Takeaways from Decatur Central football's first slice of action in four-way home scrimmage
INDIANAPOLIS, Ind — It was a busy day at Decatur Central High School as three schools, Bloomington North, Castle and Speedway joined the Hawks at Devere Fair Stadium for scrimmage action.
The day was a highly anticipated one for Decatur Central, who is seeing an influx of new talent in 2022 with plenty of graduation on both offense and defense. So, finally seeing his team in action, Hawks' coach Kyle Enright was pleased with what he saw in his squad Thursday.
"We had three great opponents here, had referees out here, which always helps," he said. "You think you're doing well offensively and defensively until the refs get out here and throw flags. We're right where we're supposed to be in June. Nobody's a finished product yet but we're getting good reps and some quality opponents and that's all we can ask for."
Aycen Stevens, Bo Polston split play calling duties
Given the fact Hawks' quarterback and linebacker Aycen Stevens is still recovering from an ACL tear suffered last season, seeing another quarterback take snaps with the first team wasn't much of a surprise.
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However, what was surprising was the grasp freshman Bo Polston already had of the offense. He impressed in many ways, showing good arm talent mixed in with athleticism on draw plays.
Depending on the timetable of Stevens' return, seeing Poltson display such a high level of poise and confidence is exactly what the Decatur Central coaching staff were hoping to see, given he may serve as the team's starter at the beginning of the season.
"Having Bo come up and get meaningful varsity reps against good opponents in the summer is really helping him and his confidence," Enright said.
That said, Stevens still looked good in the snaps he was given. The Hawks reasonably didn't want to push him too much, but even then, he still escaped the pocket, ran out into the open field and delivered accurate passes.
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His leadership stood out, too. There wasn't a moment Stevens wasn't by Polston's side. After a teammate made a big play, he was the first one to congratulate them. Seeing Stevens in action, and in such high spirits is a positive sign for the Hawks moving forward.
"Love that Aycen is getting back out there with his ACL and moving around, it's good to see," Enright said. We're trying to get him confidence on his knee, being able to move around offensively. We've got four really good quarterbacks; those two guys took most of the varsity reps today and we feel good about both of them."
Two-way attack in the backfield
From one senior to another, the Hawks' backfield duties are being handed off from 2021 graduate Kaleb Hicks to Jordan Cox. The fun thing about Cox is he's nearly the polar opposite of Hicks.
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In stature, Hicks was a taller back, coming in at 6-foot-1, whereas Cox is listed as 5-foot-8. Hicks was big on bringing the thunder, relying on speed and power to rack up yardage in the run-happy Decatur Central offense. Cox showed he's more of a shifty back, using agility and elusiveness to find open paths.
"Jordan Cox is next in line, when Kaleb Hicks went down last year, he filled in nicely for him," Enright said. "He's a little shifty guy that's hard for people to see when he gets behind the lineman in the backfield."
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Sharing snaps with Cox was junior Presley Newkirk, who also impressed. Newkirk saw nine carries last season, so he's set to have a big uptick in numbers this year.
"Presley Newkirk is the guy sharing reps with him, he's doing a great job as well," he said. "Presley and Jordan are doing a great job back there.
Defense shaping up while retooling
There was a lot of turnover on the Hawks' defense heading into the 2022 season, primarily in the secondary where there's an entirely new group with little varsity experience.
Thursday allowed the staff to see what they have to work with, and what to improve on. Many newcomers impressed, like Brayden Tyus, a transfer from Lawrence North, who consistently saw himself reaching the offensive backfield from the defensive end position. The Hawks are also bringing in
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Mainstays like junior Alec Lawson and Halbert Aguirre proved to be already up to speed. Plus, the team is still waiting for the return of Stevens on the defensive side and Cameron Renick, who also tore an ACL. With their eventual return, and more experience in the defensive backfield, the Hawks should be on track to return to their brand of stingy defense.
"Really happy with the front seven, the back four, five guys, safeties and corners, are all new," Enright said. "Losing (Chaikou) Diallo, (Javon) Tracy, (Will) Starks, (Keenan) Hicks, all those guys from the back end is tough to replace. We're trying to play catch up and learn stuff on the back end. But the front seven really help with that."
Contact reporter Devin Voss at dvoss@gannett.com or follow him on Twitter at @DevinVoss23.
This article originally appeared on The Reporter Times: Takeaways from Decatur Central's first bit of football action
