Carmel football

I will give Carmel a mulligan because it was facing the reigning Open Division champions in Sacred Heart Prep -- who are two years removed from playing in the state Division IV title game.
 The fact that the Gators agreed to come to Carmel was respect in itself.
 But giving up 76 points is a concern for a team whose focus this fall was improving the defense.
 Dating back to 2013, the Padres have given up 77, 76, 61 and 52 points in four of its last six losses.
 Granted those opponents were pretty good as two won CCS titles last year while the other two had reached the section finals in 2013 and 2014.
 Still, three of these losses have come at Carmel. In fact, the Padres have dropped their last four home games dating back to 2014.
 Lost in this defensive debacle is the Padres manufactured 55 points, more than they had scored in  their first two games.
 I still think the defense will be better than what we witnessed Saturday. It was respectable in its two previous non-league games.
 But big games is when the defense has to show up. Because engaging in shootouts means games often come down to a mistake or two.