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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.
Indianapolis Star
26-05-2025
- Sport
- Indianapolis Star
Defense has carried Lapel softball. And the gloves were on point again Monday.
ELWOOD — Lapel softball has preached defense all season. It's part of the team's foundation and there's not one position that does not have coach AJ Balser's full confidence. There are no weak spots, he said Monday afternoon, and with that dependability comes versatility, allowing him to move pieces around based on their pitcher (they have nine) and specific matchups. With sophomore Addie Bodenhorn in the circle — a pitcher who prefers pitching for flyouts to racking up the strikeouts — the Bulldogs delivered another masterpiece in the Class 2A Sectional 39 opener vs. Frankton. Bodenhorn faced 22 batters Monday. She struck out two of them and of the 20 who put the ball in play, 19 were retired (14 via fly out or pop out). The one exception: A single to left with two outs in the first. Bodenhorn was excellent. The defense was perfect. And defending 2A state runner-up Lapel advanced to the sectional semifinals with a 6-0 win over its county rival. "Our defense has really carried our team this season," said infielder Paige Stires, who has two errors on 74 chances (.973 fielding percentage). "Our bats have been pretty slow, so having a great defense that is helping us win these games and keeping teams off the scoreboard has been a huge help." The defense displayed at Elwood High School was nothing new for the Bulldogs (20-6), who boast a team fielding percentage of .949 with 34 errors on 668 chances. They've gone error-free in 10 games this season — zero errors in three of their past five games — and been charged with one or fewer in 18. That makes life exponentially less stressful for their pitchers, obviously, and fits perfectly with an arm like Bodenhorn, who's allowed just two earned runs (four total) on 22 hits and struck out 31 in her 41 innings since spring break (she did not pitch the first leg of the season due to injury). If Bodenhorn's not hitting her spots, not getting those fly outs she wants, she knows her defense will be there to pick her up. "We know that we have to have her back," said senior middle infielder Tatum Harper, who converted her three chances in the field Monday. "She's working really hard on the mound to give us those opportunities to get those outs, so it's really just working with her." "We're all pretty confident in Addie when she's on the mound because we know she's confident in us to make the plays," Stires added. "It gives us a boost of energy when our pitcher knows we have her back." Lapel's dependable defense has also helped it weather an inconsistent season offensively. They're batting .337 as a team with 250 hits and were shutout on only three hits in their penultimate regular-season game vs. Shenandoah. The Bulldogs were putting the ball in play vs. Frankton, and capitalized on their opponent's four fielding errors, generating a couple runs through the first five innings before the bottom half of the lineup initiated a four-run rally in the sixth. Of Lapel's 10 hits, four came from their 7-8-9 hitters (Delaney Balser, Ella Reed and Jama Everman), with Everman collecting two hits and two runs. The team's 1-2 hitters, Harper and Stires, posted two hits and two RBIs, respectively. "We have to be able to put bunts in play and make the other team make plays. Knowing situations and things like that has been a challenge for us, but we're catching on at the right time," Balser said. "We've worked on those situational things quite a bit and I think it's starting to stick." Lapel will face Taylor (0-19) in the sectional semifinals Tuesday at 5 p.m.
