Coach’s comments: “We have a large senior group; not a lot of them have had a ton of varsity experience. The ones who are here are chomping at the bit to play. They have stuck it out for two years and have been on two really good teams. This is exciting; this is fresh to see what they can do. We do have good players, some better than we have had for a while. We have kids who are resilient and smart and that gives us a chance. “The depth that we can coach these kids is unique at the high school level. They guys who have experience are our solid leaders. Our O-line has a nasty streak, and they are a smart group. Our defensive line and linebackers are strengths; we should be hard to run the ball against. A work in progress because we have inexperience in spots. It will take a while to make all the pieces fit. Our schedule is difficult, bringing in Columbus North and Bloomington South. We see quality returning quarterbacks in our first six games. We’re going to see really good opponents.
RONCALLI (8-2) – First year under coach Scott Marsh netted seventh straight winning season and second Circle City Conference title … rugged sectional resulted in opening loss to Cathedral, first time since 2005 … new challenge to replace 31 graduated Rebels; eight of whom were All-Conference … gone are quarterback Conner Gore, 73.6 completion percentage; record-setting receiver Jacob Luedemann, 67 career receptions; kicker Merrick Strykowski, 40-of-40 PATs; linebacker Cade Morgan, 84 tackles, eight sacks; and safety Ethan Newett, five interceptions … 39 seniors, many lack quality varsity playing time, primed for action. Key players: linebacker John Harris, Brandon Berger, running back Elijah Mahan, quarterback Alex Volk, O-line returners Simon Dias and Joe Mullin, who moves to center, Jerzy Pawlak, Robbie Butts, Clayton Schura and Conner Demoss … offense features receiver Luke Dill; 6-7 Danny Asher moves to wide receiver … D-line and linebackers Rebels’ strong point with Harris, Nate Comley at nose, Tyler Muse, returning starter Ethan Lockard at end, starter Tom Hodge, junior David Clayton and Matt Waugh …corners are Dylan Lewis and Jacob Denney … safeties untested … first two games on road against Southport and Franklin Central.
Coach’s comments: “We have a large senior group; not a lot of them have had a ton of varsity experience. The ones who are here are chomping at the bit to play. They have stuck it out for two years and have been on two really good teams. This is exciting; this is fresh to see what they can do. We do have good players, some better than we have had for a while. We have kids who are resilient and smart and that gives us a chance. “The depth that we can coach these kids is unique at the high school level. They guys who have experience are our solid leaders. Our O-line has a nasty streak, and they are a smart group. Our defensive line and linebackers are strengths; we should be hard to run the ball against. A work in progress because we have inexperience in spots. It will take a while to make all the pieces fit. Our schedule is difficult, bringing in Columbus North and Bloomington South. We see quality returning quarterbacks in our first six games. We’re going to see really good opponents.
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GREENWOOD (11-3) – Reached semistate last year for first time since 1990 but fell to East Central … 11 wins matched former coach Rick Wimmer’s final season in 2005 … coach Mike Campbell (69-67, 12 years) has program on upswing, five winning seasons in past seven … averaged 369.6 yards of offense ... graduated 19 seniors, mostly starters: quarterback Seth Gallman (1,728 yards passing, 64.5 completion percentage, 17 TDs, 843 yards rushing), running back Brandon Rosado (5.7 yards per carry), receiver Conner Battinau (13.7 yards per catch), linebacker/punter Tim Johns (100 tackles, 36.1 yards per punt) and lineman Nick Young (75 tackles). Lots of holes to fill … returning defenders accounted for only onethird of last year’s tackles … top senior defenders: linebackers Bryce Taylor (126 tackles) and Dillon Cloyd (78), lineman Noah Miller (71), and D-back Alex Walker (57 ) … junior/baseball pitcher Oliver Rau succeeds Gallman at QB, understands offense … leading rusher Nick Willham (1,080 yards, 5.6 yards per carry 14 TDs) leads offense … Rau has veteran receivers in junior Luke Raker (13.0 yards per reception) and senior Isaiah Drew (11.2) … junior Noah Dixon returns as starter on O-line … many battles for starting spots … open season with four of first five games at home; host Bloomington North Friday. Coach’s comments: “We are a work in progress because of the number of starters we lost. We will miss their leadership; they had been together for a long time. So, we’re working on finding spots where our kids can be productive and help the team. The guys we have back have played in big games. We’re leaning on them. When you make a deep playoff run, our young guys had five more weeks of practice that other teams didn’t get. And that’s where you see teams traditionally do well. Those extra practices and quality reps are a good springboard going into this season. They are going to have to be great leaders for us and play well. Our seniors have started to accept that role. “Traditionally, we have been more run-orientated, but we look to be balanced and maybe a little more unpredictable. We will wind up rotating a lot of players. This is a good group to work with, a lot of fun to be around. We want to get out of the gate early against Bloomington North.” |
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June 2024
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