GREENFIELD — It’s the beginning of a new era.
Travis Nolting is the new coach and the wishbone/flexbone is the new offense.
Greenfield-Central will soon kick off the 2019 high school football season, and a lot has changed. All those that follow and root for the Cougars hope it’s a change for the better.
Greenfield-Central finished 0-10 in 2018 and have been under .500 six of the last seven seasons.
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Nolting, who had a record of 60-28 in eight seasons at Class 1A North Central (Farmersburg), brings in an old-school, run-first mentality, along with a mindset and culture designed to turn the Cougars’ program around.
“I believe in a blue collar, grab your hard hat, grab your lunch pail, punch your time card and go to work mentality,” Nolting said. “That’s what we are trying to relate to the kids. They’ve accepted it right now with open arms.”
“We’re progressing very well,” junior lineman Scott Stanley said. “The energy has been good and I have nothing but high hopes. We definitely feel more like a team and more like a family than last year. Everyone is working together. It’s a lot more fun.”
Stanley is a returning starter on the offensive line, but has moved from center to guard.
Four of the five projected starters up front are underclassmen with tackle Trevor Clemmer (6’5”, 275) being the only senior. The other tackle is junior Skylar Huffman (6’2”, 185). Junior Anthony Wallace (6’2”, 315) is the center and sophomore Jacob Skinner (5’11”, 215) is the other guard.
The Cougars will feature a lot of underclassmen. Of the 50 players on the roster, 16 are freshmen. Only seven are seniors.
“We’re very young, but our kids are coming along pretty well,” Nolting said. “We’ve established our offensive and defensive philosophies with them. They’re picking up on things. We’ve had to go back and do a lot of teaching them how to play football and play football the right way.”
Veterans will man some of the spots, too. Nolting calls his vets small, but very committed to what he and his staff are trying to do.
Seniors Gavin Rose (6’3”, 190) and Tyler Antic (6’3”, 175) are the team’s tight ends/split ends and they will also be linebackers. Senior Bradon Nelson (5’10”, 195) is a fullback/inside linebacker and the only returning All-Hancock County selection. Fullback is a new spot for him, but he led the Cougars with 11 tackles for loss in 2018. He was second in total tackles with 131. Antic led with 141.
“We’ve been a lot more organized,” Nelson said. “Everything has been a lot more structured and more aggressive.”
Sophomore Spencer Johnson (5’6”, 160) is the only running back with previous varsity carries. His 229 rushing yards led the Cougars in 2018. He’ll play both at a running back and fullback spot.
The fullback and running back spots may be the most youthful for the young Cougars.
Sophomores Joey Roland (5’10”, 160), who had two receptions as a wide receiver last year, and Brady Durnell (5’8”, 140) will see a lot of time at running back, but an even younger crew in freshmen Brayden Harrell (6’, 155) and Andrew Zellers (5’10, 180) are expected to vie for carries, too.
“They are young guys and they are going to go through the fire a little bit, but I think they will be better for it when they are juniors and seniors,” Nolting said. “I’m very excited about the group that we have and the effort they are giving. Down the road they are going to be very special.”
In 2018, junior Lance McKee (6’, 150) had 59 rushes — most of any Cougar — for 159 yards. He also caught 30 passes for 191 yards. He’ll touch the ball even more in 2019, earning the starting quarterback job in a battle with sophomore Josh VanOsdol (5’6”, 130).
On defense, with Rose, Antic and Nelson, along with Johnson, Nolting has his most experienced and one of his most talented units at linebacker. Along with Antic and Nelson finishing 1-2 in tackles last year, Rose was fourth (64 tackles) and was the co-leader in interceptions with two. Nelson also led in sacks with four.
Junior free safety Chris O’Connor (6’3”, 175) is another veteran on the defensive side, recording 60 tackles during his sophomore campaign.
The cornerbacks will be seniors Wyatt Looper (5’9”, 150) and Brock Wheeler (6’2”, 170), who is new to football, but not to Greenfield-Central. He’s a member of the Cougars’ basketball team.
The defensive end and tackles spots will see a lot of the same guys from the offensive line, with Nolting using a two-platoon system. Along with the aforementioned offensive line starters, expect to see the likes of sophomore Larry Bellows (6’3”, 240), junior Devin Morgan (6’, 250) and junior Jordan Zike (6’, 235) sharing time up front on both sides of the ball.
“Some of those guys may start two ways, but they’ll be rolling off a lot,” Nolting said. “We want to try to keep guys fresh.”
Junior Ben Polster (6’1”, 180), from the soccer team, and promising freshman Caleb Means (5’8”, 140) are battling for kicking duties. Antic is the first-string punter, backed up by McKee.
“We’ve made a lot of progress and we’re going to continue to make progress,” Nolting said. “It’s going to be a process. We’re focusing on getting better every day. That’s been our focus and that will always be my focus here.
“Our kids have done a great job of really pushing themselves and learning and being an open book to what we want to do.”
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Coach: Travis Nolting (first year)
Last season: 0-10, 0-7 HHC; lost 33-12 to Anderson in Class 5A Sectional 12 semifinals
Key returnees: FB/LB Bradon Nelson, TE/LB/P Tyler Antic, TE/LB Gavin Rose, OL/DL Trevor Clemmer, DB Wyatt Looper, seniors; OL/DL Scott Stanley, QB/DB/P Lance McKee, OL/DL Anthony Wallace, OL/DL Skylar Huffman, OL/DL, DB Chris O’Connor, juniors; FB/LB Spencer Johnson, RB/LB Joey Roland, sophomores
Top newcomers: DB/WR Brock Wheeler, senior; RB/DB Brady Dumell, QB/DB Josh VanOsdol, OL/DL Jacob Skinner, sophomores; RB/LB Brayden Harrell, RB/LB Andrew Zellers, freshmen
Outlook: The Cougars will be hard to measure purely on wins and losses. Nolting has changed the offense, defense, as well as the culture. This team is a work in progress with an extremely youthful roster with 16 freshmen and just seven seniors among the 50 players.
Notable: The Cougars may not be the best team in the county this season, but they will definitely be one of the most interesting. With Nolting bringing in a wishbone, including a variation flexbone, offense that he was quite successful with at North Central (Farmersburg), Greenfield-Central will be one of few teams in the entire state to run this "old-school" style. Their progress will be fun to watch.
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Schedule
Date;Opponent;Time
Aug. 23;Plainfield;7 p.m.
Aug. 30;Whiteland;7 p.m.
Sept. 6;Mt. Vernon;7:30 p.m.
Sept. 13;at Pendleton Heights;7:30 p.m.
Sept. 20;Shelbyville;7:30 p.m.
Sept. 27;New Palestine;7:30 p.m.
Oct. 4;at Yorktown;7:30 p.m.
Oct. 11;Delta;7:30 p.m.
Oct. 18;at New Castle;7:30 p.m.
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