By Todd Golden
The Western Indiana Conference has always been an incongruent mix of odds and ends.
Geographically, it runs the gamut from the mining and farming community of Sullivan, to the resort town of Nashville (where Brown County is located), to the pharmaceutical and river city of Clinton (home of South Vermillion) … with all points in between.
As befitting its diverse mixture of communities, the schools within the WIC range from large (Northview is a Class 4A school in other sports) to small.
Sullivan and South Vermillion know what life is like on the small side. Both schools are right around the 3A-2A dividing line in the other class sports, and in a sport like football, where numbers are so vital, it’s a challenge for the Wildcats and Golden Arrows to have enough bodies to compete with conference schools that can easy platoon and not have as many players playing two ways.
“When the conference started it made more sense — Northview was around 900 at the time, now they’re well over 1,000. Edgewood and Owen Valley have grown. We’ve shrunk,” Sullivan coach Trent Olson said. “Its made it a tougher hill to climb. It’s kind of big school, small school.”
South Vermillion briefly left the WIC in an effort to join the Wabash River Conference. The Wildcats return to a full conference schedule this season and know repeating a 6-5 mark is going to be a challenge.
“We lose North Central and South Newton and gain Owen Valley and Edgewood, but I like the challenge,” South Vermillion coach Ron Whiteman said. “We’re one of the little ones. What we need to do is build from the bottom up, getting the younger numbers up. The more athletes you have, the fewer you have going both ways.”
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Following are previews for the Wildcats and Golden Arrows:
• South Vermillion — The Wildcats’ winning record was their first since 2001, a good start for Whiteman, who embarks on his second-year.
“We’re headed in the right direction, but we’re nowhere near where we need to go. But this senior class is a pretty good class and they want to win. They’re hungry and we’ll see what we can do with them,” Whiteman said.
Among the longest-tenured seniors is quarterback Andy Walsh, who has been starting for the Wildcats since 2007. He was one of the area’s top passers and rushers in 2008 with 616 passing yards and 872 yards on the ground.
Walsh has a veteran group to throw to with receivers Cody Mumaw and Patrick Harpenau. The wingbacks and fullbacks are Nick Afke, Ross Hoggatt, Michael Thompson, Logan Laswell and James Craigmyle. The line is anchored by returning starters Dan Rowe, Dylan Vrzina and Trent Wallace. Whiteman said he expects new varsity players to compete for other spots.
Many of the offensive contributors will be called upon to help on the defensive side too. Laswell (safety) and Mumaw (cornerback) form the nucleus of the secondary. Wallace, Rowe and Vrzina are the returnees on the defensive line, while Alfke and Hoggatt will play linebacker.
• Sullivan — The Arrows are coming off an uncharacteristic 2-8 campaign, their worst since 1995, so third-year coach Olson decided to make some changes.
“We had a much better summer and offseason than we had the year before, that alone will help us a lot. We’re trying to work in some things that will make us better,” Olson said.
Sullivan will run what Olson called a “pistol set” as the Arrows will try to be mobile. Sullivan will also use a 4-4 defense instead of a 3-5 defense it had used the past few seasons.
Senior Tyler Cox will start at quarterback for the Arrows and Olson feels like he’s a perfect fit for the offense Sullivan intends to run. Dakota Hiatt returns at running back. Johnathon Sinkhorn and Bobby Nero anchor the line at the tackle positions.
Guard Brice Borders suffered an eye injury against North Central in last Friday’s scrimmage, though he is expected to be back after Sullivan’s opener against Southridge on Friday.
Past that, Olson said it would primarily be youngsters contributing at other positions, many of them underclassmen, as there are only 19 upperclassmen on the roster.
Sinkhorn and Nero also anchor the defensive line at the end spots. Kendall Monk and Levi McClain are the defensive tackles. Defensive backs Alex Smith and John Walker man the secondary. Young will prevail at other spots, including the linebacker positions.
Sullivan schedule
Friday — Southridge, 7:30 p.m.
Aug. 28 — at Linton, 7 p.m.
Sept. 4 — North Knox, 7 p.m.
Sept. 11 — Northview*, 7 p.m.
Sept. 18 — Edgewood*, 7 p.m.
Sept. 25 — at Owen Valley*, 7:30 p.m.
Oct. 2 — at Brown County, 7:30 p.m.
Oct. 9 — at South Vermillion*, 7 p.m.
Oct. 16 — West Vigo*, 7 p.m.
* — Western Indiana Conference games
South Vermillion
Saturday— at Covington, 7 p.m.
Aug. 28 — North Vermillion, 7 p.m.
Sept. 4 — at Owen Valley*, 7:30 p.m.
Sept. 11 — Brown County, 7:30 p.m.
Sept. 18 — at West Vigo*, 7 p.m.
Sept. 25 — at Rockville, 7 p.m.
Oct. 2 — Northview*, 7 p.m.
Oct. 9 — Sullivan*, 7 p.m.
Oct. 16 — at Edgewood*, 7 p.m.
* — Western Indiana Conference games
