From realignment to top games to Mr. Football: 10 storylines to open IHSAA football season
Indiana high school football practice officially begins on Monday. Let’s take a look at 10 storylines for the upcoming season:
How does conference realignment impact high school football?
We wrote about the potential for conference realignment in this space last year, though the potential breakup of the Metropolitan Interscholastic Conference had only started to gather steam at the time.
Well, in December, it happened. After Carmel and Center Grove flirted with the Hoosier Crossroads Conference and applied for membership, administrators from the remaining six MIC schools voted the Greyhounds and Trojans — charter members of the conference — out of the league. Carmel and Center Grove were also not voted into the suburban HCC, which chose to remain at eight schools for the immediate future.
So, where does that leave football? You will see no difference in the 2022 schedule — at least any major deviation from the usual. The MIC contracts were locked in for this fall, so Carmel and Center Grove will play the usual six “conference” opponents, plus two nonconference games (Carmel will play at Louisville Trinity in the opener Aug. 19 and at Detroit Cass Tech in Week 3; Center Grove is at Louisville Trinity Week 3 and hosts Cathedral in the regular-season finale).
More interesting will be 2023 and beyond. There were some hard feelings, obviously, between the MIC and the departing two schools. There are some (not all) MIC schools that will not want to play Center Grove and Carmel. But football scheduling for Class 6A schools is difficult without — and, sometimes, even with — a conference. How many out-of-state trips are you willing to take? How many trips to Fort Wayne do you want to make? Home games against those far away schools are not going to be great draws for fans.
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There just are not that many options. There are only 32 teams in 6A and 20 of those are located in Central Indiana. It makes sense for those schools to go head-to-head with one another during the regular season. Those are the games people want to see. Carmel vs. Ben Davis. Warren Central vs. Center Grove. Time and money would heal some wounds.
Carmel will play Ben Davis, Warren Central, Lawrence North and North Central in 2023. I would expect those programs to continue to play. Carmel and Cathedral will go back on the schedule in 2025, and I expect that series to continue for several years. But there will definitely be some differences — probably several out-of-state games — for both Carmel and Center Grove.
Who knows what the future holds? I would not rule out more conference realignment down the road. But this will be the last “normal” schedule we have become accustomed to seeing for the local 6A teams.
Can Center Grove make it three in a row?
Speaking of Center Grove … can the Trojans win a third consecutive 6A title?
Your first response is “no” isn’t it? That was mine. But even with talented players like Caden Curry (Ohio State), James Schott (Michigan State), Tayven Jackson (Tennessee) and several others gone to graduation, the back-to-back champions still have enough talent on the roster to become the first program to win three consecutive titles in the state’s largest class since Warren Central won four in a row in Class 5A from 2003-06.
Tyler Cherry, a 6-5 junior, is expected to take over the starting role at quarterback and there are talented players up front and in the backfield with seniors Drew Wheat and Micah Coyle returning. Eli Hohlt, a senior slotback is another name to watch on offense. The defense will not be as dominant up front, but still has talented players like seniors Jalen Thomeson and Gavin Oakes.
And, maybe most important, Eric Moore is still coaching Center Grove. Moore is going into his 24th season leading the Trojans, who will put their 28-game winning streak on the line in the opener vs. Warren Central.
There are certainly more unknowns about Center Grove going into this season than last. But I don’t think anybody is counting the Trojans out of anything.
New faces in new places
There were some coaching changes in the offseason. To get caught up:
⬤ Eric Quintana is a head coach for the first time at Roncalli, which is coming off a two-year run under John Rodenberg that resulted in a 25-2 record and a Class 4A state title in 2020. Quintana worked the past five seasons as an assistant at Bishop Chatard.
⬤ Mike Brevard is the new boss at Pike, which is looking to rebound from a 1-9 season. Brevard, a Ben Davis graduate, had been coaching at the college level at St. Francis.
⬤ Pat Echeverria returned to Eastern Hancock, where he led the Royals to a Class A state finals appearance in 2013. After five seasons at Zionsville and three at Pike, Echeverria is back again at Eastern Hancock, which is now a 2A program and on its third coach in three years.
⬤ Casey Gillin (that name sound familiar?) was hired at Indian Creek, where he passed for more than 8,000 yards while playing for his father, current Mooresville coach Mike Gillin, two decades ago. Gillin, who had been coaching at Mooresville, takes over an Indian Creek program that slipped under .500 last year (3-8) for the first time since 2000.
⬤ Tracey Pendleton takes over at Washington. The Continentals were 3-6 last season under Steve Moorman, who coach four years at Washington. Pendleton previously coached at since-closed Howe.
⬤ Chris Chang takes over at Purdue Poly, which will become a Class 3A sectional-eligible program next year.
How will Cathedral fare in move to 6A?
This might be the most interesting storyline of the bunch.
Cathedral, the Class 5A state champion in 2020 and 2021, is a combined 27-2 over the past two seasons with the only losses coming to 6A champion Center Grove. The Irish, via the tournament success factor, will move up to 6A for the next two-year classification and into Sectional 6 with Lawrence Central, Lawrence North and North Central.
This is the second time Cathedral has made the jump to 6A. In 2015 and ’16, Cathedral won the sectional both seasons, then lost the regional (to Avon in double-overtime in 2015 and by 30 to Ben Davis in 2016). At that time, that was not enough success to keep Cathedral in 6A. The IHSAA has since lowered the threshold for success, meaning a back-to-back sectional winner would stay in the same class.
