For the two teams that traveled to Lucas Oil Stadium on Saturday, living the dream has never felt more real. The Portage and Lake Central football teams had the opportunity to play at the home venue of the Indianapolis Colts as part of Big Rivals Night, put on by Compton Strategies.
"Nobody really talked about it much during the course of the week," Portage coach Wally McCormack said. "Obviously they were pretty excited when we pulled in and drove up under it [and when we were] in the locker room that, you know, a couple years ago, teams were getting dressed to go play the Superbowl."
According to the Compton Strategies' Sales and Marketing Manager, Erik Compton, Big Rivals Night was created around the time of the opening of Lucas Oil Stadium, and a game played at a similar high school invitational was one of the first-ever in the stadium.
"It's a world class facility, obviously, and not many teams get to play here through the natural course of the season, so it's absolutely something that we feel very strongly is that it's all about the kids, the students, the fans being able to have this once in potentially a lifetime to play," Compton said.
Every year, the teams are handpicked by company owner Ray Compton based on the natural rivalries and strong fanbases.
"We want to maximize not only the competition on the field, but also make sure that teams bring a good crowd with them and people get into it and make it a great overall event," Compton said.
McCormack said that one of the advantages of the game is that the teams could showcase their talent in a serious football atmosphere.
"I think it's a great opportunity for the kids," McCormack said. "It's a once-in-a-lifetime deal they're going to remember for the rest of their lives."
Along with the two teams, fans from both sides came to be a part of the experience.
Ruth Nicholson, who left Portage High Schools this year to pursue an advanced education at the Indiana Academy for Science, Mathematics and Humanities, showed up to support her home team after convincing her parents to pick her up from Muncie, where the school is located, for the weekend.
Nicholson, a past member of the Pride of Portage Marching Band, admitted that knowing the group was performing at halftime also encouraged her to attend the game.
"I really like to see the marching band because they're the best, and they're my favorite," Nicholson said.
On the opposing side, Lake Central's Devonte Brooks sported blue hair to show his excitement for the game.
"It's great, it's nice being here," Brooks said. "We're seeing Portage Indians and Lake Central Indians, the student sections going head to head. Seeing our players play, it's phenomenal."
During halftime, Brooks even competed in a dance off against Portage's Merannda Best. After they each took a turn showing off their moves, the cheers from the crowd chose the winner. Unfortunately for Brooks, Best swayed the audience to her side.
"I thought I had her, but she was a great dancer and the crowds let us know who won," Brooks said.
Even through all the antics, nothing could overshadow the excitement of the game, which Lake Central won, 14-6. Lake Central wide receiver, Antwan Davis, was honored as the game's MVP.
"The team played the game: linemen blocked, the quarterback got me the ball," Davis said. "We played as a team. Everyone got the chance to play as a team."
For Lake Central, playing at Lucas Oil gave them a chance to practice with something that Portage often takes for granted.
"I think it's good to play here because most of the teams we play in our season is on turf, so it's good to get used to playing on the turf," Davis said.
Besides that, the professionalism of the day also stood out to Davis.
"I really like the atmosphere," Davis said. "It was a new thing; it was really good."
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