Tiger Cubs seek redemption, sectional title

Greencastle head football coach Dave Stephens needs no reminders of what is at stake tonight when he leads his Tiger Cubs into the Class 2A Sectional 39 championship against Linton-Stockton. Coverage can be heard on GIANT fm WREB 94.3 at 6:40 p.m. with the pregame show and kick at 7 p.m. 

"It is an honor to still be playing," Stephens told The Putnam County Post. 

For the third time in a calendar year, the two teams will meet and, for, Greencastle, tonight's clash is an opportunity for redemption after losing to the Miners (9-2), 46-14, in September. 

More importantly, a win would give Greencastle (5-6) its first sectional championship since 1991, something Stephens, who graduated from Greencastle, would like to change. 

"It's hard. You try to keep things in perspective and don't want to focus on the outcome because it might deter you from doing the best you can. In the back of my mind, it is going to mean a lot. The whole reason that I took this job was to be able to bring some of the success I have had being a coach at other places, and, hopefully, bring it to my hometown and a place I care so much about. We were able to win the regular season championship last year and it would mean a lot if we could hang our first sectional banner since 1991. We have a talented enough group to get that done, and, hopefully, I can do my part to help get that done," Stephens said. 

The Tiger Cubs entered the sectional tournament with just three wins, but have gotten hot when it matters most, owning victories over Pike Central and Brown County to advance to the championship game. 

"We have some resilient kids and we have more leadership than I thought we had. Leadership shows itself when you have adversity than when things are going great," Stephens said. 

The competition will be much tougher tonight, as the Miners are on a six game win streak. 

"Linton is who Linton is. They are a big physical team that doesn't beat themselves," Stephens said.