Well, there is one program in Indy that also has 5 or 6. But to your point, it’d be players 7-30 who decided the game due to the sheer numbers advantage.
I too, thought the same about Carmel. Until I turned on the regional game against BD and saw that they had a converted WR thrown in at QB.
I think that is where the diminishing returns argument comes in. Maybe there really isn’t an advantage once you get above 2500 students?
Swimming is considered an individual sport by the IHSAA and is a whole different ball game. The accumulation of points comes from scoring in multiple events...which you can have one swimmer who doubles or triples back.
I have always been intrigued by the amount of junior varsity swimmers at Carmel that go on to swim at the next level. Same with cross country.