Tiger Cubs encouraged by preseason progress

Tuesday, August 16, 2016
Greencastle's Nick Costin uses a stiff arm to clear away a Southmont defender.

Mike Meyer starts the second year of his second term as head coach of the Greencastle Tiger Cubs with a much better feel about his players and his program than he had a year ago.

Meyer took over last summer when Ryan Spoonmore resigned in May, after having previously coached the Tiger Cubs from 2005-2009.

Spoonmore had coached Greencastle for just one season (with a 3-7 record) on the heels of a three-year stretch under coach Josh Buis when the team went 26-6.

Last fall did not go as well, as the Tiger Cubs went just 1-9.

J.T. Matthews tries to haul in a pass during Friday's scrimmage at Southmont.

Meyer is encouraged by the efforts of his team in the offseason, and is looking forward to the season.

"I am very, very pleased with how things are going, and my staff is very pleased," Meyer said last week. "We have some good senior leadership, and the players are working hard.

"I feel we are going to have a good start to the season."

The Tiger Cubs will open the season at home on Friday against Crawfordsville, which will be in its first game under new coach Larry Getts.

Getts coached Bellmont to a sectional title last year in a 10-win season, but resigned last December to pursue a job closer to his wife's family for health reasons.

The Athenians have had eight straight losing seasons under two different coaches, and are a new addition to the Tiger Cub schedule. The teams have not met since 2003 in the first round of sectional play.

Meyer considers senior leadership as his team's best factor, and sees improvements in several other key areas also.

"The players are working hard, and the pieces of the puzzle are there," he said. "We'll probably be better on both sides of the ball, and we have an established kicking game."

Meyer said that some players have been moved into different positions from last year, and are still learning their new roles and assignments.

"They have had a lot of opportunities over the summer, but now it's more of a true game situation," he said. "They need to continue to pick up and learn positions, and we have several key backups who also need to get reps."

Senior Nick Costin returns at quarterback after throwing eight touchdown passes last year and running for four more.

Classmate Devin Clar also returns at running back, having gained 679 yards rushing last year with three 100-yard games and four touchdowns.

Most of last year's receiving corps is also back.

J.T. Matthews is a 6-6 senior who was a state finalist high jumper last spring and who also spends time in the paint during basketball season. He caught 16 passes last year for 191 yards and two touchdowns.

Senior Trey Scanland also returns at tight end, having caught 22 passes last year for 202 yards and one score. Sophomore tight end Gavin Bollman provides another big target at 6-5, 215 pounds.

Meyer feels his offensive line is "solid" and has also been working hard.

Seniors Elijah Williams (6-0, 200), Spencer Rhine (6-1, 155) and Braydan Bollman (6-0, 220) are joined by juniors Cade Winslow (6-2, 200) and Marcus Watson (5-10, 220) to provide protection for Costin.

Winslow and Jacob Meyer (6-3, 275) are two returners from the defensive line, joined by both Bollmans and Watson.

Williams has moved to linebacker, and Clar has moved to the secondary.

Meyer also has confidence in sophomore cornerback Alex Costin, and is also confident his team will improve upon 2015.

"I'm sure we're going to be better than last year," he said. "How far we go will be dependent on other guys who have to step up and play for us, and we obviously have to stay healthy.

"It's a great conference, and is very competitive."

Cade Winslow (53) protects his quarterback during Friday's scrimmage at Southmont.

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