FORT WAYNE — The football season officially, or at least it felt like, kicked off with the Northeast Indiana high school football media days Friday afternoon.
Optimum Performance Sports hosted the event, holding 39 football teams and coaches with all sorts of television, radio and print media personalities.
Of course, I spoke with three coaches that afternoon and a few players and warmed up the pigskin conversation as the season is now just four weeks away.
Below, I will recap some important information I learned. The rest will be in our annual fall sports preview for The News-Banner.
Bluffton
Head coach Brent Kunkel was out of town, probably avoiding all the hard-hitting questions I come at him with (I’m kidding). Instead, I had the pleasure to speak with assistant coach Tim Millsbaugh, who shared some things about this upcoming Bluffton Tigers’ season.
Bluffton’s coming off of two straight sectional championships. But a large, 16-man, senior class with a lot of starters are now gone after graduation. That includes the starting offensive and defensive lines, the linebacking core and the quarterback (among others). Those were the units that suffered the most, and Millspaugh thought the same.
When I asked him about this entirely new group, he said that there are a lot of positives to take away from scrimmages and workouts throughout the summer. The Tigers do return a handful of impactful players from last season, headlined by running back tandem Khamel Moore and Cooper Craig, and all-conference defender Griffin Morgan.
Names like Tavin Frees, Drayvin Shoemaker and Jake Boots were listed as solid performers in camp to replace the offensive line. Declan Grieser and Easton Blair are other names at linebacker that could make a leap.
Millspaugh went to as far as saying this team compares to the 2022 season when only four seniors graduated, finishing the year 8-5 and winning its first sectional in years.
“We’re pretty encouraged and excited about this group,” Millspaugh said. “It reminds us a lot of two years ago when we had four seniors in the senior class and now we have six. And that year, we definitely exceeded expectations. So there’s a lot of similarities and parallels to that.”
But the biggest takeaway for me was quarterback Axton Beste, who has some mighty shoes to fill with Braxton Bextancourt’s departure.
Millspaugh shared a story of the then-freshman in the regional final against Bishop Luers last year. Betancourt went down for the first time all season, and Beste entered the game as a freshman against an eventual state champion in 2A. All the kid did was score the only touchdown drive for the Tigers.
He stated that rather than being a nervous wreck, Beste was discouraged that he lost the game for the team and couldn’t come up with a game-winning drive.
I spoke with Beste at media days, and with humor, summed all of that up.
“Before the game, I always like to think of good things that are going to happen. And of course, our QB1 going down isn’t a good thing,” Beste joked. “For me going in, of course I was ready for and prepared for it. The whole season that hadn’t happened yet. I said ‘If it’s going to happen now, I’ve got to be the one to step up and be the one to do the job. When Braxton went down, everybody kept telling me ‘Calm down, you’re good.’ And I was like ‘I am good! Throw me in there.’”
I’ve had a fair share of interviews with the local athletes here in now entering my third season, and Beste was calm and cool about it. I look forward to seeing big things from him this year.
Norwell
Josh Gerber certainly had the most surprising information to share, making changes to both the offensive and defensive schemes.
On offense, the Knights are going to a spread option due to their athletic offensive lineman and playmakers, including at quarterback. Gerber compared the playbook to the style of Liberty or Coastal Carolina, who have had great success in recent years in college football.
An odd stack defense will replace the 4-3 look, and Gerber said they will move safeties around and place one high.
The early reports on this? Not too shabby. There will be some kinks to sort out, but Gerber emphasized that his coaching staff sees the potential.
“There’s some growing pains this summer with that transition but, we got back together with Huntington North, Adams Central and West Noble (for scrimmages) and I saw some really, really good things in that,” Gerber said. “I saw some things that need to be coached, but we were pretty pleased as coaches thinking that things need to be changed are things that we can do with coaching. It’s not a lack of talent or abilities.”
My second question mark into this season was the same as last year’s: who will be behind center?
Like last season, Gerber wouldn’t commit to an answer due to Drew Graft’s summer baseball schedule. The Taylor commit has promise as a centerfielder and plays for an elite travel club. They expect him to return to football soon.
Gerber’s three options at quarterback, Graft, Alex Fojtik and Cayden Cassel, all have the ability to be the guy. Or, even toy around with playing other positions. Gerber said that Fojtik has had his shot as a fullback, while Graft got carries as a tailback a few years ago.
That’s perhaps a strength for the team that now has three players with experience and knowledge in that position. I could see Norwell going with Cassel at quarterback, while having Fojtik and Graft play in the backfield, in the slot, or even a mixture of both.
Southern Wells
I was unable to catch new head coach Blake Blaker before the team left. I reached out via text and got the questions answered that I needed, thanks to his help.
Like Norwell two years ago and Bluffton this year, Southern Wells graduated a lengthy senior class and will need to make adjustments. On top of that, the Raiders’ players will go through their third head coach in three seasons after Mike Roeder and Jeff Sprunger left.
Blaker, a first-time head coach, continued to preach what he said in my hiring story earlier this month. He wants to build a program from the bottom up, get kids on the field and create a winning culture.
He shared that the numbers are looking good this season despite the graduating class, but would need about 10 more to put together a junior varsity season.
As far as early-season practices have gone, Blaker is pleased with the team’s work ethic and preparation. The team has gone through a lot over the past three years with new voices, but it’s a group that cares and loves football and recently put Poneto into a frenzy with their first win in a few seasons. They’ve come a long way since the season when Southern Wells went to a full junior varsity schedule, and it’s great to see.
“Our quarterback Trey Slusher has been impressive in taking the reins and learning an entirely new system and play style than what he’s been used to,” Blaker said. “Overall, all the kids who have been showing up to summer practices so far are doing a good job of being coachable and working hard to get ready for our first game.”
I’ve had an early read on Blaker without meeting him yet in person, but as someone who understands what the program needs. I like the youth, as he is only 29-years-old, and has the juice of being a first-time head coach.
I’m interested to see how his first season goes and how the Raiders can improve upon it for seasons to come.
“It doesn’t matter if it’s a freshman or a senior,” Blaker said. “Who wants to be a part of the new winning culture are going to be the ones who play.”
