NEW PALESTINE — The talent is undeniable.
Clocked at 4.4 seconds over a 40-yard sprint, and an athletically gifted, yet versatile, asset on the football field, New Palestine senior Blake Austin led by example and in production for the Class 5A Dragons.
With eight touchdown receptions and 845 yards receiving this season, Austin, who stand 6-foot-2 and weighs 200 pounds, can beat a defender off the line of scrimmage with a single move or a few ticks down field, if his opponent lags even for a second.
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Named the 2020 All-Hancock County Football Offensive Player of the Year, Austin was recognized by the IFCA as the only county competitor elected to the 2020 All-State first-team offense, but how the future University of Indianapolis Greyhound reached his potential is where his true attribute resides.
“He’s always been a really tough kid, and he was raised to be a pretty tough kid as well, which was a good thing,” New Palestine head football coach Kyle Ralph said.
Often Austin’s laborious journey is overlooked due to the gleam that reflects from the accolades he’s amassed during his career, particularly a pair of 5A state titles earned in 2018 and 2019, along with the three Hoosier Heritage Conference team titles and a 46-3 team record since his freshman season.
However, the most rewarding honor for Austin is what doesn’t come with a medal or a ring but notably led to all of them.
His fortitude.
As a freshman, Austin faced a crossroad, one that nearly halted his football career at the start. Diagnosed with multiple stress fractures in his vertebrae the summer of 2017, the incoming New Pal freshman had to endure adversity immediately.
A kid raised on football with his father, Gene, a former running back at Butler, his uncles Bart Austin (UIndy) and Burt Austin (Ball State) both ball carriers at the collegiate level, along with his mom’s brother, Phil Ochs, a former safety at Hanover, Blake nearly lost hold of the game he loved.
Austin had to heal and focus on what could be, which eventually turned into a decorated career with another four years ahead at UIndy.
“Honestly, his injury when he got here was a thing where we didn’t know if he was ever going to be cleared to play a contact sport. That’s really difficult for a young kid to handle when a thing you enjoy doing the most is potentially going to be taken away from you before it ever really has a chance to begin,” Ralph recalled. “Thankfully, it all worked itself out well.”
Austin saw a chiropractor due to his back pain as an eighth-grader and later went to Methodist Hospital where he was examined at the Orthopedic-Spine Center. An MRI revealed the fractures, which gave him two choices.
One, he could wear a back brace that restricted all torso movement for 3-4 months and hope his fractures healed or have corrective surgery.
“It wasn’t a 100 percent guarantee it would work, but it was either that or get a spinal fusion, and I wasn’t going to do the second option right away,” Austin said. “It ended up being a year or a year and a half before I was fully recovered. I lost around 30-40 pounds in that back brace. It was definitely the biggest injury obstacle I faced in my career.”
Or so he thought.
Able to train with the Dragons through summer conditioning in 2018, Austin earned a starting spot and was ready to make his mark.
However, life had other plans, yet again.
“His sophomore season started out with him breaking his collarbone the Tuesday of Kokomo week to start the year off,” Ralph said. “Week 1, right out of the gate, he’s the starting wide receiver, and the fifth rep of practice, he breaks his collarbone. So, he had that happen, and you think, ‘Oh, my God, is this guy ever going to have a chance to play?’ He obviously had a lot of talent, but his career started out with only what you could call extreme adversity.”
As a sophomore, Austin was able to return to the field in late September of 2018, but he wasn’t necessarily where he wanted to be, so to speak, physically. The game was much harder after being away, through the injuries and being unable to commit to weight lifting until preseason of his junior season.
He almost lost his passion for football.
“Looking back at it, it was probably the most pivotal moment in my football career,” Austin said. “I remember after I returned, I was so weak, so slow, so lightweight. Coming back and hating it. At the time, I didn’t realize it was going to take time to get back, but I remember being so disappointed and not having fun with the game anymore.
“I basically gave myself one option, and that was to go my hardest and luckily it worked out. I think, if I hadn’t broken my back, I wouldn’t be where I am today because it motivated me so much.”
That drive equated into a seven-touchdown reception junior campaign, including a vital six-points in the 5A state title game at Lucas Oil Stadium against Valparaiso as the Dragons repeated, 27-20, on Nov. 29, 2019.
He had 21 catches overall for 379 yards, and his success in 2019 revealed exactly what Austin could achieve when obstacles arose.
Once again, they did in 2020, and it impacted everyone this time.
