Experienced Dragons focused on another big game
ARGOS — It’s a familiar trip for the Argos Dragons as they head to the semi-state round of the IHSAA soccer tournament this Saturday at Kokomo to square off with Heritage Christian (11-7-1).
Winners of eight of the last 10 regionals and 11 overall as a program since 1997, the location of the playing field for the game has changed from time to time but the “road” is always the same.
Dragon head coach Todd Vanderweele feels that having “been there before” - just last year to be exact - is a definite positive for his team.
“Someone could probably say there are negatives to it too, but the positive is that you know what it takes to win a game of this magnitude,” said Vanderweele. “If you haven’t been through it, you can imagine what it’s like but you don’t really know.”
“The guys (who played) last year learned what it took to win that game and I believe that’s a real positive.”
Many of the current Dragons were part of the run for a state title a year ago and the desire to have a shot at another has motivated the veterans as well as the newcomers to the program.
“Last year we had so many kids that were there but we had some that maybe didn’t see a lot of time on the field,” said
Vanderweele. “They want to be part of it, a contributing part of it on the field. I think that motivation helps. And any senior class - this senior class - is such a hard-working group. I think they want to go out on top. I think that we are in a good place mentally.”
One of the mainstays over the long history of the Argos program is the reputation of having players that are not just tough physically, but tough mentally.
“It isn’t easy,” said
Vanderweele. “Things happen. Plays are missed. Fouls are given in bad spots. Easy goals are missed. It’s overcoming those that is probably the biggest part of it. How you recover from those mistakes, and not make the mistakes the other team does.”
“When you build a program you have a set of expectations and this group has worked hard to uphold those standards like any other group that I’ve had.”
Those expectations go back a lot of years to the beginnings of the program. With the Dragons, a lot of those former stars that built the tradition “way back when” are in the stands on game night.
“I think that at Argos there is a certain standard,” said Vanderweele. “That’s what I felt like when I was a player here 30 years ago. I’d see these guys in the stands that I had watched play when I was little and you say to yourself ‘ I’m not going to let that guy down and just go through the motions’. This group is like any other group in that way.”
Staying mentally focused has not been a problem for this team according to their coach.
“I think that the guys weren’t really happy with their overall performance on Saturday,” said Vanderweele of Saturday’s regional. “We did some good things but we did some other things that aren’t really characteristic of us. They knew that on Monday. I think going through that will help us this week for sure.”
Heritage Christian comes in having won seven of their last eight games including three in a tough sectional round.
“They are in the same sectional with a couple of teams that are usually in the top 10 in our level ( 1A) in Park Tudor and University,” said Vanderweele. “University didn’t have a team this year due to COVID. Heritage beat Park Tudor in the section
al for the first time in quite a while.”
“They are on a good run,” he said. “We’ve been able to watch them a little bit. They are very organized, they are very disciplined. It’s a semi-state so it’s going to be a tough game, but if we do the things that we do we should be fine.”
Those things are familiar to
any Argos fan.
“We have to control the pace,” said Vanderweele. “They have no problems with slowing the game down, especially if they get the lead. We like to attack and get the ball out and go. We’d like to get into that style of game.”
We’d like to put pressure on them in the attack,” he said. “I’m not sure that they’ve seen too many teams that have quite as many threats as we have.”
It’s not just Ted (Redinger) scoring goals. You have Mike Richard running at you with an immense pace. You have Gabe Stone running at you with an immense pace. You have Cameron Markley hitting 30 to 40 yard passes on a dime and Devon Allen doing the same thing and breaking teams down. Ben Rangel stepped into that other forward spot and the runs that he has and his touches are a great asset to us.”
“I think they (Heritage) have a good backline but if we can move the ball like we like to do we can get them off balance and make some opportunities for ourselves,” he said.
“I mean the goal-scoring gods will be in charge of whether they go in the net but if we create those opportunities then I feel good about that.”