I don't have much confidence in "the word on the street" or "I'm hearing" commentary especially when it calls in to question the toughness, attitude and grit of high school athletes. I watched several of their games this season and I saw nothing that indicated that Carmel lacked toughness or intensity.
I think you make an interesting case but I believe that all schools, even a mega school like Carmel, experience up and down cycles with talent. It may be a little early to say the program is any type of dire straights. Time will tell.
HSE 31
Brownsburg 28
Final
Two outstanding teams. This could have gone either way but hats off to HSE for coming back strong and overcoming a 14 point halftime deficit to win the game.
From Twitter....
Trojans score on a 27 yard pass. The 6 play drive went 50 yards and took 2:47 off the clock. There is 2:25 remaining in the 1st half. Trojans lead the Irish 14-13