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November 3, 2009

Quintin Harlan: Walking like they are talking

'Take it with a grain of salt' or 'Believe it when you see it'

Every year in every sport, you hear how this team is going to do this and that or the other, and how they’ll be able to accomplish something that no one has ever done before, simply because it’s their time.

And messages such as these can be filed under the headings of “taken with a grain of salt” or “believe it when you see it.”

If there was an award for walking like you were talking, we would have a tie right now on the fall sports scene.

The Pendleton Heights boys cross country team had been telling everyone for as long as this group of seniors was running that it was going to be the team that got through to the state finals. That this year’s team was going to be the first to compete in Terre Haute.

The Arabians’ Nathan Hendershot made no secret that he didn’t want to be running in another state finals all by his lonesome. Coach Alan Holden had been beating the drum for three years, telling anyone within earshot that this group could do what no other group had done before them at Pendleton Heights, and the Arabians backed up all that talk on Saturday when they ran in the state finals as a team.

Now imagine if someone was toting the same message for over five years.

The Highland Scots football team and coach Randy Albano had been telling people that if they’d been competing in Class 4A — where they are now — as opposed to Class 5A —– with teams like Carmel in their sectional —– that they would’ve been a consistent fixture in sectional title games, if not winners of more than one crown.

Were there doubters? Most certainly, there are doubters everywhere.

But Albano has been steadfast in his belief and kept saying that his program would contend for/win sectional championships.

Friday night, the Scots needed two overtimes, a couple of fortunate bounces and a goal line stand to earn their way to a sectional championship game at New Palestine this Friday.

The Scots will have a shot to win a sectional championship trophy.

Is there a shelf-life on a message? Is there a point where you begin to tune yourself out to what you are saying because it’s become such an automatic response?

There comes a time when even the most devoted to any message start to question what they are saying. The truly devoted have the naysayers telling them that it’ll never happen. To keep that fire burning, despite all that, is something to be proud of.

When coaches like Albano and Holden heap expectations upon their teams it’s not because they want to weed out the weak from the strong. It’s because they believe that their teams are talented enough to accomplish those goals.

Highland backed up the talk that it could reach a sectional title game.

Now comes the other part; can the Scots win it?

We’ll find out on Friday.

Contact Quintin Harlan: 640-4835, quintin.harlan@heraldbulletin.com.

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