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Yahoo
21 hours ago
- Sport
- Yahoo
Buchholz football players share their thoughts and expectations on the 2025 season
For the fourth straight season, the Bobcats advanced to the Class 6A state semifinals and open the 2025 season vs. Ocala-Vanguard on Thursday, August 21.
Indianapolis Star
18-07-2025
- Sport
- Indianapolis Star
IHSAA football: 8 sleeper teams to watch in Central Indiana for the 2025 season
The high school football season begins five weeks from tonight. We take a look today at eight potential sleeper teams for the 2025 season from Central Indiana. To keep things consistent, we considered only teams that finished last season with a .500 record or below. I had a few hits in this category last year, including Lapel (improved from 5-5 to 9-4 and sectional champion), Lebanon (from 5-6 to 9-3), Roncalli (4-7 to 6-5) and Warren Central (5-7 to 10-2). Here are selections for this season: After going 2-8 in Rob Gibson's first season as coach, the Orioles were on this list a year ago at this time. And after a Week 2 overtime win over defending Class 6A state champion Ben Davis, it looked like a pretty solid pick. But as the schedule toughened, Avon was hit with some key injuries, including to quarterback Jace Cameron, and the Orioles finished just 3-7 with a competitive sectional loss (21-13) to eventual state champion Brownsburg. Is this the year Avon can post a winning season for the first time since 2019? Cameron returns as a senior after passing for 584 yards and three touchdowns in four games. Leading rusher Ashton Carter (769 yards, four TDs) returns, along with most of the receiving corps and the line is anchored by senior and Kent State recruit William Johnson III. The defense also brings back several key players, including junior Makyi Hines (94 tackles, 12 tackles for loss) and senior Grayson Clutter (73 tackles, six sacks). The schedule is unrelenting, starting with defending Class 5A state champion Decatur Central and Ben Davis. Then comes the Hoosier Crossroads Conference gauntlet. But don't be surprised to see the Orioles make a jump in Gibson's third season. We knew the Giants were losing a lot from their senior class following the run to the Class 6A state title in 2023. But it was still stunning to see Ben Davis stumble to a 1-5 start before recovering to finish 5-6 and nearly knock out Brownsburg in the first round of the sectional (the Giants led by 28 points before losing 38-35). Russ Mann, in his third season as coach, loses some key seniors like Mr. Football Mark Zackery IV and running back Alijah Price to graduation. Junior quarterback Joe Goss has also transferred to Warren Central after getting most of the snaps last season. But there is still plenty of talent on the westside, including Speedway transfer Jazz Coleman, who ran for 1,010 yards and 14 touchdowns as a junior in just seven games. Quarterbacks Kenneth Doss (sophomore) and Gabe Kennett (freshman) are young but talented. Kansas recruit Robert Reddick has been a staple in the secondary but will also help the offense as a senior. The schedule is the same as a year ago, starting with Cathedral (at Butler) and vs. Avon the first two weeks. New coach/old coach Kevin Wright takes the reins for the first time since a five-year tenure from 2010-14 that saw the Greyhounds win one state title and appear in two other championship games. There was a lot of promise going into last season (I had Carmel on this list) after a 5-5 season in 2023. Under former coach — and now Noblesville coach — John Hebert, Carmel started 2-1 with the only loss coming in a hard fought, storm interrupted Week 2 loss to Westfield. But the Greyhounds won just one more game the rest of the way, beating winless North Central. After the program's first back-to-back non-winning seasons since 1972 and '73, there is reason for optimism again. Senior quarterback and Troy commit Anthony Coellner (1,896 passing yards, 17 TDs) returns with senior running back Anthony Pemberton (588 rushing yards, four TDs) and receivers Jacob Bellin (47 catches, 596 yards, five TDs) and Dominic Shockley (33 catches, 345 yards, three TDs). Duke recruit Dane Bathurst, a 6-4, 235-pound linebacker has transferred in from Plant High School in Tampa, Fla. The defense also has talented players like Charlotte commit Kaiden Bower (45 tackles, three sacks) on the line and Wake Forest commit Isaac Nelson (53 tackles) at free safety. The season opener at Fishers and Week 2 home game vs. Westfield will tell us a lot about where Carmel stands in Wright's first season. New coach Josh Holden takes over a program that has experienced a lot of success, including a sectional championship two years ago under coach Pat Echeverria, who left to be an assistant at Warren Central. The Royals slipped to 5-5 last year, finishing with a 21-14 loss to 9-2 Centerville in the first round of the Class 2A sectional. But it would not be difficult to see Eastern Hancock making a jump this year with senior group Holden says is physically talented and intelligent. 