Carmel High School senior captain Danny Ward’s dedication to the Unified flag football program was rewarded.
Carmel beat DeKalb 68-45 Oct. 14 at Westfield’s Grand Park to capture the school’s first IHSAA Unified state championship.
“Winning the state title in Unified flag football is very special to me,” Ward said. “Having been in the program since my freshman year, I have seen the team grow and I have gotten closer with my teammates every year. Winning the state championship was the perfect ending to the season because I know how much it means to our athletes to be on a championship winning team. Additionally, winning means a lot to the parents, because the Unified community is a safe space for their kids to have fun and to make friends, and the championship is a memory that will be cemented into their lives.”
Unified Sports, a trademarked program of Special Olympics, Inc., promotes sports training and competition for teams that include people with and without intellectual disabilities. The players with intellectual disabilities are the athletes and those without are called their partners.
Carmel won the sectional for the fourth consecutive year. The Greyhounds reached the regional final the previous two seasons.
“By going to regionals the past three years, we have been able to see other teams that we do not typically play and learn from them,” Carmel coach Jamie Stephen said. “This year we were ready for those teams.”
Stephen said the key was having a great group of seniors, led by three captains, including Ward, Samuel Anderson and Brayton Gray.
“Three of the captains started together in 2020, and they brought all their friends and built the team to what it is today,” she said. “This group, especially the 30 seniors, are so close that when they leave practice, they are still together. It is very common for all of them to be together at someone’s house. This group of kids are almost all involved in Unified track and bocce as well. They are always together.”
Anderson said it was cool to secure the first Unified title for the Greyhounds.
“Now we have made our mark and have a state trophy hanging on the wall at school,” Anderson said. “But it’s really more than the win itself. We are making lifelong friendships and memories. It’s important that inclusion doesn’t stop at graduation. We have former athletes (and partners) who regularly come to the games and root us on. They’re always going to be part of the team. That’s winning.”
