HANCOCK COUNTY — Two want to bounce back. Two want to continue the right path.
Week 2 of the high school football season is split 50-50 between the four Hancock County programs.
Both New Palestine and Mt. Vernon want to right the ship after opening week losses.
Greenfield-Central and Eastern Hancock want to keep it rolling after beginning their seasons with victories.
All four teams are playing outside their classifications.
New Palestine, ranked No. 5 in the Indiana Football Coaches Association Class 4A poll and No. 6 in the Associated Press 4A rankings, lost at Class 6A No. 6 Westfield last week, 34-14.
This week, the Dragons continue on the road and the challenge to get that first win will be a tough one.
New Palestine visits Class 5A No. 8 Decatur Central. The Hawks beat Class 6A Columbus North 18-14 to begin their season.
Like the Dragons, the Marauders have taken a similar plan with its non-conference scheduling.
After opening with a loss to a Class 6A team, Mt. Vernon takes on Class 5A Franklin.
Mt. Vernon opened its season at Lucas Oil Stadium in the Horseshoe Classic, falling 48-30 to Noblesville, which is now receiving votes in the Class 6A AP poll. The Marauders trailed 35-8 before picking up the pace on the offensive end in the second half.
Franklin is receiving votes in the Class 5A poll and are just outside the Top 10. The Grizzly Cubs beat New Albany 42-3 to start their season.
Eastern Hancock got off to a great start last week with a 36-15 win at Frankton. The Royals outscored the Eagles 21-0 in the second half.
The Royals, too, will have a challenge outside their class, though they are dipping down to Class 1A to take on Mid-Eastern Conference foe North Decatur.
The Chargers aren’t just a 1A program, they’re one of the better ones in the state.
Currently ranked No. 4 in the AP poll, North Decatur opened its season with a victory over rival South Decatur 41-14.
Tonight’s game is the first MEC game for both teams. The conference has just four football-playing schools, Eastern Hancock, North Decatur, Monroe Central and Shenandoah. North Decatur plays in the Mid-Hoosier Conference in all other sports, but the league does not sponsor a football championship.
Greenfield-Central had one of the more impressive first week performances, a 49-0 victory over visiting Madison.
The Cougars, ranked No. 10 in both Class 4A polls, take to the road this week to face Class 3A Greensburg, coached by former New Palestine assistant coach Wes Anderson. The Pirates lost their opener to another Hoosier Heritage Conference opponent, Shelbyville, 39-14.
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Friday’s Games
7 p.m. — North Decatur at Eastern Hancock
7 p.m. — Greenfield-Central at Greensburg
7 p.m. — Franklin at Mt. Vernon
7:30 p.m. — New Palestine at Decatur Central
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2023 Hancock County Football Statistical Leaders
PASSING
Name,School;G;C;A;YDS;PCT;Y/G;TD;INT;RAT
Dallas Freeman, Greenfield-Central;1;9;11;230;.818;230;4;0;161.9
Luke Ertel, Mt. Vernon;1;20;30;238;.667;238.0;3;0;124.0
Elijah Edon, Eastern Hancock;1;15;22;179;.682;179.0;2;0;123.1
Gavin Neal, New Palestine;1;6;14;69;.429;69.0;0;1;28.6
RUSHING
Name, School;G;CAR;YDS;AVG;Y/G;TD
Kyler Kropp, New Palestine;1;7;103;14.7;103.0;1
Joliba Brogan, Mt. Vernon;1;20;84;4.2;84.0;0
Grayson Thomas, New Palestine;1;22;82;3.7;82.0;1
Gavin Neal, New Palestine;1;15;74;4.9;74.0;0
Mark Kube, Eastern Hancock;1;12;75;6.3;75.0;1
RECEIVING
Name, School;G;REC;YDS;AVG;Y/G;TD
Kirk Knecht, Greenfield-Central;1;4;138;34.5;138.0;2
Eli Manship, Eastern Hancock;1;8;138;17.3;138.0;2
Boston Willard, Greenfield-Central;1;3;68;22.7;68.0;1
Chris Edmonds, Mt. Vernon;1;4;81;20.3;81.0;0