'Coming in as a new coach I was blown away with how talented and deep our skill positions are,' Holden said. ' Leading the way on offense will be senior quarterback Elijah Edon (2,172 passing yards, 19 TDs; 396 rushing yards, seven TDs), senior running back Mark Kube (787 rushing yards, 10 TDs in seven games) and senior receiver Eli Manship (46 catches, 636 yards, three TDs). The sectional is tough with teams like Centerville, Lapel and Triton Central, but the Royals have the talent to compete if they make a smooth transition to Holden's new schemes. It was a season of close calls last year for the Braves, who finished 5-6 in Max Goodin's first year as coach. But that record could have looked a lot different had Indian Creek fared better in one-score games than 1-4, including a 14-8 loss to North Harrison in the 3A sectional second round. Quarterback Evan Clark (1,476 passing yards, 20 TDs; 190 rushing yards, five TDs) is coming off an outstanding freshman season. The Braves will miss leading rusher Malachi Mink (1,376 rushing yards, 11 TDs) and leading receiver Bobby Emberton (42 catches, 597 yards, 10 TDs) to graduation, but will bring back Jaxon Ramey (38 catches, 516 yards, eight TDs), among others. Junior linebacker Grady Walker (97 tackles) leads a defense that brings back three of its top five tacklers. Indian Creek has the potential to win Sectional 31, though Goodin has just seven seniors. The offensive and defensive lines will be a team strength as Indian Creek enters the new Hoosier Legends Conference. After six consecutive winning seasons under coach Mike Gillin, the Pioneers slipped to 4-7 last year. But three of those losses came by nine points or less, so a winning season was closer than it may have appeared. Mooresville will return senior quarterback Connor Cruz (2,483 passing yards, 25 TDs) and senior receiver Tyler Denny (30 catches, 521 yards, five TDs), two of the team's offensive leaders. Senior Kohen Stevenson (72 tackles), junior Landyn Powell (70 tackles), Denny (56 tackles, three interceptions) and senior Kaden Lambert (54 tackles) were four of Mooresville's top six tacklers last season. Mooresville is at Bloomington North and hosts Terre Haute North the first two weeks before getting into Mid-State Conference play with a visit from Plainfield. One thing for certain: Gillin's teams normally win. The Red Devils made jumps from 1-9 to 3-8 to 5-5 in coach Mike Brevard's first three seasons as coach. Can Pike take the next step? It will be tough in the same sectional with defending Class 6A state champion Brownsburg, Ben Davis and Avon. Pike changed coordinators last season, which seemed to benefit both sides of the ball. Brevard expects that continuity to continue this season despite the graduation of a talented and deep senior class, especially on defense. But this year's team does have depth and experience, particularly on defense with linebackers Dammy Adeoba and Willie Chapman and defensive lineman Muna Newman, Joe Williams and Terrance Little. The offense will be led by quarterback Mychael Lewis, running back Bobby Thomas and receivers Kevin Tichenor, Sean Nash and Latrell Morton. Coach Dan Harris goes into his second season as coach with a team that should be strong at the skill positions and returns experience and depth along both the offensive and defensive lines. The Crusaders were 3-7 last year, losing 42-19 to a powerful Monrovia team in the Class 2A sectional first round. Harris will count on quarterback Bryce McDonald and lineman Brady Ray to be leaders on offense, along with leading receiver Tristan Brown (26 catches, 404 yards) and newcomer Bryce Mathis at wideout. Inside linebacker Eric Montgomery (79 tackles) leads a defense that also brings back lineman Owen Weinzierl, linebacker Isaiah Miles and defensive back Gavin Connel. The schedule remains tough and the roster is relatively small, but Scecina has a chance to build on strides it made last season.
