Bishop Chatard football teams have won a record nine state championships. Southmont has never claimed as much as a sectional championship. The Mounties won just four of 48 games before last season's 6-1 finish. No. 1 Bishop Chatard is 100-14 since Week 4 of the 2001 season.

"There're people who will think that (difference in tradition) will have an effect on the game, (but) I don't see why it would," said Bishop Chatard coach Vince Lorenzano, looking ahead to his team's sectional semifinal game in Crawfordsville at 7 p.m. Friday.

"Southmont is very well coached and it had an outstanding year against a good schedule," Lorenzano said. "We expect it to be a tough game."

Southmont (8-2) runs an option offense from a wing-T formation that relies on deception. Quarterback Logan Petry is one of four backs who have rushed for more than 300 yards, and he's also thrown for 563 yards. The defense surrendered an average of 29.7 points over the first three games but just 7.9 the rest of the way.

Bishop Chatard's last five opponents are a combined 7-43 -- equaling Southmont's victory total in its last seven games -- and Lorenzano was concerned with his team's performance in its 38-21 victory over Crawfordsville last week.

Southmont beat Crawfordsville, a Sagamore Conference rival, 41-13, on Oct. 16.

"It's up to us to play at a high level," Lorenzano said. "It's a cyclical thing for most teams. Southmont was down for a number of years, but you can't gauge where any team will be in a certain season. You can worry about that or treat every opponent with respect and have your best game, whether they're 10-0, 8-2 or 1-9.

"Crawfordsville gave us trouble. That was a good lesson."