It comes down to one question. Does it have the guts?
A quick, fast, gritty description of the Toyota Tundra full-size truck — with its brash, brute commercials and its unbreakable, indispensable model, Toyota’s sponsored program “The Line of Scrimmage” has selected eight schools across the nation that resemble its gutsy qualities.
Among the eight, this national traveling tour is highlighting the toughest high school football teams in the country and selected the Cathedral Fighting Irish.
“This is the third season of “The Line of Scrimmage” airing on NBC during the Sunday Night Football Halftime Show. We are traveling the country looking for the nation’s toughest football teams facing a great deal of adversity,” said Chris Halstead, producer and spokesman for the program.
Why Cathedral? Is it the overall record of extraordinary talent produced off and on the football field; its roster of Cathedral football alumni who are members of the National Football League; or is it that Cathedral Fighting Irish have amassed more wins than any other school in the history of football in Indiana? None of the above. Though this may be impressive to some, Halstead said Cathedral was chosen for one reason and one reason alone — it has no home field.
“We want to make sure we get across how difficult of an adversity this is to overcome as a team,” Halstead said. “Then we want to focus on what’s so special about Cathedral that gives them the ability to overcome this adversity perhaps better than another team that may be facing a similar situation.”
During the two 45-second documentary-style shorts that will air on NBC of the Cathedral Fighting Irish football team, its story driven focus will follow the players during practice, pre-game rituals, highlight shots of game plays, talk to players, coaching staff and members of the community.
Head coach Rick Streiff says the team is honored to be chosen, and though his team may not have a home field, this never deters his kids from playing hard.
“The kids don’t know any better. They don’t know what it would be like to walk out of a locker room and go play in front of home fans without getting on a bus first,” Streiff said. “Frankly, it doesn’t faze them because they truly don’t know any different.”
With “The Line of Scrimmage” highlighting schools for various degrees of toughness, from a previous airing of Brophy Prep Broncos out of Phoenix, Ariz., for playing in extreme heat, and the fighting Irish with no home field, Streiff says Cathedral never played in the same location twice during last year’s season home games.
“We always play in a variety of places around town from Arlington to Tech. This year we have a home game at Manual,” Streiff said. “The team always goes out and plays hard no matter where we have to be.”
With “The Line of Scrimmage” making its fourth stop of its national tour in Indianapolis for the toughest, gutsiest high school football teams, Halstead says the program’s true focus is directed toward the people.
“We do this to give back to the community and bring high school football and these teams to the nation’s attention. This is for the fans. Something that they might not see on your average sports center or local news coverage,” Halstead said.
With Cathedral’s season opener against the Carmel High School Greyhounds on ESPN national TV, to traveling to Canton, Ohio, to play in the Pro-Football Hall of Fame, the Fighting Irish can now add among other things it is one of eight Toyotas “Line of Scrimmage’s” gutsiest football teams in the country.
Cathedral Fighting Irish’s two 45-second documentary-style shorts will air Nov. 2 and Nov. 9.
For more information about ìLine of Scrimmageî and other featured high school football teams across the country visit www.lineofscrimmage.com.
