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Buis, Beadles represent Putnam County at IFCA North-South All-Star Game Friday
The final high school football game for the class of 2024 will take center stage this weekend as the Indiana Football Coaches Association holds its 58th North-South All-Star Game Friday night at Decatur Central High School.
A game featuring many of the state’s best players will see two Putnam County players represent the South squad in this year’s edition of the contest.
Greencastle’s Jackson Buis and South Putnam’s Aiden Beadles will look to lead the South team to victory, the first time since 2019 multiple Putnam County players were involved in the game. Eagles assistant head coach Evan Bernhardt is among the South coaches, working with the offensive line.
Despite playing in the Wabash Valley Football Coaches Association All-Star Game, both players said the difference in talent levels between the two games was noticeable from the opening practice.
“Everything is a lot more organized,” Buis said. “The skill level is also incredibly different.”
“There are a lot of high-caliber players here,” Beadles added. “It’s scheduled very well and we’re being pushed to our limits at practice.
“There is a lot of competition for sports but it’s a good feeling to play with these guys. They know what they’re doing and the coaches are pushing us to be our best.”
Having a week of practice under their belts did have its advantages according to both players.
“It helped a little bit based on stamina,” Buis said. “It was about getting used to being on the field again.
“Here, though, we’re playing against kids from 5A and 6A schools who are used to playing on a different level than we are back home. Still, the first game prepped me enough to be ready for this week.”
“It helped with getting back into the flow of football,” Beadles added. “Most important was getting used to the intense weather, especially the heat.
“It’s felt good with the weather the way it’s been this week.”
Players reported to the University of Indianapolis on Tuesday with practices taking place through Friday. Participants stayed in dorms overnight with multiple practices held Wednesday and Thursday, along with team meetings and meals. A banquet was held Thursday evening to honor participants.
Despite a limited time to get ready for Friday’s game, both players said each practice had the feel of a normal day in the fall.
“It’s a typical high school practice,” Beadles said. “We do some seven-on-seven drills and do group work as linebackers, though there is a split between inside and outside linebackers.
“We focus on what we need to do and shift around to be at our best level on Friday.”
“From an offensive line standpoint, we’ve done a lot of individual work, including footwork and hand usage,” Buis added. “After that, there’s been a lot of one-on-one time with the defensive line, getting ourselves prepared for the other team.
“After that we go straight to team drills and 11-on-11. It’s a pretty usual practice.”
Both players added the playbooks were fairly straightforward with Buis noting the offensive side mirrored what the Tiger Cubs ran this season.
“Offensively, it’s the same scheme we run at Greencastle,” Buis pointed out. “The only change is the way things are blocked.
“There are a couple of inside runs that are a little different from our Greencastle plays but other than that, it’s exactly the same.”
“Defensively, we do a lot of shifting around, including with the safeties,” Beadles added. “We play a basic defense as, with the rules in place, including no blitzing and a minimum requirement on being off the line, it’s mainly a see-ball, get-ball style.
“There’s not much to it aside from getting the tackle.”
Unlike the WVFCA week, where Beadles and Buis had several teammates playing in the game, both players had a wide range of new players to acclimate to, though both said the structure of the week and coaches made sure the players had chances to get to know one another.
“Most everyone else is in the same situation,” Beadles said about players learning about each other. “We’ve linked together and everyone is working well together.
“We’ve done some team-building exercises to get to know the other guys, build bonds and form friendships with each other.”
“I’m fitting in pretty well with the rest of the offensive linemen,” Buis added. “There’s been a couple of times where we’ve had down time and we’ve gotten the chance to talk and get to know each other.
“We did a team-building exercise to get to know the defensive side and the rest of the offense. It’s not been bad meeting these new guys.”
Buis, Beadles and their new teammates will take on the North squad at 7 p.m. Friday night and, as with their first game this summer, the goal for the night was simple.
“The really big thing is to win,” Buis said. “It’d be pretty nice to say we won the North-South All-Star Game.
“While we’re looking for the win, we also need to perform well and look good for all the people back at home.”
“It’s about playing my hardest,” Beadles added. “We all want to win so we’ll give it our all, push things to the limit and, as it’s our last high school game, leave it all on the field.”