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Seven Putnam County players to take the field for WVFCA All-Star Game Saturday
TERRE HAUTE – Seven Putnam County athletes will get the chance to strap on their shoulder pads, don their helmets and take to the field one more time as high school athletes Saturday evening.
The Wabash Valley Football Coaches Association All-Star Game will take place on June 24 at 7 p.m., changing locations this year from Indiana State University to the Rose-Hulman Institute of Technology.
Manning the Black Squad this year will be former Owen Valley and current Avon head coach Rob Gibson with several current Putnam County coaches on the squad, including South Putnam head coach Chuck Sorrell and Greencastle head coach Dave Stephens, who assisted Gibson at Owen Valley the past two seasons.
Five players from Putnam County, including Greencastle pair Chase Carrington and Ryan Beauchamp, Cloverdale pair Mcguire Lee and Jesse Miller and South Putnam’s Ethan Harcourt, will be under Gibson’s watch.
“It’s been a great week,” Gibson said. “I’ve always said the coolest part about this week is you’ve had guys who were rivals before who now come on the same team and often times become the best of friends.
“To see all that come to fruition is awesome. Very rarely do you remember the score of the game but you remember the relationships and stay friends with those guys while meeting new coaches and getting to hang out with them.
“The entire week is great,” Gibson added. “The event is well put together and I’m happy to be here.”
Getting to work with Gibson again was a boost for both Greencastle players.
“Having (Rob) as a coach again has really fired me up,” Carrington said. “It’s good to have one last game with him.”
“It’s been so much fun being able to reconnect with him,” Beauchamp added. “I’ve kept in touch with him via text message but it’s so much fun to have him coach me again.
“He’s a lot more vocal. He makes his point a lot more than when he was just our coordinator.”
Opposite them on the Gold Squad will be North Putnam pair Trevor Roseboom and Lucas Murphy, with the team coached by Linton’s Brian Oliver.
“It’s been awesome to meet a bunch of new guys,” Murphy said. “Linton has some really good coaches and they’ve taught us a lot this week.”
Each squad began practice on Sunday for two hours in the buildup to Saturday’s game with all of the players involved enjoying what had been a fun time back on the gridiron.
“It’s cool to play with a lot of guys who know what they’re doing,” Lee said. “A lot of these guys have played for a long time.
“There are a lot of skill guys who want to have fun but also want to win. It takes a lot of pressure off of us that everyone is in the same boat, to have fun and enjoy the game.”
“It’s been pretty awesome really,” Harcourt said. “I’ve enjoyed the chance to get the pads back on and be out there with a bunch of friends as well as meeting new people.”
South Putnam’s Brock Heavin was also chosen for the game but is unable to compete due to previous injuries.
Despite not being in the game directly, the Eagle graduate said the experience was an enjoyable one.
“It’s been fun even though I’m not able to pad up,” Heavin said. “I’ve been able to meet new kids from new schools that I haven’t had the chance to in the past.
“It’s been a cool experience either way and I’m happy to have been a part of it.”
Several players will be donning their game gear for the last time and each who were said it was an ideal send off from the game they’ve played for so long.
“I’m trying to enjoy everything being this is my last game,” Miller said. “I want to go out there and get a few pancakes on the field.”
“It’s been a great time,” Roseboom said. “Meeting new guys has made this a fun week of practice and I’m excited for Saturday.
“It’s been a great opportunity to go out and, for most of us, play for the last time.”
“This is one of the most fun things I’ve done in years,” Beauchamp said. “I wasn’t going to do anything else going to college so to play football one more time makes a life for me. It’s everything I wanted.”
For Murphy and Harcourt, who will both attend Wabash College, the chance to get on the field has been important with the latter suiting up for the Little Giants this fall while the former will hit the mats in Crawfordsville later this year.
“This is getting me back in shape,” Harcourt noted. “After wrestling season, I slacked off a little bit but being out here, I’ve been able to get back to the grind and it’s been pretty nice.”
“It’s a good thing to get in shape,” Murphy added. “I’ve wrestled twice after practice this week, so I’ve been beaten up a little doing both.”
For Carrington, there is an added bit of pressure for the game, even if said pressure is more on the playful side than anything else thanks to brothers Brach and Logan Carrington, who played in the All-Star Game in 2021.
“They’re always asking if I’ll be better than them,” Carrington said about playing in the same game older brothers Brach and Logan did two years ago. “There are some high expectations based on what they did.”
While the game will be the main focus of the weekend, the awards banquet Friday night will have an additional Putnam County recipient of honor as current South Putnam athletic director Troy Burgess will be inducted into the WVFCA Hall of Fame, joining former county coaches John Fallis, Mark Wildman, Bob Wasson and Greg Barrett, along with former DePauw University head coach Nick Mourozis.
“It’s a great honor,” Burgess said. “The main reason is that this is something that is selected on by my peers, guys that I’ve coached with and against the last 30 years.
“Anytime you are fortunate enough to be selected by your peers, it means a lot.”
Burgess added seeing several coaches he’d faced off with, worked on the same sideline as and even coached during his time gave the week an extra special feel.
“This has been a great week for me,” Burgess said. “We’re using the term ‘assistant coach’ here very loosely this week.
“It’s great to see these guys and be a part of it. Getting to spend the week together with Rob has been really great as we’ve shared a lot of time and great moments together and to see him in this role has been fun to be a part of.”