Putting in the work

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Eastern Hancock's Victor Olivo(88) tries to go over a couple Knightstown defenders during their game on September 14,2018. Rob Baker

CHARLOTTESVILLE — The strength of the 2019 Eastern Hancock football team should be just that — strength.

Offseason conditioning was one of the priorities for coach Doug Armstrong, in his second year as head coach of the Royals.

The combination of having a stronger team and most of last year’s lineup returning could lead to good things for the Royals this fall.

“Having been out there before is a big key, No. 1,” Armstrong said. “No. 2, we really had a good offseason. Our strength numbers are way up. They worked very hard and were committed. Now, I hope they are able to reap the benefits of that.”

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It’s not just noticeable to the coach. The players see it, too.

“Our strength is going to be a big factor going into games,” senior running back Victor Olivo said. “In the offseason we’ve put a lot of work into the weight room trying to get stronger and more developed. We have a lot of strength. We’ve grown a lot. That’s going to be big for our offensive line.”

Offensive line is expected to be another strong suit for Armstrong’s Royals.

“The strength of our team has to be our offensive line,” he said. “They have to play up to their potential and come through. They have good size, but not a ton of experience.

“We have potential to have a pretty good offensive line.”

Two starters return in senior Harrison Collins (6’1”, 260) and junior Conner Knudson (6’3”, 165). They’ll be joined by juniors Hunter Knudson (6’, 260), Tyler Cavaletto (6’6”, 200) and Jackson Beaudry (6’4”, 165), who Armstrong said, if not for injury, all would have started last year, too.

“Last year, we had (one) guy squatting 300 pounds. Now we have guys approaching 400,” Collins said.

Pushing the blocking sled is not as tough of a task this year as it was last.

“It took us eight-and-a-half minutes last year (to push it down the field); now we do it under two,” Collins said.

“Our skinny freshman guys have had a year of weights, now they’re sophomores with a little more meat on them and it’s a tribute to their work,” Armstrong added.

That strength should help give running backs holes to run through and time for quarterback Houston Swan to throw.

Swan (6’1, 190), now a sophomore, started last season, completing 98-of-181 attempts for 1,161 yards and 11 touchdowns. He suffered some freshman growing pains at the position with 20 interceptions.

He’ll have his top targets back and more options in 2019.

Sophomore All-Hancock County receiver Cole Rainbolt (5’11”, 170) caught 42 passes for 479 yards and four touchdowns. Also back with double-digit receiving numbers are senior Connor Shultz (6’, 180), and sophomores Zach Arnold (5’8”, 145) and Landon O’Neal (6’, 160). They’ll also welcome the return of junior Cayden Sotelo (5’11”, 165), who missed most of last season due to injury.

Shultz was second on the team with 15 catches for 166 yards. Arnold was second in receiving yards with 178 on 12 catches. O’Neal had 10 receptions. Before getting injured, Sotelo had three catches for 119 yards and two touchdowns.

The group of receivers could get even stronger if J.P. Fuchs (6’, 165) becomes eligible after transferring from Greenfield-Central. A junior, Fuchs had 32 catches for 480 yards and two touchdowns for the Cougars in 2018.

Armstrong said the rushing attack will be running back by committee. Leading the committee is Olivo (5’10”, 160) who rushed for 1,008 yards and 5.4 yards per carry. Others with experience are junior Jacob Johnson (5’10”, 160), and senior Garrett Friesen (5’8”, 175), who rushed for 261 yards and 257 yards, respectively.

Others in the crew include Arnold and junior Wes Kane (5’10”, 180).

Defensively, Armstrong said the team will have to “scrap and fight.”

“We’re going to have to play good scheme, gang tackle and be scrappy and smart,” he said. “That is what we’ll have to do to get the job done on defense.”

Friesen was an all-county linebacker and returns to that position along with Kane. Friesen had 123 total tackles, nearly 50 more than the next Royal. Upon return from injury, Chase Settergren is another veteran in the group. He was second in tackles (74) and tackles for loss (7.5).

Leading in tackles for loss is returning defensive lineman Tyler Vandervliet (5’8”, 175), who is back for his senior season after recording 12.5 TFLs last season and a team-high six sacks.