USA Today
15-06-2025
- Sport
- USA Today
Stillwater's Ethan Holliday named 2025 Gatorade Oklahoma Baseball Player of the Year
Stillwater High School's Ethan Holliday is the 2025 Gatorade Oklahoma Baseball Player of the Year, the company announced Tuesday. The top-ranked prospect for the upcoming MLB draft according to Holliday helped Stillwater reach the Class 6A state tournament and finished his senior season with a .611 batting average, 19 home runs and 64 RBIs. The 6-foot-4, 215-pound shortstop also had a 1.295 slugging percentage and scored 57 runs as Stillwater finished with a 25-8 record. Holliday, the son of former big leaguer Matt Holliday, is signed with Oklahoma State. He is the younger brother of Baltimore Orioles second baseman Jackson Holliday, who won the Gatorade award in 2022 before getting selected first overall in the draft. Expert MLB daily picks: Unique MLB betting insights only at USA TODAY Nick Sardis covers high school sports for The Oklahoman. Have a story idea for Nick? He can be reached at nsardis@ or on Twitter at @nicksardis . Sign up for The Varsity Club newsletter to access more high school coverage. Support Nick's work and that of other Oklahoman journalists by purchasing a digital subscription today at .
Indianapolis Star
15-06-2025
- Sport
- Indianapolis Star
Getting caught up on Central Indiana high school football commitments, recruitments to watch
Expect an on-rush of football commitments over the coming weeks as college programs look to get a handle on the 2026 class. A few recent commitments from Central Indiana players in the rising senior class: ∎ Kaiden Bower, Carmel: The 6-3, 250-pound defensive end committed to Charlotte over offers from Air Force, Bowling Green, Eastern Michigan, Miami (Ohio) Toledo and Troy. Bower finished last season with 55 tackles (24 solo), 4 ½ sacks, 6 ½ tackles for loss, and seven quarterback hurries. Bower, a three-star prospect, is one of 10 commits in Charlotte's current class for new coach Tim Albin. The 49ers were 5-7 last season. 'Finding the right program and school is so important,' Bower said. 'I visited a lot of schools so I could make the best-informed decision. From the moment I walked onto Charlotte's campus it really felt like home. The coaches and the recruiting staff were fantastic. The practice I watched was very fast paced and aggressive. The coaches pushed the players on each rep and were focused on player development, which is very important to me. You can tell Coach Albin has a clear vision and is building a strong program. The strength coach was really energetic and was pushing development in the weight room too. You could tell that there is a very high standard being set. The campus is really amazing, and the university has a great business school. Charlotte has all the resources that I need to succeed on the football field, in the classroom and at life.' ∎ C.J Scifres, Center Grove: Scifres posted his decision on social media after taking an official visit over the weekend. The 6-6, 325-pound offensive lineman is a three-star recruit, per 247Sports, and not rated by On3. Scifres was named to the IFCA's Top 50 All-State team as a junior as he did not allow a sack all season for a team that threw for more than 3,000 yards and won a Class 6A regional. ∎ Job Mavrick, Westfield: The 6-2, 280-pound offensive lineman, who transferred from Culver Academy to Westfield prior to his junior year, committed to Ohio over offers from Cornell, Mercyhurst and Western Illinois. Ohio won at least 10 games and played in a bowl game each of the past three seasons under Albin. ∎ Avin Robinson, Brownsburg: The 6-foot, 180-pound wide receiver committed to Central Michigan over and offer from Kent State. Robinson caught 41 passes for 933 yards and 12 touchdowns as a junior on Brownsburg's Class 6A state championship team. ∎ William Johnson III, Avon: The 6-4, 270-pound Williams committed to Kent State over offers from Akron, Central Michigan, Fordham, Illinois State, Northern