Scouting Carmel @ Notre Dame

Carmel (3-2, 2-1) at Notre Dame (4-1, 2-1)

When 7:30 p.m. today

Last week Carmel lost to Marian Catholic, 20-17 in overtime; Notre Dame def. St. Joseph, 28-7.

Skinny The Corsairs should feel right at home at Notre Dame, which debuted its brand new artificial turf field at the start of the season. In 2004, Carmel was the first school in Lake County to install artificial turf on its home field. Carmel did, however, suffer a bit of a letdown at home last week. The Corsairs fell behind Marian Catholic 17-0 and wound up losing by a field goal in overtime. The good news is- "As bad as we played early, we were still right there at the end," Carmel coach Andy Bitto said. Carmel tied the game at 17 points apiece in the third quarter. Eventually, the game went to overtime and Carmel got the ball first. The Corsairs called for a fake field goal on fourth down but did not score because Larry Amato's pass to Mike Fitzgibbons was deflected by players from both teams and fell incomplete. "I didn't second guess (the decision not to just kick a field goal)," Bitto said. "We were at home and we wanted to put the pressure on Marian to have to get a touchdown."-But in the end, all Marian had to do was connect on a field goal-Once again, Carmel's rushing attack was strong. Sophomore running back Jordan Kos had 21 carries for 150 yards against Marian-The Corsairs will be going up against a Notre Dame team that also likes to run the ball. Julian Burgos is the Dons' top running back. "Last year, Notre Dame would pass on every down," Bitto said. "This year, they're running it a lot more." When Notre Dame does need to pass, quarterback Drew Diaz has 6-foot-5 receiver Tim Hirsch as a big target.