Rainbolt and Shultz are key returnees in the defensive backfield. Rainbolt had a team-best three interceptions last year. Settergren had two.

“We have most of our players back from last year, but we’re still a pretty young team,” Armstrong said. "Several starters were freshmen last year. Obviously, they’re a year older and have some experience, so that should pay off.”

He added the youth of the team was well-described recently by offensive coordinator Michael Galyan.

“He said, out of our six skill position players he had lined up the other day, only one of them was old enough to drive a car. That’s pretty young,” Armstrong said. 

Armstrong is hopeful the year of experience will help cut down on last year’s mistakes, noting a game his team had eight turnovers. He’ll also be facing a strong schedule and sectional.

Six of nine teams on the schedule had winning records a year ago, including defending sectional champions Monroe Central and Lapel. The sectional is difficult, too, with the likes of defending champion Scecina and Shenandoah, ranked No. 3 and No. 9, respectively, in the Class 2A Indiana Football Coaches Association preseason poll.

“Tough schedule, tough sectional, we’ll have to be able to overcome our inexperience mistakes from last year,” Armstrong added.

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Schedule

Date;Opponent;Time

Aug. 23;at Northwestern;7:00 p.m.

Aug. 30;at Wes-Del;7:00 p.m.

Sept. 6;at Fountain Central;7:00 p.m.

Sept. 13;Heritage Christian;7:00 p.m.

Sept. 20;Knightstown;7:00 p.m.

Sept. 27;South Decatur;7:00 p.m.

Oct. 4;Monroe Central;7:00 p.m.

Oct. 11;at Shenandoah;7:00 p.m.

Oct. 18;at Lapel;7:00 p.m.

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Coach: Doug Armstrong (second year)

Last season: 3-7, 1-2 MEC; lost 21-0 to Heritage Christian in first round of sectional

Key returnees: LB Chase Settergren (6’, 175), RB/LB Garrett Friesen (5’8”, 175), WR/LB Connor Shultz (6’, 180), DL Tyler Vandervliet (5’8”, 175), OL Harrison Collins (6’1”, 260), RB/DB Victor Olivo (5’10, 160), seniors; RB/LB Wes Kane (5’10”, 180), RB Jacob Johnson (5’10”, 160), OL/DL Conner Knudson (6’3”, 165), juniors; WR/FS Cole Rainbolt (5’11”, 170), QB Houston Swan (6’1”, 190), WR/DB Zach Arnold (5’8”, 145), sophomores.

Top newcomers: OL Jackson Beaudry (6’4”, 165), OL Tyler Cavaletto (6’6”, 200), OL/DL Hunter Knudson (6’, 260), WR Cayden Sotelo (5’11”, 165), WR J.P. Fuchs (6’, 165), juniors

Outlook: With 17 of 22 starters returning from a year ago, how the Royals have matured from the 2018 experience will be key. Though veterans on the field, Eastern Hancock still has a youthful team, relying a lot on sophomores and juniors. If they have learned from their experience and cut back on the costly mistakes from 2018, this group of Royals could have a very successful fall.

Notable: Along with being veterans on the field, the Royals are now veterans in the weight room. Off-season conditioning has been a big plus for this year’s group and it should show on the field on Friday nights.

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Just as he sees progress from his team on the field, Eastern Hancock assistant football coach Clayton Shultz is seeing good progress in his fight with cancer.

The coach, diagnosed in late May with Burkitt Lymphoma, an aggressive form of non-Hodgkin’s lymphoma, in his abdomen, and later with CNS (Central Nervous System) Lymphoma, a rare non-Hodgkin lymphoma, in his brain, is getting good reports from his doctor on his chemotherapy treatment.

“I feel really good,” Shultz said at a midweek practice preparing for the team’s scrimmage against Centerville. “(The chemotherapy) is working. My initial scans came back good.”

The veteran coach said the in-patient treatment plan is scheduled to go for six to eight months. He goes in every two weeks for four days. Last Monday started his two-week off period, so he expected to be good to go for Friday’s opener at Northwestern.

“Physically, I feel really good,” Shultz said. “My doctor told me, by the way I was feeling with my type of cancer, he could tell my scans were going to be good.”

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