Illinois, Western Michigan and UMass. Also, Bloomington South receiver Jalen Williams committed to South Florida. The 6-5 Williams caught 21 passes for 370 yards and six TDs as a junior at Bloomington North. ∎ Heritage Hills duo: Two of the state's top recruits play for Heritage Hills, the defending Class 3A state champion (will play in 4A the next two-year cycle). Tight end Tyler Ruxer, rated as the No. 1 prospect in the state by On3sports, plans to make his announcement on July 7 at the Heritage Hills Auditorium. His teammate, quarterback/athlete Jett Goldsberry, also a top 10 in-state prospect, will also make his announcement on July 7. Ruxer has taken official visits to Duke, Northwestern and Oklahoma with Minnesota planned for this weekend. He also has Purdue and West Virginia in the mix. Goldsberry, likely one of the favorites for Mr. Football going into the season, has an official visit scheduled for Ole Miss this weekend. He also has taken official visits to Purdue and Rutgers and is visiting North Carolina (official visit June 21-22), Wake Forest (official visit June 19-20) and West Virginia (official visit June 17-18). ∎ Jerimy Finch Jr.: Warren Central defensive end Jerimy Finch Jr. is closing in on a decision. Finch has taken official visits to Purdue, Alabama and Michigan. He has an official visit scheduled to Tennessee this weekend and Miami (Fla.) the weekend of June 20. ∎ Dominick Barry: Center Grove tight end Dominick Barry has an official visit set to Wake Forest the weekend of June 20. Barry caught 31 passes for 237 yards and five touchdowns as a junior.
Miami Herald
16-05-2025
- Sport
- Miami Herald
St. Thomas Aquinas barrels its way into the Class 6A state baseball final
Teams can sometimes succumb to jitters when it's their first time playing at the state final four. Not St. Thomas Aquinas' baseball team. The Raiders were itching to get on the field Friday at Hammond Stadium. And when they did, they barely stopped hitting. Aquinas unleashed an offensive barrage in its first trip to state since last winning a championship in 2018, and routed Valrico Bloomingdale 15-0 in four innings in a Class 6A semifinal. The Raiders (28-6-1) will next take on Gainesville Buchholz in the 6A state championship game on Saturday at 2. Aquinas is seeking its fourth state title all-time. 'We looked to this game with anticipation,' Aquinas coach Joey Wardlow said. 'We had a long last week after that regional final and during the week as we ramped up, we could feel the adrenaline. 'When we stepped out in that first inning, it went well on defense and well on offense and it took away any jitters we might have had.' Junior center fielder Nico Sabatino was the tone-setter for the onslaught, roping a leadoff double to left off Bloomingdale starter Hayden Porter to start a five-run first inning. Sabatino would later hit his eighth home run of the season on a solo blast to right field. 'My job is to get the team going,' Sabatino said. 'I saw that fastball and I took it. I was just in that flow state and now the offense is ready to go.' Aquinas' power was a major reason it made it to Fort Myers this season as it hit 67 home runs entering the state final four. 'We kind of look at baserunners and barrels,' Wardlow said. 'If we get baserunners, somebody is gonna barrel up a ball. If they stay in the middle, they'll open it up. If we can get out front and just stack up one and another, we can hold teams down.' Cole Lasher, who has seven homers this season, went 2 for 2 with a double and three RBI. Andrew Alvarez, who has 13 home runs, went 3 for 3 with two doubles and two RBI. And Zack Malvasio, who has hit a team-high 16 home runs, went 2 for 4 with two RBI. 'We just had to put it on them early and not let up,' Alvarez said. 'We had to keep that type of energy and not let up.' Senior Thomas Giltner did the rest as he gave up two hits over four shutout innings and struck out two, sparing Aquinas from having to use any more pitchers before Saturday's final.
