2024 FOOTBALL SEASON PREVIEW: Greencastle Tiger Cubs

Year one of the Greencastle revolution under head coach Dave Stephens brought a WIC Small School title and the Putnam County Bucket to the Tiger Cub locker room, along with an 8-3 record and a sectional semi-final spot.

Circumstances dictate that there won’t be a defense of the conference title ahead of the move to the MAC next year but Greencastle has plenty of returners on both sides of the ball looking to find other titles to bring home in 2024.

“We’ve got kids who have bought in,” Stephens said. “We’ve preached our culture, expectations and the will to prepare to win all the time.

“Everybody wants to be a gamer Friday night but you have to be locked in during the gameplan meetings, in your technique, scheme and execution, all things that have allowed us to take a growth step because last year, we were so heavy on teaching our scheme. Now, the kids can really focus on the technique.

“Last year, for example, a receiver might be running a post route against inside leverage. We were hoping our guys would win,” Stephens added. “Now, the guys know how to stem that route against the same coverage.

“When you have things cumulatively all working together technique-wise, the scheme looks better because that’s the way it’s supposed to be executed. In year two, more than anything, they know the scheme and are more technique-focused, which has been big for us offensively and defensively.

The first test for the Tiger Cubs was the scrimmage against Southmont, a team coming off a semi-state appearance a year ago, with Stephens happy with both sides of the ball throughout the night.

“I was real happy,” Stephens said. “You’re trying to find out a little bit more about yourself and your team and where they’re at. We have an inclination that we were going to be better defensively based on what we saw this summer but that’s not full tackle.

“We went up to (Southmont) and didn’t let them score in the first set of plays before they scored in the goal line against a mixed group. We struggled at times last year to get off the field and it was nice to see us play well against the physical run style, something that gave us fits last year.

“It was really positive offensively,” Stephens added. “We moved the ball with ease though we did drop a couple of touchdowns.

“Both sides played well and we were happy with what we showed against a team coming off a semi-state run. We found out a lot about who we were that night.”

Sophomore quarterback Cole Stephens will draw no shortage of attention following a freshman campaign in which he threw for 2,675 yards and 34 touchdowns against 11 interceptions.

Ian Williamson leads the wide receiver room after hauling in 33 receptions for 543 yards and seven scores while fellow senior Brayden Monroe returns at tight end having caught 20 passes for 370 yards and three scores. Junior Trevin Long caught one pass for a 73-yard score and will be the third receiver to start the season to help replicate some of the lost production of Owen Huff (984 yards, 12 TD) and Brendle Brennan (448 yards, eight TD).

Two other seniors will man skill positions this year as Anthony Adams shifts from running back to a slot receiver while Cameron Pingleton takes over at running back after the graduation of Lamar Moore (1,292 yards, 20 TD), changes that came by a bit of happenstance but proved to be hits during the summer.

“We had a deal where, early on, one player was out during 7-on-7 season and we moved Anthony to our slot position,” Stephens said. “We faced Gibson Southern and Lutheran, both who struggled to defend him, and thought we might be on to something.

“Cameron was at running back, showed soft hands and is very athletic. We went into the summer thinking one thing and came away with something where we could move Trevin out to our Z receiver spot, where Brendle Brennan played last year, with Ian and Brayden back in their roles from last year.

“I can’t undersell Ian’s summer,” Stephens added. “He gets separation, bodies out small guys and while we’ve had times where we couldn’t throw him the ball, he’s been open every play it seems like and I’m excited at his development.”

Up front, the Tiger Cubs return four of five starting linemen in seniors Jake Simmerman and Kaiden Tomasino alongside juniors Ashton Dayhuff and Zion Slator with sophomore Grayson Linneweber joining a group that Stephens said was the strength of the team, both from a physical and communication standpoint.

“Kaiden is the sparkplug for our offensive line,” Stephens added. “He’s the kind of guy who has the mentality that isn’t dirty but pesters and annoys you when blocking you; he’s irritable in a good way, is technically sound in his assignment and has added 20 pounds since last year.

“Zion played at 195 last year and is up to 235 pounds this year. He was good in his assignment last year but didn’t always have enough behind him to always hold up against 300-pound bench press defensive tackles. He still has the speed but can carry some weight around and not get throw around at times.

“Ashton is the man on our offensive line. He is as good at calling out protections and adjusting to the front,” Stephens added. “His athleticism at center is ridiculous; if you were a Wing-T team, you’d love to have him at fullback or guard and we’ve got some things that we’ve put in to take advantage of his skill set.

“Grayson is new on the line and is another sophomore that is big, strong and has come a long way with his technique and aggressiveness. We’re excited about him. Jake is our rock at tackle, a physical run blocker and smooth pass blocker on our blindside.”

Williamson will join sophomore Parker Welker (90 tackles) and junior Alex Grove in the linebacker ranks with Pingleton (88 tackles, 11 TFL, five sacks) and Monroe (74 tackles, 13 TFL, 5.5 sacks) providing pressure from the defensive end spots while several offensive linemen will rotate in the middle of defense.

Senior Chris Olson and junior Cayden Blodgett will handle duties at safety while junior CJ Proctor and senior Bryceton Nunn take over the corner spots held by Garrett Cooper and Cooper Robinson a year go.

“Ian will play an outside linebacker for us where Jake Miller played for us last year,” Stephens said. “We like a strong, rangy guy at that spot and he fits the mold. He’s excelled there and I’m over the moon with the potential he brings us this year.

