advertisement

Carmel's Curran, Eppel go from standbys to standouts

For nine weeks in a row, Mark Curran stood. And he stood and stood, and cheered and clapped, and stood some more.

Curran, a 6-foot-1, 210-pound defensive lineman at Carmel, made a promise to himself at the end of last football season that his time standing on the sidelines was over. He was tired of getting no playing time, and he was going to do something about it.

"Obviously, you'd rather be out on the field," Curran said. "But if I was being honest, I knew I wasn't good enough to go in, unless it was a blowout.

"One week into our off-season last year, the switch flipped for me. I just decided that I was going to do everything I could to make sure this didn't happen to me again. I was going to do everything I could to get onto the field as a senior."

So Curran got to work. And so did one of his lineman buddies, Ben Eppel, a 5-foot-7, 205-pound center who also saw almost no playing time as a junior last year.

Curran and Eppel committed themselves to improving their fitness and nutrition. They were the equivalent of gym rats in the weight room, and they made sure to know the playbook inside and out.

They wanted to make sure that their coaches couldn't find a single reason not to play them this fall.

"Just standing and standing on the sideline … I couldn't stand it anymore by the end of last year," Eppel said. "I knew that if I worked hard enough, I could make it different for my senior year."

It's been way different for both Curran and Eppel. Both have started every game this year for Carmel. And while neither earned significant awards such as all-conference honors, coach Andy Bitto is adamant that Curran and Eppel epitomize why Carmel went from a 2-7 team last year to a playoff team this year.

"Compared to last year, Mark and Ben are such difference-makers this year," Bitto said. "They weren't named all-conference, but that's not the point.

"We've got some all-conference linemen. Mark and Ben are surrounded by some very good players. But when you get kids like them, who work so hard to get better, and you put them around your all-conference linemen, that's when you start winning games. Having scrappy, dedicated guys like Mark and Ben working to get everything they can out of themselves is why we're winning again. I love coaching guys like them because they bring so much to the team."

Curran, who has nearly 30 tackles and a couple of fumble recoveries, has dropped about 10 pounds since last year. He was insistent about slimming down so that he could be faster off the ball. To get through his tough workouts, he turned to his dad, who is also named Mark, for encouragement. The elder Mark is the current sheriff of Lake County.

"My dad has been through the police academy. He's had to fight through a ton of really tough things in his job," Curran said. "He's the perfect role model for working hard.

"I knew I had to work so hard on my speed. I was pretty slow last year. I wasn't very agile. I've gotten a lot faster since then. My 40 time is down by a half-second and now I can say that I'm one of the quicker defensive linemen on the field."

Sometimes Curran still can't believe how far he's come in just one short year.

"It's a pretty good feeling because going into this year, I still was pretty unsure," Curran said. "I wasn't sure what to expect since I really never got to play before. I didn't know if I'd belong. I didn't know if I'd be able to make plays. But as soon as I saw that I could, I knew there was nothing that could hold me back."

Eppel, who started one game last year due to an injury to a teammate but rarely saw the field otherwise, immersed himself in the Carmel offense. He felt that at times last year, his lack of familiarity with every nook and cranny of the playbook held him back.

"I wanted better knowledge of the offense, where to go, what to do," Eppel said. "I started off on the defensive line as a junior, then I got moved to center, so I was a little behind. I really took the time before this season to prepare and learn everything I could about the offense. I think that gave me a lot more confidence."

Eppel, one of the best lifters on the team last year, got even better in the weight room, too. His max bench press is 350 pounds, 60 pounds more than last year.

"I think our whole team got stronger in the off-season," said Eppel, who has been lifting seriously since seventh grade. "We lifted more, we did sprints and agility work, we did stuff we never did before. Everyone was a lot more into it.

"Our entire senior class really stepped up. Work ethic-wise, there is no messing around with this group."

And Curran and Eppel are at the head of the class.

After games, and in team meetings, Bitto regular singles out Curran and Eppel, holding them up as examples for the younger players to aspire to.

"When Coach Bitto points at us and says stuff like 'That's what working hard in the off-season will do for you,' it makes me feel really good. It makes me feel good that someone recognizes what we did," Curran said. "I think it helps make us leaders because we are showing the younger kids by example.

"We're a case in point that you can get what you want if you work hard, that hard work pays off. You go out there and you give the coaches no other choice but to play you."

pbabcock@dailyherald.com

• Follow Patricia on Twitter: @babcockmcgraw

  Carmel center Ben Eppel goes through practice Tuesday at Carmel Catholic. Steve Lundy/slundy@dailyherald.com
  Carmel nose guard Mark Curran goes through practice Tuesday at Carmel Catholic. Steve Lundy/slundy@dailyherald.com
Article Comments
Guidelines: Keep it civil and on topic; no profanity, vulgarity, slurs or personal attacks. People who harass others or joke about tragedies will be blocked. If a comment violates these standards or our terms of service, click the "flag" link in the lower-right corner of the comment box. To find our more, read our FAQ.