There are a number of reasons why Bloomington South’s defense was so effective this year and those numbers were ‘0’ and ‘4’.

When football coach Gabe Johnson sat down early each Saturday morning to break down film on the defensive side of the ball, those jerseys kept showing up time and time again.

No matter where they started when the ball was snapped, chances are, 0 and 4, junior middle linebacker Ralph Rogers and junior safety Drew Crum-Heiftje, respectively, would make a bee-line for the ball and bring the play to a halt.

Their knack for getting to the ball was reflected in the stat sheet: tackles, turnovers, pressures, pass breakups. 0 and 4 added up to a lot of trouble for their opponents and they are also the Herald-Times Defensive Football Players of the Year.

“There are a lot of intangibles and tangibles,” Johnson said. “They’re fast and strong. And they see things. Their instinctiveness when it comes to defensive football and making plays that way. It’s their tenacity.”

South held opponents to a touchdown or less six times and only two squads had more than two touchdowns.

Rogers was ready

Rogers just finished off his third year of varsity football, seeing the field at North before starting the last two at South at linebacker. It was his turn to step up with last year’s H-T Defensive Player of the Year, MLB Jordan Tolden, and IU-bound Dasan McCullough graduating.

Rogers responded. He was South’s top tackler this year, leading in solos (62) and total (115) and for loss (10). He also had two interceptions, including a key one late in the sectional final.

“He was our primary blitzer,” Johnson said. “He just had a knack for finding his way into the backfield. The pressure he got, maybe it was getting the quarterback to move and off his platform a little bit.

“He was also a sure solo tackler and also our most impactful assist leader (53). If a play is going away from him, he was still around the ball from his middle linebacker spot. If the play was on the sideline, he was there, too. He covered a tremendous amount of ground in a short amount of time.”

Crum-Hieftje is everywhere

It’s hard to find many football players at the 5A level who had as many different impacts on a game that Crum-Hieftje had this year.

The former quarterback recorded over 100 yards receiving, returned kickoffs and punts, intercepted five passes, taking one back 98 yards for a score against Columbus North. He forced two fumbles, broke up 10 pass plays and was second on the team in tackles (90). He was even pressed into duty as a third string running back at regional. Almost Maddix Blackwell like.

“I think the world of Maddix and Drew is a very similar athlete,” Johnson said. “Drew might even have a step or two on Maddix, but they are built differently, but it’s the same approach, how do I get them in position to make a play.”

Putting him at safety and letting him go helped him do that.

“Playmakers have to make plays and Maddix, to me, had a knack for the ball,” Johnson said. “There was always a chance he’d get his hands on it. When the ball was in the air, Maddix became a receiver. He had a unique knack for getting the ball out of the air.

“Drew is different. He plays like a linebacker and isn’t afraid to stick his nose in there. He’s a quick read downhill kid. You don’t want to get beat over the top, but he sees the ball and goes and gets it. Perimeter plays, it’s not easy to make plays in open space and for sure he made impact plays like that.”

Back for more

Johnson loves the fact both players and most of his defense will be back again next year.

Rogers and Crum-Hieftje were good fits because they seldom got themselves out of position or tried to do too much because they were able to trust their teammates to do their jobs.

“They were both into the game plan,” Johnson said. “We don’t ask them to do a whole lot different week to week, so there’s consistency and they were really good at that.

“They’re built that way. You didn’t see them overrunning plays. There’s a discipline to our defense and part of our job is putting guys in position to make plays, get them in situations where they can impact plays, by design.”

2022 HERALD-TIMES ALL-AREA FOOTBALL TEAM

DEFENSE

DL: Noah Fox, South, Jr.

Helped lock up linemen to give the linebackers room to maneuver. Had 41 tackles (24 solos), eight for loss, three sacks and 11 QB pressures. All-CI.

DL: Grey Hostetler, North, Jr.

First year of high school ball was productive at defensive end with 65 tackles (26 solos), 8.5 for loss. Had a sack and 22 QB hurries. Also blocked a field goal attempt.

DL: Tysen Smith, South, Jr.