With the COVID-19 pandemic disrupting all sports, let alone prep football, Austin’s resilience, in addition to the Dragons’ senior leaders like quarterback Lincoln Roth, kept the program rolling forward.
First the Dragons, as many, were forced to condition on their own time during the statewide shutdown, then the program lost the first game of the season due to coronavirus quarantines in early August.
As the season progressed, injuries and further quarantines hampered the Dragons, who despite the hardships finished the year 8-2 and second in the HHC with a six-game winning streak after losing to 4A Mt. Vernon, 35-22, on Sept. 11.
“He was a great leader for us this year. Obviously, as a team captain, that’s what you’re looking for. I thought he did a really nice job of holding up the standard of our program and what it meant,” Ralph said. “He played on those championship teams and started on those championship teams, so he learned a lot from those older guys that came before him. I think he did a nice job of applying that so he could lead our team this year as best as he could, and in a year like this that’s not easy to do.”
Austin made it look effortless with 101 rushing yards, three 100-plus receiving yard performances, including 230 yards on seven catches against Franklin Community on Oct. 30.
He had two multi-touchdown games and had 1,236 all-purpose yards. For added measure, he logged a kick-off return touchdown against Mt. Vernon despite his team’s 65-game regular-season winning streak coming to an end.
Austin consistently drew double coverage, but he repeatedly found a way to persevere, partly because of his close relationship with Roth and because of the habits absorbed by being part of the Dragons’ football team.
“He had to go over and play defense for us this year. He hadn’t played defense his entire career here. All of a sudden, he’s starting at defensive back and returning kicks and punts. Those were things he hadn’t done before,” Ralph said.
“With the amount of injuries that we had and than the quarantine stuff where you’re just sitting there wondering every single day, am I going to be the unlucky one? That’s mentally tough on kids, and I have a lot of respect for guys that went through this year and kept their heads on straight and did such a great job of focusing on the task at hand like Blake did.”
The same was demanded of him during his recruiting.
With offers streaming in during the offseason, COVID-19 radically altered the collegiate landscape, which delayed his commitment until nearly Thanksgiving.
“With COVID there were offers that were no longer available because seniors from all these schools playing spring seasons, a lot of them are getting an extra year of eligibility. So, all the seniors that stay, takes away scholarships spots, and then the transfer portal is incredibly packed because everyone has a waiver right now to be eligible immediately,” Austin said.
“A lot of scholarships weren’t available, and to me, playing college football I really wanted to have my school paid for. I wanted to give back to my parents because of what they gave to me growing up.”
Fortunately, Austin’s patience was rewarded as he signed with UIndy and head coach Chris Keevers, the father of Dragons’ senior Tucker Keevers, who is also heading to Indianapolis.
“UIndy is 20 minutes from home. My sister (Nicole) currently goes there. And, the head coach I’ve known for the past four years because Tucker is on our team as well. Not many kids get to say they know their head coach going into their freshman year of college,” Austin said. “That was a big reason I chose UIndy because of coach Keevers. That helped me make my decision.”
The support of his mother, Sherri Shields, his coaches and his entire family has him continuing his dream after graduating high school early to focus on college, while also leaving his own legacy behind at New Palestine.
“I feel like a lot of it is a generational thing. It’s kind of as you grow up through the program, it’s your role to pass down that culture onto the younger classes. That’s what keeps New Pal going. The culture is everything. That’s what makes us who we are,” Austin said. “Being a senior and part of it, it’s your responsibility to pass that on so the culture and the standard never falls.”
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QB Houston Swan, Eastern Hancock
RB Grayson Thomas, New Palestine
RB Keagan La Belle, Mt. Vernon
WR Blake Austin, New Palestine
WR Cole Rainbolt, Eastern Hancock
ATH Lance McKee, Greenfield-Central
TE Tanner Koziol, Mt. Vernon
OL Ethan Sturgeon, New Palestine
OL Anthony Wallace, Greenfield-Central
OL RaZhaun Wells, Mt. Vernon
OL Jarred Williams, Mt. Vernon
OL Noah Mack, New Palestine
K A.J. Swingle, Mt. Vernon
Coach of the Year: Mike Kirschner, Mt. Vernon
Honorable Mentions: Mt. Vernon — Ashden Gentry, Gehrig Slunaker, Rylan Cole, Ronnie Foster, Matt Foor. Greenfield-Central — Andrew Zellers, Scott Stanley, RaShawn Street. New Palastine — Lincoln Roth, Matt Brown. Eastern Hancock — Zach Arnold, JP Fuchs, Connor Knudson, Chase Riggs.
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