Three area football teams that hadn’t enjoyed a lot of football success this century had their best seasons in several years last year.
Brown County, Edinburgh and South Decatur each saw marked improvements last season. Those schools, along with Jennings County, will look to make jumps again this fall.
Brown County
Colton Sample, who has been assistant for the Eagles the past seven years, takes over for the retired Randy Minniear. Minniear led Brown County to a 5-5 record in 2020, its first non-losing season since 2013.
“We’re pleased with where we’re headed,” Sample said. “We’ve been getting a lot of good work in the past couple weeks. We’re excited for the year and just ready to get that first test under our belt and see where we really are. Talking to the guys in the offseason, we have a lot of guys that think winning our division in our (Western Indiana) conference is not only doable, but something that we can strive for.”
The Eagles will have a veteran backfield with senior returners Seth Oliphant at quarterback and Kody Walsh and Wanblee Roux at running back. Senior Malachi Nickels is back at receiver and will be joined in a wideout rotation by juniors Ethan Spiece, Blake Grider, Evan Asher and seniors Ethan Voland and Jordan Nash.
Senior Jack Redding, a transfer from Columbus North, takes over at tackle, and senior Brian Umphress or sophomore Sawyer Gore will be the other tackle. Junior Jackxon Goldsmith returns at guard, and will be joined by junior Wyatt Barrnett. Junior Brayden Hedger is back at center. Senior Jordan Burnett also could play on the offensive line.
Sample is switching to a 4-2 defense, with Redding, Spiece, senior Brandon Phelps and junior Andy Weddle rotating at end and Hedger, Goldsmith, Barrnett and Umphress rotating at tackle. Roux returns at linebacker, where he will be joined by junior newcomer Clayton Fouts.
Nickels and Asher are back at corner, and junior Garrett Braden also could see action there. Grider, Walsh and senior Landon Mullis all return at safety. Senior Paul Kleppe could play corner or safety.
Walsh likely will do the kicking and punting.
“A lot of kids are going to see some snaps,” Sample said. “We have a lot of kids that are ready to go and play some football.”
Jennings County
The Panthers got some bad news the week before the beginning of practice when Justin Sharp, their head coach the past two years, had to step down because of a health concern within his family.
Justin Baldwin, who played at Jennings and Hanover and was middle school head coach and a freshman volunteer coach the past five years, was appointed interim coach. He takes over a team that went 1-9 last season.
“I’m really excited about it,” Baldwin said. “I’ve had them from middle school all the way up until now, so it’s really neat to see how much they’ve developed.”
Junior Michael Haines and senior Peyton Hayden alternated between quarterback and running back last season. This year, Haines will be at quarterback and Hayden at running back of H-back in the spread-style offense.
Sophomore Branden Braun returns at running back, and seniors Colton Ross and Cole Marksberry are back at receiver, where they will be joined by senior Carter Thompson. Junior Matthew Hines will be the tight end.
Seniors Jake Sturgeon and Zach Reason return at tackle. Junior Jon Kent and Dillon Carney take over at guard, and junior Zaydun Patton steps in at center.
Defensively, Baldwin will use a 4-4 modified into 4-2-5 look. Senior Zach Reason returns at end and will be joined by junior John Hifo. Junior Raven Biddle will be at tackle, and senior Jake Sturgeon returns at the nose. Junior Bryson Webster also will play on line
Hayden returns at middle linebacker, and Matt Hines also will play inside. Sophomores Sam Burkman and Blaine Ison will be outside linebackers. Ross and Marksberry return at corner, and junior Austin Byford steps in at safety.
Senior Ian Sawyer, who also plays soccer, will do the kicking and punting.
“The kids have done an amazing job,” Baldwin said. “Right now, we’re going to be the best conditioned team on the field. We’re going to work hard, and we’re going to go out and compete. They’ve been putting in a lot of work and just getting ready for the season to open up.”
