For most high school football teams in Indiana, this Friday’s game will just be another four quarters on the field. For the Trojans, however, they will be competing for something much greater than the other teams: their third ever MIC championship.

“We’ve been playing teams that haven’t been up to our level,” said senior safety Braytton Spetter. “I think Pike this week has a chance to really challenge us. I feel like this week is going to be a challenge, and a win would really boost our confidence.”

The Trojans are 6-0, and 5-0 in the MIC. They are winning with an average point differential of 40.0. They’ve given up a total of 26 points on the season. In last week’s game, No. 2 Center Grove defeated Lawrence Central 66-0 after putting in their JV players in the second quarter. Going 5-0 in the MIC is an accomplishment that has not been achieved since the historic undefeated 2015 team.

“[We need to] play sound football,” said Spetter. “We need to know our coverages and know what we’re doing. They have a lot of athleticism, so we need to beat them with our brains.”

Pike is led by superstar quarterback Anthony Cialdella. Cialdella has had a strong senior season, as he has thrown 13 touchdowns to only two interceptions. He completes 58.4% of his passes with a quarterback rating of 117.5. Pike’s football team may only be 3-3 on the season, but they are second in the MIC in points, and they do have a positive point differential of one, even with the losses. In short, they’re a strong team that has come up short in the final moments of their games.

“We need to try to make big plays on offense,” Spetter said. “We know we’ll succeed in the small things. If we can make big plays we can come out on top and win the game.”

A win this Friday would mean the Trojans would clinch at least a MIC co-championship, which is yet another feat that has not been accomplished since 2015. This would only be the third time it has ever happened; the only other time outside of 2015 being the 2007 season.

“It’s the same thing we coaches always say,” said safeties coach Tom Blanck. “We need to execute our game plan with great passion and enthusiasm. We need to come here every day and give it everything we’ve got, because that’s all we can do to win.”