Yahoo
08-03-2025
- Politics
- Yahoo
Our View: Opioid settlement funds should fight epidemic
When an Indiana city, town or county receives money through taxes, Hoosiers expect the funds to be spent for the designated purpose, such as road upkeep or emergency services. Granted, Americans let elected leaders get away with, for example, spending tax dollars on sports arenas that benefit for-profit teams. Or spending billions of dollars from the Troubled Asset Relief Program, frequently referred to as TARP, to save the auto industry. Or, in some cities, paying people to move in to bolster the local workforce. But a recently reported account exploring statewide receipts and ensuing expenditures shows that money intended to help rid our state of opioid abuse has often been misdirected for other purposes. In 2022, the state started receiving proceeds negotiated through the National Opioid Settlement with pharmaceutical companies. With $980 million due to come to Indiana over 18 years, the Indiana Commission to Combat Substance Use Disorder adapted five principles for units of government to use in spending the eventual distributions. Foremost, opioid settlement funds are to be spent to save lives. More specifically, communities are to make investments in youth substance abuse prevention programs, focus on racial equity and develop a fair, transparent process for deciding where the funds go. In addition, the state issued a distribution structure for the opioid settlement money: 35% is to be sent to cities, counties and towns based on a weighted distribution formula that reflects opioid impacts in communities, such as programs of treatment, prevention and care that are best practices. Some communities are using the entire 100% to fight opioid abuse. Expenses that are not allowed include law enforcement equipment such as vests, guns, body cameras and the like. But, as any Hoosier might guess, some local units of government have abused these principles. Locally, Lapel acknowledged buying weapons for police. Elwood, which expanded access to Madison County PATH (Providing Access To Healing) counseling with $61,000, spent more than $5,000 of its $227,000 on supplies and food for its animal shelter. Alexandria, receiving $114,000, spent $1,260 on box meals for city employees during the 2024 total eclipse. Madison County hasn't decided the fate of its $3.5 million. John Richwine, president of the County Commissioners, said the board has been focused on construction of the new county jail. While the jail project, undoubtedly, has been time consuming, county residents expect the commissioners board to juggle multiple tasks. It's a shame commissioners haven't moved more quickly to apply that $3.5 million to the local battle against opioid abuse. On a more positive note, Chesterfield used opioid settlement funds to buy items for first providers who often encounter overdose victims. Some entities, like Madison County, have not spent their funds. Citizens should contact their elected representatives and urge them to funnel funds into treatment and prevention programs. Committees should be formed to devise plans for spending. Elected officials should not see settlement distributions as an unrestrained windfall. The National Opioid Settlement funds are intended to save lives and end the scourge of addiction, not give city employees a free box lunch.
Yahoo
08-03-2025
- Politics
- Yahoo
Our View: Opioid settlement funds should fight epidemic
When an Indiana city, town or county receives money through taxes, Hoosiers expect the funds to be spent for the designated purpose, such as road upkeep or emergency services. Granted, Americans let elected leaders get away with, for example, spending tax dollars on sports arenas that benefit for-profit teams. Or spending billions of dollars from the Troubled Asset Relief Program, frequently referred to as TARP, to save the auto industry. Or, in some cities, paying people to move in to bolster the local workforce. But a recently reported account exploring statewide receipts and ensuing expenditures shows that money intended to help rid our state of opioid abuse has often been misdirected for other purposes. In 2022, the state started receiving proceeds negotiated through the National Opioid Settlement with pharmaceutical companies. With $980 million due to come to Indiana over 18 years, the Indiana Commission to Combat Substance Use Disorder adapted five principles for units of government to use in spending the eventual distributions. Foremost, opioid settlement funds are to be spent to save lives. More specifically, communities are to make investments in youth substance abuse prevention programs, focus on racial equity and develop a fair, transparent process for deciding where the funds go. In addition, the state issued a distribution structure for the opioid settlement money: 35% is to be sent to cities, counties and towns based on a weighted distribution formula that reflects opioid impacts in communities, such as programs of treatment, prevention and care that are best practices. Some communities are using the entire 100% to fight opioid abuse. Expenses that are not allowed include law enforcement equipment such as vests, guns, body cameras and the like. But, as any Hoosier might guess, some local units of government have abused these principles. Locally, Lapel acknowledged buying weapons for police. Elwood, which expanded access to Madison County PATH (Providing Access To Healing) counseling with $61,000, spent more than $5,000 of its $227,000 on supplies and food for its animal shelter. Alexandria, receiving $114,000, spent $1,260 on box meals for city employees during the 2024 total eclipse. Madison County hasn't decided the fate of its $3.5 million. John Richwine, president of the County Commissioners, said the board has been focused on construction of the new county jail. While the jail project, undoubtedly, has been time consuming, county residents expect the commissioners board to juggle multiple tasks. It's a shame commissioners haven't moved more quickly to apply that $3.5 million to the local battle against opioid abuse. On a more positive note, Chesterfield used opioid settlement funds to buy items for first providers who often encounter overdose victims. Some entities, like Madison County, have not spent their funds. Citizens should contact their elected representatives and urge them to funnel funds into treatment and prevention programs. Committees should be formed to devise plans for spending. Elected officials should not see settlement distributions as an unrestrained windfall. The National Opioid Settlement funds are intended to save lives and end the scourge of addiction, not give city employees a free box lunch.
