FORTVILLE — Last year wasn’t good enough for the Mt. Vernon Marauders.
Sure, the turnaround from a 4-7 record in 2017 to 7-4 in 2018 was nice. Second place in the conference wasn’t good enough, though, and neither was a sectional semifinal loss at the hands of Greenwood.
The Marauders wanted more.
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“The goal hasn’t changed. Winning seven was great from where they were the year before, and I know people are pretty excited, but it’s not enough,” Mt. Vernon coach Mike Kirschner said. “I didn’t come here just to win a few games. I came here to build a program with the help of this staff, which is a great staff, and to do something special.”
“We have to take that extra step,” junior running back and safety Rylan Cole added. “We can’t be satisfied. We went 7-4 last year, and we can’t be satisfied with just that.”
When Kirschner arrived at Mt. Vernon, fresh off a state championship with Class 6A Ben Davis, the culture almost immediately began to change.
The numbers in the football program have gone way up, to 90 players now with expectations of surpassing 100 next year. Players have bought in to a focus on the weight room, on strength and conditioning.
Those changes played a part in the Marauders reversing their record last year. They hope it adds even more wins this season.
“They emphasize every day that it starts in the weight room,” senior linebacker and offensive lineman Charlie Moore said of the coaching staff. “We’ve just been getting better and better. The winning culture here has changed dramatically over the last couple of years. It’s kind of crazy to think of how far that we’ve come.”
About half of the team’s starters from 2018 have graduated, leaving plenty of holes to fill in the Marauders lineup. Three all-county players graduated, while one, Cole, returns. Cole was one of two players to earn all-county honors on both sides of the ball a season ago, running for nearly 1,000 yards and grabbing five interceptions.
On offense, Cole and Keagan Labelle are both back at running back. A few offensive linemen are back, including Moore. The wide receiver and tight end positions will be filled with new names, as the top four in receptions from last year have all graduated.
The quarterback position will see a new starter, too, although whoever ultimately wins the job isn’t inexperienced. Senior Shaun Shipley and sophomore Gehrig Slunaker are in a close competition for the job.
Both have varsity experience. Shipley started or played in several games last year for Mt. Vernon, while Slunaker was an every-game starter for Greenfield-Central a year ago as a freshman.
Defensively, the Marauders return five of their 11 starters. Both cornerbacks — seniors Ashton and Austin Lewis — are back, as are Cole at free safety, Moore at inside linebacker and junior Jack Robinson at outside linebacker.
Cole and Moore ranked second and third, respectively, on the team in tackles a year ago. Both are expected to have significant roles again this year, as they’ll each line up on both sides of the ball again for the Marauders.
Kirschner said he hopes Moore will be one of his on-field leaders in 2019.
“Like all teams, you’re looking for the leaders, you’re looking for the guys that are going to step up. You’re waiting to see who is going to get it done,” Kirschner said. “I’m hoping Charlie Moore is that guy. He’s a three-year starter, great kid. He’s a big-time person in our wrestling program, made it to semistate. He’s a two-way player for us and he’s just got that dynamic that I like, that everybody follows. He’s going to need some help — he can’t do it by himself — but we’re hoping in the long run some other kids step up.”
Moore is confident in the group he has around him this season, despite the fairly high turnover in starters.
“We have a good group of core guys,” he said. “We have a lot of guys that can do the same things that we did last year. We have a lot of guys that have gotten stronger in the weight room, more athletic. I think we have a really good chance of doing something really good.”
The Marauders have made plenty of progress already as Kirschner enters his second season at the helm, but there’s more work to be done, and they know it.
The biggest thing Kirschner has seen, outside of the win/loss record, is the commitment of the players and the community to the football program. Multi-sport athletes are working on football whenever they aren’t with their other teams. They are in the weight room both during and after school.
That’s the kind of mindset Kirschner knows his team needs to catch up to a team like New Palestine, which has dominated the Hoosier Heritage Conference in recent years.
“We’re still trying to close the gap with an unbelievably talented New Pal team. Delta whipped our butts last year. We’ve got to find a way to do more than what we’re doing,” Kirschner said. “Our offseason has been good, our weight program has been very good, our offseason conditioning has been better. I think after a whole year, we’re in a better place, but it’s a work in progress.”
They’ll start to piece together exactly how far they’ve come once things get rolling Friday at home against Hamilton Heights, a team Mt. Vernon beat 43-14 a year ago. They hope that will be the first of many wins this fall.
“Everyone is working really hard. It’s just kind of a different mentality,” Cole said. “Everyone is focused on the year and wanting to make it further than we did last year. We’re not just some 4A school. We’re a 4A school who works just as hard as a 6A school, just as hard as anyone else in the state of Indiana. We’re here to win.”
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Date;Opponent;Time
Aug. 23;Hamilton Heights;7 p.m.
Aug. 30;Richmond;7 p.m.
Sept. 6;at Greenfield-Central;7:30 p.m.
Sept. 13;at New Palestine;7:30 p.m.
Sept. 20;Delta;7:30 p.m.
Sept. 27;Pendleton Heights;7:30 p.m.
Oct. 4;at New Castle;7:30 p.m.
Oct. 11;at Shelbyville;7:30 p.m.
Oct. 18;Yorktown;7:30 p.m.
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Coach: Mike Kirschner (second year)
Last season: 7-4, 5-2 HHC; lost to Greenwood in sectional semifinal, 14-7
Key returnees: OL/LB Charlie Moore, QB Shaun Shipley, CB/WR Ashton Lewis, CB/RB Austin Lewis, OL/DL Jacob Vestal, seniors; RB/FS Rylan Cole, OL/DL Matt Foor, juniors; RB/DB Keagan Labelle, sophomore
Top newcomers: WR/DB Dawan Langston, senior; QB Gehrig Slunaker, OL/DL Cole Herman, sophomores
Outlook: Mt. Vernon built a lot of momentum in the back half of the 2018 schedule before stalling in the sectional semifinal against Greenwood. Expect to see the Marauders continue that momentum this season, as another improvement in the win column is within reach. A big key in how far the team can go will be the development of the quarterback and wide receiver positions, as the Marauders thrived on big passing plays a year ago and will need more of that to compliment all-county running back Rylan Cole this year. A top-three finish in the HHC is probable, and the Marauders could be favorites to bring home a sectional championship this season.
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