(La Porte County, IN) - The excitement level is high for fans of the New Prairie High School football team.  A win Friday night means a trip to the state finals at Lucas Oil Stadium in Indianapolis.  The 12-1 Cougars will play at Kokomo for the semi state Class 4A title.   

 

Andrew Morse, a La Porte County Police Resource Officer at the high school, said it’s a great time to be a Cougars fan.  His son, Blake, is a senior and starter on offense while his other son, Alex, is a sophomore on the junior varsity squad.

 

“It’s exciting.  Super exciting for the New Prairie fans and the New Prairie kids.  We’re looking for a huge win Friday night,” he said.

 

Morse said his oldest son is nervous yet determined to extend his high school playing career to the state championship.

 

“He gets out there and gets after it.  He just loves the game of football,” he said.

 

The only loss by the Cougars this season was to Class 6A Penn.  The rest of their games were decided handily including the 55-7 win last week against Northridge for the regional championship.  Kokomo is also 12-1 with blow out victories in each win.

 

The weather forecast in Kokomo is calling for temperatures below 20 degrees along with 15 to 20 mile per hour winds during the game.  Head Coach Casey McKim said the conditions in the forecast should not have much of an impact on his team because they're an offense that mostly runs the ball.  He also cited a "tough as nails" attitude to keep their minds off such extremes.

 

“I’ve told our kids multiple times, I don’t care where we play.  We could play in a parking lot.  We’re going to be there.  We’re going to compete.  It’s as simple as that,” he said.