South Decatur
The Cougars posted their first winning season since 2016 last year. After dropping their opener, they had a three-week COVID quarantine, then won five in a row before falling in their sectional opener to finish 5-2.
“Last year, I had some kids out with COVID, and I only dressed 17 kids in the sectional and 12 of them were seniors,” South Decatur coach Rick Zimmerman said. “So we got in the hallways and got some kids out. When we get everybody healthy, we plan on playing some JV games, too. We have a good group of kids, and they’ve been working hard.”
Zimmerman is experimenting with a few options for his Pistol Wing-T offense. Senior Kelby Shook, sophomore Jaylynn McMurray or junior Rhett Martin could end up at quarterback.
If Shook doesn’t play quarterback, he likely would be a wingback, and Martin likely would be an H-back is he isn’t under center. Sophomore Tyler Bishop and freshman Corbin Johnson also could play wingback, and a pair of basketball players, junior Dale Peters and sophomore Jacob Scruggs will be the receivers. Junior Austin Boilanger takes over at tight end.
Senior Zach Ralston moves from tackle to guard, and senior Ryken Winchester could move from center to tackle. Junior Colson Boggs steps in at guard, and senior Ian Frensemeier, who is out for football for the first time since freshman year, could play tackle. Junior Riley AmRhine could play center, and junior Sebastian Muckerheide and freshman Toby Bishop could see action at tackle.
In a 4-3 defense, sophomore Tyler Bishop returns at end, but could move to tackle, with Frensemeier, Boggs, Muckerheide and Toby Bishop also rotating at tackle. Sophomore Isaac Gasper and Peters could play the ends.
Winchester will be the middle linebacker, with Martin at outside linebacker and Boilanger at outside linebacker or safety. Sophomore Owen Arreola also could play linebacker.
Shook is four-year starter at corner, where he will be joined by Luke Burton. Scruggs and McMurray will be the safeties.
“Defensively, we’re going to have to find out, ‘Can we tackle?'” Zimmerman said. “I was pleased with our progress during the summer. We played in some 7-on-7 scrimmages, but in 7-on-7, you can’t bring people to the ground. You can do all the tackle stations you want, but until you get on the field, you never know.”
McMurray will do the place kicking, Friensemeier will kick off and Shook will do the punting.
Edinburgh
The Lancers have high hopes with nine starters back on both sides of the ball after going 3-7 to eclipse their combined win total from the previous three seasons.
Edinburgh returns a pair of dynamic playmakers in senior quarterback Riley Palmeter and junior receiver Caleb Dewey. Dewey, who had 1,037 yards and 13 touchdowns receiving last year, is a preseason Junior All-State selection.
Junior Jarrett Turner returns at running back and will be joined by freshman Connor Ramey and senior Lennon DeLoach, who is back after sitting out last year. Senior Landon Burton returns at receiver, and junior Braylon Bryant also could see action there.
Seniors Caleb Turner and Alec Holland return at tackle. Junior Devyn Milburn is back at guard, and senior Gavin Fultz takes over at the other guard. Junior Mason Calhoun returns at center.
“Surprisingly this year, we have a lot more linemen than what we’ve had in the past,” Edinburgh coach Tyler DeSpain said. “We have 15 linemen, which is very unusual for us.”
DeSpain is switching from 4-4 to 3-4 defense. Junior Keegan Smith and Holland are back at end, and Caleb Turner returns at the nose.
Jarrett Turner and Palmeter are back at outside linebacker. Calhoun moves from end to middle linebacker, and will team with DeLoach inside.
Braylon Bryant and Landon Burton return at corner. Dewey and senior Colin Richardson are back at safety.
Junior Enrique Callejas will be the kicker, and Braylon Bryant will do the punting.
The Lancers have 34 players out for this year’s team, up from 26 last season, and the schedule has been softened to a degree.
“The schedule changed a little bit,” DeSpain said. “We’re playing some teams that are similar to us. Winning more than one game last year, we saw a lot of improvement from Year 1 to Year 2 with this coaching staff, and their expectations are very high for themselves.”