“Parker comes back at middle linebacker as a sophomore and he’s made exponential growth in his reads and flow. Last year, there were times he wasn’t sure what he was seeing but his athletic ability allowed him to catch up. Now, his reading and diagnosing of plays has caught up and I could see him racking up a lot of tackles this year.

“We moved Chris to safety along with Cayden,” Stephens added. “You never know in high school who will make a leap and Cayden has come in this year like a brand new player, both fast and physical, someone who will come down and hit you. He’s tossed our center, form tackled Brayden in the hole and done things you wouldn’t think a kid his size can do.

“CJ is rangy and athletic at cornerback, someone you’re going to have to throw the ball over to make a completion, while Bryceton is one of the most athletic guys on the team. He’s been good for us all summer and will match up with the other team’s No. 1 and if you can beat him, you’ve earned whatever you got.”

“Cameron and Brayden could be the best set of defensive ends in terms of Class 2A,” Stephens continued. “They’re fast, strong, physical and if we get to a point, like how the old Indianapolis Colts used to be, where we’re ahead early and teams have to pass to get caught up, I’m really excited what life can look like with those ends because they mess things up for our offense during practice.

“Dayhuff and Simmerman will get most of the snaps on the interior while guys like Kaiden, Grayson and Zion will work in. There will be some rotation but we have a solid front. Alex Grove will do what Lamar Moore did last year, which means he has big shoes to fill, and while he may not make highlight reel plays, he’s a lunch pail guy who will do what he’s coached to do everything single time.”

Williamson remains a major weapon in the Greencastle arsenal across the entirety of the kicking game though Stephens said there were several others working with assistant coach Jeff McCall to be at the ready if the senior needs a break here and there.

“We’ve been working Ian a lot this summer knowing that he was going to play a lot,” Stephens said. “We have some prescriptive rest for him to try and not wear him out entirely.

“It’s a big weapon to have a kid who can kick it to the five-yard line and in every single time and we don’t want to lose that. If we can give him the rest, we can have the best of all worlds on offense, defense and special teams.”

Greencastle’s schedule sees a major ramp in weeks 4-6 with a trip to Monrovia replacing Danville in the opening week, followed by Northview at home and a trip to West Vigo in the first three weeks.

A five-game home stand follows with A No. 1 South Putnam, Indian Creek and 2A No. 4 Linton representing a sizable challenge for the Tiger Cubs ahead of Cloverdale, Cascade and a trip to North Putnam to finish the season.

“Northview can throw the ball; it’s not going to be the Knights of the last two years,” Stephens said. “The play action pass will be there and they’ll be a lot tougher team to defend than the last few years.

“South Putnam will be a good game. If they don’t have 51-49 all over the locker room and weight room, I’d be surprised and we’ll get the best out of them. They’re a great football team and will want to prove they’re the big dogs in this county.

“Indian Creek has a new coach in Max Goodin, who we have a lot of respect for as he came down to visit us at Owen Valley,” Stephens added. “He’s a heck of a defensive coach.

“Linton is where we want to be as a team. We want to move from just competing for a regular season title to one that legitimately competes for postseason titles and the way you do that is to test yourself against the best To me, over the last 20 years, there isn’t a better public school in Class A and 2A than Linton. We’re excited about them coming to our field; we know it could end in defeat but we want to test ourselves as a program and figure out how to close the gap as a program.

“Cloverdale, Cascade and North Putnam to close isn’t easy either. North might be the most slept on team around and we have a lot of respect for what (Cougar head coach) Scott Moore is building up there,” Stephens continued. “We had two games we were favored in last year and both were nail biters. Credit needs to go to their staff and kids for the way they set themselves up.”

Postseason play also sees a significant tweak as the Tiger Cubs, Linton, South Vermillion and Sullivan were sent further south to Class 2A Sectional No. 39 alongside Brown County, Mitchell, Pike Central and 2A No. 3 North Posey, the Class 2A runner-up from a year ago.

“If we can come away week nine healthy, we feel like we’ll be battle-tested through this season,” Stephens said about the sectional. “We did swap one semi-state for another with North Posey coming in off a state appearance last year.

“We’ve seen Sullivan a couple times this summer and they’re a well-coached team. South Vermillion has done a phenomenal job under (Wildcat head coach Greg) Barrett and has one of the best quarterbacks in the sectional in (Dominic) Garzolini and good receivers.

“Whoever comes out of our sectional is poised to go on a run, and that’s no disrespect to the other sectional,” Stephens added. “Neither side would have to face one of the Indy-area sectional until semi-state, which would bode well considering Evansville Mater Dei is up in Class 3A.”

Given the changes not only to this year but in the future, Stephens said the team was not looking to directly match what it accomplished a year ago, instead looking to see if it had the tools and the mindset to become not just a good team but a team that was looking to make its mark on a larger stage than West Central Indiana.

“It’s one of those things where you can’t compare records from a year ago because the quality of teams is apples and oranges,” Stephens pointed out when asked about what improvement in year two looked like. “Do we put ourselves in a position to execute and play our best against some of the best teams in the state?

“Monrovia was a team two years ago, in Class 3A, that was a game away from Lucas Oil Stadium and won a state title in Class 2A. South Putnam is a team that thinks of themselves as a state contender. Linton is a state champion. North Posey was in Lucas Oil last year. How do you compete with those teams?

“The measure is how do you play,” Stephens added. “Do you lose by three touchdowns and not play well? Do you get some wins and some losses but you feel like you were in the position to win?

“With our schedule, we could have three losses in the regular season but still feel very confident in our chances in the postseason, not just be full of ourselves. We can really have an opportunity to be excited about the postseason.”