New The Theme For Prep Football Openers
The calendar may not say it yet officially, but so long summer.
It’s time for area high school football teams to tee it up for real again come Friday night.
The local prep scene on the gridiron for week one of the 2015 season has plenty of storylines to follow.
There is plenty of “new” to take a look at for season openers.
Both Tippecanoe Valley and Triton have new coaches as Darin Holsopple takes over at Valley and Ron Brown is in charge now in Bourbon, where the Trojans enter play as a member of the newly-formed Hoosier North Athletic Conference.
Both Wawasee and Whitko have new opponents for openers Friday night.
Warsaw will have a new quarterback under center as the Tigers enter year two of the spread offense.
Following is a quick look at what’s on tap for Friday night. The records in parentheses are the final marks for the 2014 campaign.
Columbia City (5-7) at Warsaw (5-5), 7 p.m.
Warsaw has strength in its skill positions on offense.
Columbia City will look to its defense to lead the way.
Which will have the upper hand come Friday night at Fisher Field?
“We will find out where we are at and I think it will be a big challenge,” said Warsaw coach Phil Jensen. “We’ve started slow in the past and we’re emphasizing to our guys to be ready to go now when they step on the field.”
Junior Michael Jensen, who did not play last season, will man the controls at quarterback.
“I think that all three of our quarterbacks are doing a good job and coming along pretty well for us,” stated Jensen. “I’ve been pleased with all of them.”
Jensen will look to get the ball to the likes of tall and athletic targets like Riley Rhoades, Jeremy David, Brock Riley, Thomas Hickerson and Sterling Hay.
City, which beat Warsaw 33-21 a year ago, lost its quarterback, top tailback and a pair of receivers. The Eagles do return eight starters on defense.
“Their experience back is on defense,” noted Jensen of the Eagles. “We need to be consistent on offense and take care of the football. We have to realize that a punt is not a bad play. It’s about not giving up the big play on defense.”
Griffith (1-9) at Wawasee (6-4), 7:30 p.m.
The Warriors will look to do a few things and do them well this fall.
“Our systems now are very simplistic and our focus is on being good at a couple of things,” said Wawasee coach Josh Ekovich. “The thing that has impressed me about this team is our kids knowledge of the game so far.”
Wawasee will look to prosper even without familiar stars Clayton Cook (now at Ball State) and Gage Reinhard from a year ago.
“I think our guys are ready for a game and we’re still playing football in Syracuse,” joked Ekovich. “The biggest thing is that there has to be a level of patience this year with coaches, fans and the community.”
Wawasee, with a host of inexperience this fall, will look to play tough and physical.
“We need to make sure we finish plays and are physical,” Ekovich said. “That’s the biggest thing. Griffith has some big play ability. They have struggled the past three years, but they have a strong tradition before that.”
Caston (3-8) at Triton (3-8), 7 p.m.
The Trojans enter play in a new conference and with more depth than in years past.
Brown, the wrestling coach at Triton and also a football assistant the last five years, took over in late July.
“The thing is that we have more athletes out now and more depth and more competition for positions,” said Brown. “There’s a lot of excitement about the team from our fans and our community. I’m excited about the possibilities.”
“The thing is that we are getting better looks in practice now with better second team guys. I think we only have like three two-way starters right now and that’s shocking for Triton football.”
Triton hosts a Caston team which they beat 34-0 a year ago and have defeated in seven of the last 10 meetings.
Brown has several key assistants who have jumped in to help him, including former Triton football coach Rodney Younis and boys basketball coach Jason Groves.
“We have the athletes to match up, we just have to be consistent in what we do,” Brown said. “We need to control the things that we can control and improve from week to week.”
Brown said as of Wednesday afternoon there was still competition for the starting quarterback job for the opener.
Tippecanoe Valley (1-9) at Culver Academies (4-7), 7:30 p.m.
The Vikings look to return to the program’s winning ways under former Fairfield assistant coach Holsopple.
“There are a lot of things that our guys are trying to get used to with the transition and the changes that we have made,” noted Holsopple, who was hired in mid-July. “There is a lot that we need to polish up, but we have talent and the effort and the attitude have been there.”
Valley went 1-9 a year ago and lost twice to the Eagles, including 27-26 in a first-round playoff game.
“I’m definitely more concerned about what we are trying to do, but CMA will be disciplined and play hard we know that,” Holsopple noted.
Junior Alec Craig will get the starting nod at quarterback for the Vikings.
“I want us to play fast and intense,” remarked Holsopple. “We have a lot of talent in our offensive line and defensive backs, but we need them to communicate better than in our scrimmage.”
Cambridge City Lincoln (2-8) at Whitko (6-4), 7 p.m.
The Wildcats will look to continue what they do best.
“We’re not going to change what we do,” said Whitko coach Josh Mohr. “We have the same expectations and it’s the next man in. Our No. 1 goal is to get better each week.”
Whitko must replace record-setting tailback Tanner Hughes. The All-Stater rushed for 1,431 yards a year ago.
“It all rests on our offensive line to do the job as it has in the past,” Mohr said. “We have four starters back there. It’s all about finding out what guys are ready to fill roles and this first game will tell us a lot about that.”
The Wildcats do return eight starters on offense, including quarterback Garrett Elder.
“I want to see us play disciplined and focused Friday night,” remarked Mohr. “We were our own worst enemy at times in the scrimmage. I want us to take care of the mental aspect of the game.”