WARSAW — In talking to his team before games, Lake Central coach Jereme Rainwater reminds the players about the amount of work they have done since summer conditioning.
The six-mile runs at 6 a.m. The sprints up a hill behind the school.
“It definitely showed, even though we didn’t pull through,” senior central defender Ben Klebs said. “I felt like it really paid off. I’m happy we won a regional, and I’d love to go on here, but I couldn’t be more proud of these guys.”
Lake Central’s resurgent season ended Saturday with a 1-0 overtime loss to Harrison in the semifinals of the Class 2A Warsaw Semistate. Jakub Hall scored the lone goal with 3:48 left in the second half of overtime.
“It’s unfortunate that you end up on the wrong side of those type of games,” Rainwater said. “But hats off to those guys — they were fantastic. It was back and forth. There were periods and moments when we were fantastic, and there were periods and moments when we were holding on. But a lot of credit to their team.”
With the rain falling on an increasingly slick field, Austin Harris sent a through-ball pass to Hall. The sophomore scored his team-leading 11th goal, slotting his shot inside the left post to give Lake Central goalkeeper Noah Osearo no chance.
“It was a great play, and I got an open look and took it,” Hall said.
The No. 9 Indians (17-4) had one final chance for the equalizer against the No. 8 Raiders (18-2-1). But Nathan Puch’s shot with 30 seconds left from inside the penalty box was blocked by defender Jeremy Dewell.
Lake Central won its first regional title since 2010. Just two seasons ago, the Indians were 5-10-3.
“From freshman year, it’s been nowhere but uphill, and I mean that in a good way,” Klebs said. “This year, we gave it our all. I’ve never seen it like this. I was a little kid in 2010 when they won state, I didn’t know what was going on. Now that we’re out here, it’s a learning experience for me and for these guys. It’s one of the greatest experiences of my life.
“These guys are family.”
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As he did throughout the postseason, Osearo excelled in goal for the Indians. The sophomore made five saves, including four in the first half.
“Noah was fantastic all day,” Rainwater said. “He kept us in the game for periods and moments in that first half.”
The Indians started just two seniors, Klebs and outside defender Miguel Palacios, with six juniors. To a degree, they arrived a season earlier than anticipated.
But Rainwater was quick to cite the importance of the five-player senior class of Klebs, Palacios, Puch, Mike McClelland and Chandler Duncanson.
“Hopefully our guys are able to gain a little experience,” he said, noting Harrison’s roster includes 12 seniors. “Once we settle from this one, get a little salt out of the wound, we can take something back from this and set up for another run next year.
“But those are tough shoes to fill. We have some younger players who are maybe excited to get in those spots, but they have a lot of work to do in the offseason.”
Twitter: @MichaelOsipoff