This Cathedral team is a no-doubt state championship contender. The Irish came in at No. 33 in the country in the MaxPreps preseason national rankings, the highest for an in-state team. With junior quarterback Danny O’Neil returning, along with Purdue recruit Jaron Tibbs at receiver and Western Michigan commit Brennan Wooten at tight end, the offense is loaded. The defense graduated a lot of production, though four-star defensive end Kendrick Gilbert returns.
Cathedral will get some good tests along the way, including a showdown with Brownsburg in Week 2. The regular-season finale at Center Grove could be a potential semistate preview.
Who else emerges in Class 6A?
Westfield established itself on the north side of the bracket the past two years, reaching the state finals both seasons and losing to Center Grove, last year in a 27-21 thriller.
But with the Shamrocks graduating an accomplished senior class and Carmel returning to the north side of 6A, does the balance of power shift? The Greyhounds are loaded and could be the favorite in the north, coming off a 9-2 season that ended with a sectional championship loss to Brownsburg. Carmel, Westfield, Zionsville (new to 6A) and Noblesville are in the same sectional.
Realignment was also beneficial for Hamilton Southeastern and Fishers. The Mudsock rivals are aligned in Sectional 3 with Homestead and Fort Wayne Northrop.
I would also keep an eye on Brownsburg and Warren Central. The Bulldogs have a lot coming back from last year’s 9-3 sectional title team, including a returning starter at quarterback in Jayden Whitaker. Ben Davis and Brownsburg will meet in the season opener and could meet again down the road in Sectional 5. Warren Central will be a clear favorite in Sectional 7 with Tech, Perry Meridian and Southport.
Can Lawrence North build on its first sectional championship in 31 years? Can Lawrence Central continue its rise from zero wins in 2020 to a competitive 4-7 last year? There are a lot of questions this season in 6A.
Mr. Football watch
The season will have to play out a few weeks before we have a clear look at the candidates, but Andrean’s Drayk Bowen has the best credentials going into the season. Bowen, a 6-2, 225-pound Notre Dame commit, was named the Gatorade Player of the Year in Indiana as a junior after leading Andrean to a Class 2A state championship.
Bowen is a two-way star, leading Andrean with 105 tackles last year from his linebacker spot and rushing for 965 yards and 18 touchdowns.
I wrote about several other possible candidates recently. I’d say Cathedral’s Tibbs, Merrillville’s Justin Marshall and Mooresville’s Nick Patterson could have some potential to start the season on a short list. We should have a better sense of this race by the end of September.
A new landscape in Class 5A
Cathedral’s move up to 6A opens the door for someone else to emerge in 5A. Is that team Decatur Central?
The Hawks were ranked No. 2 in the state last year before losing to Cathedral 31-7 in the sectional final, the third consecutive year Decatur Central lost to the Irish in the sectional. In 2018, Decatur Central beat Cathedral and made it all the way to the state championship before falling to Charlie Spegal and New Palestine.
Coach Kyle Enright has a team that could be the one to beat in 5A, especially with Virginia Tech recruit Aycen Stevens back to full strength. Also of note is Zionsville, the runner-up to Cathedral the past two years, also moved up to 6A based on enrollment. And Merrillville, traditionally a 6A program, is moving down to 5A. The Pirates were 12-0 last year before losing to Westfield in a 6A semistate.
It’s a new world in 5A the next two years.
Defending the crown
Mt. Vernon’s impressive performance in a 45-14 win over Northridge in the Class 4A state championship was one of the enduring images of Thanksgiving weekend last season. The Marauders looked fast, fast, fast.
Can the Marauders defend the title in coach Vince Lidy’s second season? That might be a lot to ask after losing players like quarterback Gehrig Slunaker and running back/linebacker Keagan LaBelle to graduation. But don’t expect Mt. Vernon to be a one-year wonder. Last year’s 27-21 win over then-unbeaten Roncalli in the regional was a big-time hurdle for the program on its way to a first state title.
But guess who is back in 4A? Rival New Palestine. Juicy. The Dragons come back to their enrollment class for the first time since 2014 and into the same eight-team Sectional 22 with Mt. Vernon and improving Greenfield-Central.
The other local team defending a championship is Lutheran in Class A. The Saints lose all-state quarterback Montasi Clay and several other key players. The past two state champions in Class A have come out of Sectional 47 (Covenant Christian won it in 2020). Will it happen again? Lutheran knocked off Covenant Christian 34-27 last year in the sectional championship.
Games to watch
So many great games, even in the opening week of the season. Here are my top-five games to watch:
Brownsburg at Ben Davis, Aug. 19: This is the final game of a four-year contract between the programs, but they are now slotted into the same sectional for the next two years. Last year’s 32-14 Ben Davis regional win over Brownsburg in the cold added some flavor to this game.
Carmel at Center Grove, Aug. 26: The Copper Kettle game is … a nonconference game? Weird. But it could potentially be a state title preview, too.
New Palestine at Mt. Vernon, Sept. 9: These neighbors and Hoosier Heritage Conference rivals are back in the same class in 4A so this could be just a preview of a much-anticipated sectional showdown.
Mooresville at Decatur Central, Sept. 16: The Mid-State Conference will be on the line in Week 5. This rivalry has an edge.
Cathedral at Center Grove, Oct. 14: Let’s move this game to Arlington just for old time’s sake.
Stay here for more coverage
Here at indystar.com we will have plenty of preview coverage in the coming days and weeks, including our preseason Super Team, a special feature involving photographers Grace Hollars and Bob Scheer, predictions and much more. Looking forward to starting my 15th year covering high school football for IndyStar.
Call Star reporter Kyle Neddenriep at (317) 444-6649.
This article originally appeared on Indianapolis Star: Indiana high school football: 10 storylines to start 2022 IHSAA season
