Menu
2013 Putnam County Football Preview: Tiger Cubs trying to clear the bar they raised last season
After the Greencastle football team's annual Purple and Gray intra-squad scrimmage, head coach Josh Buis called the spectators over to the bleachers and had his team start to rile them up.
Buis then took his turn speaking to the crowd.
"We're going to be at Lucas Oil on November 29," he shouted.
While it certainly sounded like a guarantee, Buis quickly told the Banner Graphic that wasn't the case.
"We want to get our kids focused on the ultimate prize," he said. "Now we've got to play one snap at a time, one game at a time. If we can do that, I strongly believe we've got a team that can contend this year. ... What's the sense of doing something if you don't strive for the ultimate prize?
"I strongly believe, and I want my kids believing, that we can get to the state championship game."
Now just four years removed from a 1-9 season, the Tiger Cubs finished last year with an undefeated regular season, an 11-1 record and eight shutout wins. From week 2 through the first round of sectional, GHS allowed just seven points.
Sustaining that level of success will be nearly impossible, but the Tiger Cubs and Buis believe this season's team is just as talented and now even more experienced.
"Top-end talent, I think we're just as good or better than we were last year," Buis said. "But this year ... we don't have as much depth as we had last year. Last year, if our starting quarterback got hurt, we could just put another quarterback in and he'd still be the best quarterback in the conference.
"Our starting middle linebacker got hurt last year. We put in our backup and he was still the best linebacker in the our conference."
Those injuries, to all-conference performers Nick Gilliam and Carter Lewis, respectively, helped the Tiger Cubs gain experience that could be invaluable early this season. Both Gilliam (football at Siena Heights) and Lewis (wrestling at Indiana Tech) have become college athletes.
Quarterback Tyler Scott, now a senior, is ready to step in as a full-time starter this year. He started five games last year and led the county with a 164.9 rating.
Scott and all-county receiver Seth Brown have been a dynamite combination in the preseason with Brown using his speed and height to get behind, around and over the defenders and Scott firing it to him in stride.
"Tyler Scott has been throwing that kid touchdowns since he was a freshman; there's a lot of chemistry there," Buis said.
Greencastle's offense will be its biggest strength early with imposing talent at every position. Scott, a cornerback on defense, can run and throw.
His receivers -- Brown (6-3), Nathan Tesmer (6-5) and Brandon Gierke (6-2) -- will be too big for most teams to cover. Senior Alec Pettit played last season at 185 pounds and led the Tiger Cubs in rushing with nearly 700 yards. He's now up to 205.
The offensive line may be even more dominant. The Tiger Cubs return four starters on the unit and average more than 250 pounds from tackle-to-tackle.
"Our kids have worked extremely hard in the weight room," Buis said. "Our offensive line has completely changed their bodies. ... We have all the tools to have a very high-powered offense.
"Defensively, we lost a lot."
While the offense might improve from last year, the team's defense is due to take a step back. Buis said he is hoping the unit can catch up as the season goes on but in the early going the offense is going to have to move the ball.
Last year the Tiger Cubs were able to take more chances offensively, trying to convert on fourth-down plays, because they knew the defense would be there to step up. That philosophy is going to change this year, at least until the young guys gain experience.
The Tiger Cubs have every reason to be confident going into the season. The rest of the county knows they're the team to beat and they know anything short of a deep postseason run will be a disappointment.
Talent and hard work isn't always enough to get a championship, but it should be enough to get the Tiger Cubs in that position.
"We've got a lot of returning starters," Buis said. "We've got a lot of people that have bought into the program, whether it be coaches, players or the community. We're going to dream big here. Our new athletic director, Greg Hill, has done a great job and his motto is, 'Dream Big.' We're going to come out every day and work our tails off and do everything in our power."
And, "Oh," he joked, "don't put any of that stuff in there about playing at Lucas Oil on Nov. 29."