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August 22, 2008

Strong year ahead for maturing Southwest Seven Conference

By Todd Golden

TERRE HAUTE — Is this the year everything is turned upside down in the Southwest Seven Conference?

Perennial power Linton has more untested Miners on its roster than usual. North Central, 16-6 in its last two seasons, lost the services of standout Michael Woodsmall to graduation. On the other hand, Union — the smallest football-playing public school in the state — has its highest roster count in years, with experience to boot.

Is a sea change in order in the Southwest? Perhaps.

“The conference is stacked this year, it’s absolutely loaded, probably strongest its been overall,” North Central coach Brian Crabtree said. “Linton is the best overall program, North Daviess and North Knox are both loaded, [Oakland City] Wood Memorial is very improved. Dugger will be tough. The question marks are us and Eastern [Greene].”

History is hard to ignore, though. Inexperienced though they may be, Linton has never lost a Southwest Seven game, going 16-0 since 2005. The last time the Miners lost to a Southwest Seven school was 2002 when it fell to Oakland Wood Memorial, before the conference was formed. It’s conference dominance is one reason why the Miners are No. 5 in the preseason Class A poll.

If competition is coming to the Southwest Seven, Linton coach Steve Weber welcomes it.

“It makes everyone better. There were some teams when the conference started that were pretty young. They’re raising the bar. We need to make sure we’re working hard or we’re going to get passed up,” Weber said.

Here’s a look at the area Southwest Seven Conference teams:

n North Central — Woodsmall, who rushed for over 2,000 yards at North Central, is now at DePauw, but it doesn’t mean the cupboard is bare in Farmersburg.

Quarterback Brett Lewis is a two-year starter and Derrik Enstrom contributed last season at tailback for the Thunderbirds. Trevor Watson and Dylan Walker all have experience catching passes.

If only North Central had its health, it would feel better about its opener at Union. Enstrom and Watson are both questionable for tonight’s game, while new varsity contributor Storm Lindsay will miss the game with a broken foot.

“What looked like a lot of depth for us has gone away,” Crabtree said. “We’ve got some talented kids, but we’re struggling now with getting everyone healthy. When it’s a Class A program, it seems like you move two or three other guys around to different positions to plug in for one or two injuries.”

The Thunderbirds — with 37 players on the roster — are counting on players like running back Mark Linnenkamp and wide receivers Cody Adams and Josh Lindsay to close the depth gap on offense. North Central’s lines are anchored by veteran center Caleb Justice and left tackle Cody Griffin. They’re joined by Terre Haute South transfer Matt Drake.

Enstrom, Watson and Linnenkamp will play linebacker, along with Riley Pace. Storm Lindsay and Adams are among those in the secondary.

North Central hopes its current crop of players can consolidate the progress the program made in back-to-back 8-3 seasons.

“It’s about continuing the keep the standard high. I think a lot of people have kind of written us off because of the great senior class we lost. This group of seniors has put a lot of work in. Whether we’re successful depends on whether the new guys we plug in can be a key,” Crabtree said.

n Linton — A 14-member senior class helped the Miners get to the regional last year, including current ISU linebacker Ethan Brewer. If Linton is to repeat its usual success, it will need to avoid injuries and coalesce around a group of 12 returning starters.

The skill positions are set as Keith Cunningham returns for his third year as Linton’s quarterback. Mickey Tosti returns to the running back position, while Levi Baysinter and Evan Magni are the wingbacks. Josh Ivey will be the split end, while Jordan Tharp will play tight end.

The line is anchored by senior tackle Stefan Sparks, who has moved from the guard spot. Sparks is joined by center Derrick Barker, guards J.D. Fosh and Josh Meurer, and tackle Caleb Wainman. Most will also play defense.

The linebacking corps is led by Wainman and Sparks, along with Jacob Tibbett. Adam Rose and Ty Scott are competing for one of the outside linebacker spots. Cunningham, Magni and Baysinter are in the secondary.

Weber is fine with his starters, it’s the depth that concerns him. Linton has 54 players on the roster. An embarrassment of riches at most Southwest Seven schools, but a tad down for the Miners.

“I think our talent level is pretty comparable [to past years], our depth is where the problem is. We’ve not filled that in yet,” said Weber, who noted the situation is exacerbated for tonight’s opener at Eastern Greene due to unspecified suspensions and three injuries.

Linton suffered a recent black-eye when the program was put on probation by the IHSAA on Aug. 6 for violating a rule governing use of full protective equipment during summer camp. Weber has admitted the mistake was his, but doesn’t feel it will affect the Miners this season.

“We’re focused on the [Eastern Greene] game. All of the kids know what [the probation] is all about now. We’re moving on,” Weber said.

n Union — There have been past Bulldog rosters that were so thin numbers-wise that substitution was impossible. Not so in 2008 as Union has 24 players in uniform, 13 of them seniors. Union coach Todd Gambill is optimistic about what the depth will mean to the Bulldogs, coming off a 3-7 campaign.

“We have a lot of seniors this year, the most I’ve had in 14 years I’ve been coaching. We have veterans in our skill positions and our line, it’s nice to have,” Gambill said.

B.J. Howard leads the baker’s dozen of seniors as he returns for his third year at the quarterback position. He is joined by fullback Adam Lipscomb, wide receiver Logan Chesterfield, halfback Brandon Stegura, tight end Fred Burst, fullback Blane Boyd, center Jordan Chubb, left tackle Billy Kincaid, right tackle Keaton Langley, left guard George Secrest, right guard Jacob Wilkes, left tackle Coy Heuby and running back Wesley Marshall.

“We’ll be able to substitute more easily and not play as many players two ways. We’ve never truly been able to do that,” Gambill said.

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