Indians take on Central Florida in rematch of title game
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DUSTIN KENT / Jackson County Floridan
Published: March 4, 2008
The defending state champion Indians will get the team, Central Florida, that it defeated a year ago in the championship game in an 84-67 rout.
The Patriots return 10 sophomores from that team who will no doubt be focused on revenge.
"There's no question," Chipola coach Greg Heiar said of Central Florida's motivation. "I think we'll get the best game that they've played all year. They're going to come out with a great deal of energy, their adrenaline is going to be really high and they're going to be hungry to upset us.
"We just have to sustain our energy, play our game and take it as a challenge."
The Indians (29-1) come into the tournament as the No. 2 team in the country, the Panhandle Conference champions and the favorite to win their fourth state title in five years.
However, Heiar said that his team isn't taking anything for granted, especially not its first-round opponent.
"That's a part of leadership," the coach said of not looking ahead. "We've got great leaders in Mario Little, Gary Flowers, Mario Edwards and Vernon Teel. Really, everybody on the team has some type of leadership role.
"They've got a clear understanding of the importance of taking it one game at a time. We've played other teams in the state and they really came at us, so I think they understand to take it one game at a time."
Chipola will take on Central Florida at 8 p.m. tonight. A win and the Indians would advance to Friday's 6 p.m. semifinal game against the winner of Indian River and Manatee.
However, Heiar said he hasn't even looked at the other teams in the tournament yet.
His focus is solely on Central Florida and with good reason.
"Central Florida is a very, very dangerous team," the coach said. "They have the ability to really shoot the ball, they have a post presence and a lot of experience.
"It's going to be a big challenge for us for a first round game. But we would rather play the best competition first and I think Central Florida is one of better teams in the tournament."
Chipola boasts the Panhandle Conference player of the year (Little) and coach of the year (Heiar).
The Indians won the state championship in 2004, 2005 and 2007, the last two coming with Heiar as head coach.
This year's edition of the Indians set a school record with 29 regular season victories.
Chipola went 11-1 in league play and a perfect 18-0 out of conference.
Those are all impressive achievements, but a loss in the state tournament would make them far less fulfilling.
"It's basically ride or die, win or go home," Heiar said of the tournament. "But I think it helps us that we played such a tough schedule. We're battle-tested. We're ready for tournament play. We've been down and had to come from behind and I think we're ready to see what we've got."
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