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FOOTBALL PREVIEWS: Greencastle Tiger Cubs
Since returning for a second stint as head coach at Greencastle, Mike Meyer was able to guide the squad to a fifth winning season in seven years by going 6-5 in 2021.
For a fourth year running, the Tiger Cubs will look to a new signal caller to keep the trend of winning seasons going while filling several gaps left by a large senior group.
Of the things Meyer said the team needed to get sorted early was one area that wouldn’t show up on the stat sheet.
“To me, the issue we have right now is we have a small group of seniors and leadership is something we’re trying to focus on,” Meyer said. “Once we can establish who are leaders are, we’ll be a better team.
“We’re going to be a little bit more balanced between run and pass where mainly we were on the ground last year. That’s nothing against Keifer (Wilson) because Keifer did a hell of a job for us.”
The scrimmage against Southmont showed a few things Meyer said needed improving.
“Southmont is a good football team with some big kids and good athletes,” Meyer said. “We could have done better.
“We didn’t do some things as well as we have been but it was a scrimmage and there was no scoring. The defense was a little bit better than the offense but there’s still work to be done on both sides of the ball.”
Meyer added despite being without a few injured players, the defense held up well against a Mountie squad that had its first winning season in four years in 2021.
“We did OK,” Meyer said about the defensive work against the Mounties. “We handled them well and did some good things out there.
“We’re playing a little shorthanded right now and things will come around here soon.”
Helming the Greencastle offense this season will be junior Jacob Miller, Wilson’s understudy a year ago and a player Meyer said would help diversify the offense.
“Jacob held up pretty well in the scrimmage,” Meyer said. “There were no interceptions and he made some good throws.
“We didn’t give him enough time at certain moments and I didn’t feel we ran the ball as well as we could, so those are some things we have to work on.”
Miller will have plenty of targets to aim for with Chase Carrington, Brendle Brennan, Owen Huff and Ryan Beauchamp on the outside while Lamar Moore begins as the lead running back.
Up front, the Tiger Cubs will have an experienced pair of powerful hands in Jackson Buis and Brighton Boggess joined by Ethan Hamm, Zach Morgan and Jacob Simmerman.
“We have some good kids outside who are athletes,” Meyer said. “The line is doing it when it comes to pass blocking.
“We’ve got a couple of real good players and some guys learning on the ropes. We have three first-year offensive linemen and a couple of guys that have been there a couple of years and they’re coming around.
“Each practice, they’re getting better and that’s the key,” Meyer added. “Where we are now is ahead of where we were in the summer and we’re headed in the right direction.”
Simmerman, Boggess and Hamm are joined by Coby Higel along the defensive front while Moore, Beauchamp and Garrett Cooper make up the linebacking corps.
Huff, Brennan, Carrington and Alex Groove will start in the secondary.
“We’ve got juniors and seniors in the secondary and linebacker spots,” Meyer said. “We have one freshman that will start in Alex Grove and as we’re looking for a Sam linebacker, Garrett Cooper has been doing well up to this point at the position.
“We’ve got some guys that are going to come together and find the right combination. With Cameron Pingleton and Peyton Welker injured, we’ve got a couple of guys up front that are first-year guys in the starting lineup as well.”
Ian Williamson returns as kicker and punter for Greencastle, having converted 33-of-36 extra points and 5-of-6 field goals with a long of 43 yards. Carrington, Huff and Moore will be return men at various points.
“Ian is a good one,” Meyer said about the sophomore. “He’s our kicker, punter and he’s a good one and only a sophomore.
“Chase is a real good returner. He wasn’t able to play last year because of his injury but the year before he had three or four returns for scores.”
The Tiger Cubs will start against Indianapolis Crispus Attucks and Northview before getting into WIC play against West Vigo and South Putnam with Sullivan at the midway point of the season, a schedule that was challenging but one Meyer said was worth playing.
“Our first four or five games aren’t easy but our focus to start has been on us and what we need to do to make us better,” Meyer said. “As coaches, we can worry about how good a teams is or not.
“That’s not the players’ job. Theirs is to do what they can do and control what they can control.”
With Cloverdale and North Putnam under new coaching staffs and looking to build back up after a few rough years and South Putnam holding county bragging rights for the past few seasons, as well as a sectional that will include the Golden Arrows and Linton, Meyer said there were a lot of good teams and good games on the schedule but wanted the players to remember that the only game that mattered heading into week one was the one against the Tigers Friday night.
“We know South Putnam will be good and Chuck (Sorrell) will have them ready to go,” Meyer said. “(Tyler Lotz) has the numbers and Putnam County needs Cloverdale to play football and that’s the direction they’re going.
“All of North Putnam’s growing pains will be over by the time we see them but by then, everybody will know what they have. I’m excited about our sectional because I know the teams and coaches and the sectional is what it is.
“You have to beat the best teams,” Meyer added. “Right now, our focus is on doing what we can to beat Crispus Attucks.
“We take it one at a time and do that by worrying about what we can do and what we can control as we look to beat Attucks.”