Montgomery quarterback Ron Reed threw for a school record 315 yards as he completed 22 of 36 passes. Zionsville scored the winning touchdown with just 2:02 to play. The loss ended the Chargers’ season at 4-5.
North Montgomery didn’t waste any time finding in its first playoff win as it accomplished that feat the following year with an impressive 38-6 win over Western Boone in a rain-soaked game at Charger Field to go 9-0 on the season under head coach Charley German. Chuck Carpenter led the Chargers with a pair of touchdown receptions from quarterback Kurt Schlicher who threw for 162 yards.
North Montgomery lost its first-round game last year losing to Lewis Cass 55-20 to snap a two-year streak where it had advanced to the second week of the playoffs. In 2024 the Chargers beat Southmont 24-21 and then knocked off Lewis Cass 48-47, which marked the highest combined point total in a playoff game for the Chargers. Unfortunately, a sectional title was not in the cards as Central Catholic beat the Chargers 60-6, which marked the worst playoff loss ever for North Montgomery. The Chargers went 1-1 in 2023, beating Western Boone 20-7 before losing to Tri-West 42-6. In the past 10 seasons the Chargers have advanced to the second round in six of those years — the best mark in the county.
Overall, the Chargers have above a .500 record as the Chargers are 47-39 in postseason action. That includes a 41-38 record in the sectional. The Chargers won sectional titles in 1995, 1996 and 2008. The Chargers are 2-1 in regional play, and 2-0 in both the semistate and state finals.
Mounties searching for first title
The Mounties followed suit with the other two county schools losing their first sectional game in 1985 by losing a double overtime game to Danville 26-20. Both teams scored in the first overtime and Southmont blocked Danville’s extra point but then missed its kick to go into the second OT. Senior Kelly House had an outstanding game for the Mounties as he split his time between tailback and quarterback, rushing for 154 yards on 29 carries and throwing for 87 yards and two TD passes.
Just like their counterparts the Mounties tasted victory in their second playoff try. In 1986 the Mounties beat Seeger 33-6 under the guidance of Hall of Fame coach Ken Coudret. Leading the Mounties in the victory was Brad Stephens (22 carries for 106 yards) and Don Martin (73 yards). Stephens’ 100-yard game marked the first time a Mountie back had 100 yards in a game for the season. Sean Brown and quarterback Mike Brown each scored twice for the Mounties.
Three years ago the Mounties went on a magical run as they won their first sectional and regional titles before falling to North Posey in the semistate. After beating Sullivan in the first round 32-21, the Mounties won back-to-back one-point wins in overtime the next two weeks, beating Cascade 22-21 and Linton-Stockton 35-34. A 41-34 regional win over Eastern Greene propelled the Mounties to the semistate where they fell 37-7.
After losing to North Montgomery 24-21 in 2024, which was the first time the Mounties exited the sectional in the first round in four years, the Mounties returned to success last year winning their second sectional title by defeating Delphi (48-12), Western Boone (33-11), and Lewis Cass in a wild 44-39 thriller. The Mounties’ season came to an end at Andrean 52-32 to the eventual Class 2A state champions. In the past 10 years the Mounties have won their first-round games five times. Since 2008, a span of 18 years, the Mounties have gone 11-7 in first-round games.
The Mounties enter this year’s postseason with a 29-41 record. Prior to the sectional title in 2023 Southmont had never won a sectional but had advanced to the sectional championship game four times (1989, 1998, 2008, 2017).
Barry Lewis has been involved in Montgomery County sports for nearly 50 years. He has a passion for keeping its rich history and tradition alive.