A multi-purpose athlete who shifted from linebacker to defensive end all while still playing tight end. Finished with 36 tackles, three for loss, two sacks, two interceptions, 10 QB pressures and a pass defended. Had 21 catches for 197 yards and two TDs. All-CI. IFCA Class 5A Junior All-State.

LB: Dylan Barrow, North, Sr.

Leader of Cougar defense had 65 tackles (24 solos), seven for loss and a sack. All-CI. Repeat All-Area.

LB: Duke Conrad, South, South, Jr.

Outside backer had 73 tackles (45 solo), seven for loss and had 2½ sacks, an interception and recovered three fumbles. Had 14 QB pressures and three passes defended. All-CI.

LB: Ralph Rogers, South, Jr.

H-T Co-Defensive Player of the Year. Worked sideline to sideline to collect a team high 115 tackles (62 solo), with 10 for loss and 1½ sacks. Had eight QB pressures. All-CI IFCA Class 5A Junior All-State. Repeat All-Area.

LB: Zeke Trueblood, North, So.

Led the Cougars in tackles with 116 (32 solo), and had 10 for loss, team high three sacks and seven QB hurries.

LB: Zach Minnick, Edgewood, Sr.

Mustangs top tackler with 86 (42 solo), forced two fumbles and recovered one. Had two sacks and seven tackles for loss.

DB: Drew Crum-Heiftje, South, Jr.

H-T Co-Defensive Player of the Year did a bit of everything for the Panthers. Second in tackles with 90 (58 solo), four for loss. Had a team best five interceptions, returning one for a TD, and two fumble recoveries. Had 10 passes defended. Caught 11 passes for 134 yards and two TDs and played running back at regional. All-CI. IFCA Class 5A Junior All-State.

DB: Cayden Riester, North, Sr.

Settled in at free safety this year, finishing with 106 tackles (50 solo), nine passes defended, a punt block and caused two fumbles. All-CI. Repeat All-Area.

DB: Griff Gillard, South, Sr.

First-year starter at corner picked off three passes and finished with 65 tackles, three for loss and broke up eight passes.

DB: Stephon Opoku, North, Jr.

Cougars top corner suffered a separated shoulder in Week 8 that ended his season. Had two interceptions, five passes defended and totaled 22 tackles.

DB: Mason Law, Edgewood, Sr.

No. 2 in tackles for the Mustangs with 83 (46 solo) and six for loss. Had a sack, two interceptions, forced two fumbles and recovered three. Returned punts and kickoffs (18.8 ypr), punted seven times and even played at running back.

P: Graham Freund, North, Jr.

Learned rugby-style punting and led the area at 38.6 yards per punt with a long of 65 and sticking 22 inside the 20. Also kicked off three times and booted one extra point and a 27-yard field goal. At cornerback, had 39 tackles (20 solo), two interceptions, 11 passes defended and a fumble recovery. IFCA Class 5A Junior All-State.

ATH: Jedd Cummings, Eastern Greene, Jr.

Slot receiver/cornerback was one of the T-Birds top all-around athletes before his death in a car accident late in the season. Had 14 catches for 114 yards on offense, 31 tackles (21 solo), two interceptions and six passes defended on defense. All-SWIAC.

HONORABLE MENTION: Evan Ferkingstad, Eastern Greene, Jr., LB/FB (89 tackles; 47-255 yards rushing); Ben Godar, South, So. LB (67 tackles, 1 interception returned for TD, 2 forced fumbles, 1 recovery, 10 PBU, blocked punt returned for TD); Peyton Lewis, Eastern Greene, So., LB (30 tackles, caused three fumbles); Drew Ogden, North, Jr. CB (78 tackles, 1 interception); Gaeb Novak, Edgewood, Sr. DL (26 tackles, 3 sacks); Ben Ridner, South, So. LB (83 tackles, 1 sack); Evan Rogers, Eastern Greene, Jr., S (88 tackles, 1 interception, 2 fumbles recovered); Zac West, Eastern Greene, Jr., K (IFCA Class 1A Junior All-State).

This article originally appeared on The Herald-Times: Panther pair top Herald-Times All-Area Football Team defense