Defense paces Black Division to win in WVFCA All-Star clash

TERRE HAUTE — Nine recent Putnam County graduates participated in the 14th annual Wabash Valley Football Coaches Association All-Star Game on Saturday night at Indiana State’s Memorial Stadium.

In a back-and-forth affair, the Black Division team scored with two minutes remaining and held off a late charge by the Gold Division to win 32-28.

Cloverdale’s T.J. Hagymasi, Tyce Jackson and Nick Winders, Greencastle’s Cade Winslow and Jacob Meyer and South Putnam’s Porter High and Christian Zeffel all played key roles for the winners, while North Putnam’s Hayden Rudes and Ethan Christy both contributed to the Gold Division effort.

Players from 28 high schools in both Indiana and Illinois were separated into two teams containing approximately equal enrollments.

Meyer suffered a broken pinkie on the game’s first play, yet fought through the rest of the game to record a game-record total of 3.5 sacks.

The Millikin-bound defensive end was pleased with the entire week, including his play in the game and the team’s victory.

“It was a fun time, and I really enjoyed bonding with these guys,” Meyer said. “I was a little worried coming in that our offense wasn’t doing too well against our defense, but they came in and stepped up big-time today.

“A couple of my teammates are going to Millikin with me, so it was good to get to know them and play with them. I wish this kept going another week.”

He and Winslow, his long-time Tiger Cub teammate, helped lead the defensive charge that paced their team’s victory. Winslow even played on the offensive line to start the game.

“Our O-line was struggling early in the week, and coach [Mike] Meyer asked me to step up during the week and play some snaps there,” he said. “I got a little tired throughout the game, and the coaches decided I should just play defense. I just enjoyed making tackles and making plays.”

Winslow was also voted by his team’s coaches as the top lineman of the week of practice, and he received a $500 scholarship he can use as he heads to Franklin this fall.

“It’s a great game and a great atmosphere here,” he said. “I loved it all. There were a lot of guys going to Franklin in the game, and it was great to get to play with them.

“I think I played pretty well,” he said. “I made some tackles and helped the team. Me and Jacob did a great job representing Greencastle.”

Coach Meyer couldn’t have agreed more.

“They did well, and they both played hard,” said Meyer, coaching his son for the final time. “They did it all week, and I’m really proud of them. They were a big part of putting pressure on them.

“I’m going to miss both of them,” he added. “I’m looking forward to just watching now.”

Winders found himself in several different spots in the game, being a “gunner” on the kickoff team, punting and also directing the team’s defense from his newfound safety position.

“This week was really a laid-back practice,” Winders said. “Cade Winslow was showing all the offensive linemen how it was done all week long. He was showing them how they needed. Jacob Meyer and those other defensive linemen were just great.

“We had great team chemistry,” Winders added. “I think I had a good game. Altogether we had a good game.”

In the second half, Winders was assessed a penalty for a seemingly legal hit in which he lowered his shoulder and hit a ball carrier — forcing his helmet to become dislodged and fall to the ground.

Winders was initially concerned he may be ejected from the game.

“I’ve never knocked someone’s helmet off before,” he said. “I didn’t think it was an illegal hit, but I just lived with it.”

Winders will be joining Winslow and eight other players in the game with the Grizzlies this fall.

A majority of the Putnam County players toiled on defense, as High was a mainstay on the line for the Black Division team and Zeffel saw time at defensive back and on the kickoff team.

Hagymasi and Jackson both played offensively for the Black Division team. Jackson had one carry for three yards.

Christy saw time at middle linebacker for the Gold Division team, while Rudes shared playing time with Eastern Greene’s Caleb Hamilton at quarterback — completing seven of 10 passes for 99 yards.

• Other activities — Earlier in the day on Saturday, the 7-on-7 and strongman competitions took place.

Evansville Central, coached by former South Putnam boss Troy Burgess, won the 7-on-7 title by defeating Northview in the finals.

Greencastle finished third in the strongman weightlifting competition, while North Putnam was fourth.

Greencastle’s Cade Winslow won a $500 scholarship for being voted as the Black Division team’s top lineman of the week in the Wabash Valley Football Coaches Association All-Star game. Also pictured (from left) Melissa Winslow, scholarship sponsor Trent Short and Matt Winslow.

Contributed photo

Putnam County game participants

GOLD DIVISION

Ethan Christy, North Putnam

Hayden Rudes, North Putnam

BLACK DIVISION

T.J. Hagymasi, Cloverdale

Porter High, South Putnam

Tyce Jackson, Cloverdale

Jacob Meyer, Greencastle

Cade Winslow, Greencastle

Nick Winders, Cloverdale

Christian Zeffel, South Putnam

Other activities

Wabash Valley Strongman

1st — Terre Haute North

2nd — Bedford-North Lawrence

3rd — Greencastle

4th — North Putnam

5th — Terre Haute South and West Vigo

7-on-7 tournament

Pool A Winner — TH North

Pool B Winner — Northview

Pool C Winner — Bedford NL

Pool D Winner- Evansville Central

Semi-Finals — Evansville Central defeats Bedford North Lawrence

Northview defeats TH North

Finals — Evansville Central defeats Northview

Box score

Gold 0 7 7 14 — 28

Black 0 12 14 6 — 32

SCORING

Black – Garrett Frank 3 run (kick blocked), 9:38 2Q.

Gold – Caleb Hamilton 1 run (Ben Carr kick), 5:25 2Q.

Black – Braxton Burgener 12 pass from Daniel Burkett (run failed), :27 2Q.

Black – Elijah Rivera 18 pass from Brody Spencer (Carter Herrin pass from Spencer), 7:52 3Q.

Gold – Tyson Magee 72 pass from Hamilton (Carr kick), 6:05 3Q.

Black – Rivera 89 kick return (pass failed), 5:52 3Q.

Gold – Peyton Doughty 4 run (Carr kick), 11:57 4Q.

Gold – Hamilton 45 run (Carr kick), 7:25 4Q.

Black – Burgener 49 pass from Burkett (pass failed), 2:03 4Q.

INDIVIDUAL STATISTICS

Rushing — Gold: Hamilton 11-65, Doughty 13-33, Dakota Caton 2-4, Nate Barrett 2-(-2), Joey Keske 2-(-4), Hayden Rudes 4-(-16). Black: Conner Dunegan 13-72, Rivera 4-18, Spencer 3-13, Kayin Lawson 4-11, Burgener 2-3, Tyce Jackson 1-3, Frank 3-2, Jarret McCalister 3-2.

Passing — Gold: Hamilton 10-16-0, 191; Rudes 7-10-0, 99. Black: Burkett 3-5-0, 61; Dunegan 7-13-1, 58; Spencer 4-5-0, 40.

Receiving — Gold: Magee 3-92, Ryan Yaw 3-54, Caton 3-33, Joel Weimer 2-21, JW Howard 2-19, Barrett 2-13, Cottrell 1-46, Ken Kirchoff 1-12. Black: Rivera 4-49, Burgener 3-59, Kayleb Stephens 3-28, McCalister 1-10, Lawson 1-7, Herrin 1-3, Andy Wells 1-3.