Kyler Kropp, New Palestine;1;4;58;14.5;58.0;0
TACKLES
Name, School;G;S;A;T;T/G;TFL
Garrett Shaw, Eastern Hancock;1;8;5;13;13.0;1.0
DJ Johnson, Mt. Vernon;1;8;3;11;11.0;0
Mason Hiatt, New Palestine;1;6;5;11;11.0;0
Aidan Lindstrom, Mt. Vernon;1;8;2;10;10.0;0
Dominic Shelby, Eastern Hancock;1;6;3;9;9.0;0
SACKS
Name, School;G;S;S/G
Gabe Johnson, Eastern Hancock;1;1;1.0
Josh Ranes, New Palestine;1;1;1.0
Garrett Shaw, Eastern Hancock;1;1;1.0
Evan Wheeler, Eastern Hancock;1;1;1.0
Ayden Trueblood, Eastern Hancock;1;0.5;0.5
Chris Whisman, Eastern Hancock;1;0.5;0.5
INTERCEPTIONS
Name, School;G;I;I/G
Caden Jacobia, New Palestine;1;1;1.0
Kirk Knecht, Greenfield-Central;1;1;1.0
Kody Smith, Greenfield-Central;1;1;1.0
Caiden Willis, Eastern Hancock;1;1;1.0
PUNTING
Name, School;P;YDS;AVE
Aaron Lee, Greenfield-Central;1;43;43.0
John Duncan, Mt. Vernon;4;139;34.8
Gavin Neal, New Palestine;1;25;25.0
Jake Wells, New Palestine;4;71;17.8
RETURN YARDS
Name, School;K;P;T
Kirk Knecht, Greenfield-Central;19;0;19
Zaidyn Ramsey-Fox, Mt. Vernon;19;0;19
SCORING
Name, School;G;TD;CONV;S;K;TP;P/G
Eli Manship, Eastern Hancock;1;2;0;0;0;12;12.0
Kirk Knecht, Greenfield-Central;1;2;0;0;0;12;12.0
12 players with;1;1;0;0;0;6;6.0
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Game Capsules
Franklin (1-0) at Mt. Vernon (0-1)
Kickoff: 7 p.m.
Coaches: Chris Coll, 26-36 in 7th year at Franklin, 105-79 in 18th year overall. Vince Lidy, 20-6 in 3rd year at Mt. Vernon.
Recent history: Teams have split two games with Franklin winning 20-17 at Franklin last season.
Sagarin ratings (last season): Franklin 75.73, 37th overall, 6th in 5A. Mt. Vernon 72.59 53rd overall, 11th in 4A.
Players to watch: Franklin – RB Alex Leugers, RB Kaleb Owens. Mt. Vernon — QB Luke Ertel, WR Tre Jones, OL/DL Roland Trimble, LB Aidan Lindstrom, RB Joliba Brogan, RB/DB DJ Johnson, WR Chris Edmonds, DB Jaden Gibson, WR Gavin Joy
What to look for: For the second straight week, the Marauders will face a team with a strong running attack. Noblesville, a week ago, rushed for 405 yards and five touchdowns. The Grizzly Cubs, in a win over New Albany last week, had 280 rushing yards and six rushing touchdowns. Leugers had two of them and 133 yards. The Marauders played better in the second half of their 48-30 loss to Noblesville. QB Ertel and the passing game was strong. The sophomore finished 20-for-30 for 238 yards and three touchdowns. Six receivers had multiple catches, five had three or more.
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Class 4A No. 10 Greenfield-Central (1-0) at Greensburg (0-1)
Kickoff: 7 p.m.
Coaches: Travis Nolting, 20-22 in 5th year at Greenfield-Central, 80-50 in 13th year overall. Wes Anderson, 0-1 in 1st year at Greensburg.
Recent history: Greenfield-Central won last year’s matchup, at G-C, 44-0
Sagarin ratings (last season): Greenfield-Central 78.2, 29th overall, 6th in 4A. Greensburg 42.89, 228th overall, 52nd in 3A.
Players to watch: Greenfield-Central – TE Lane Wadle, QB Dallas Freeman, RB/LB Cooper Hinton, LB Jake Hinton, FB Braylen Benavente, WR/KR Kirk Knecht, FB/DL Payton Foley, OL Brayden Flener, DB Kody Smith. Greensburg – RB/LB Kaden Acton.
What to look for: The Cougars were dominant in a win over Class 3A Madison last week. Much of the same is expected on the road against the Pirates. Freeman had a huge day last week, connecting on four first-quarter TD passes, two to Knecht. Coach Nolting insists his Wishbone offense is still primarily geared to the running game, but last week’s matchup led to big things in the passing game. If it’s more running tonight, expect to see a lot from impressive sophomore Benavente. Acton, as a RB, led the Pirates with over 120 yards rushing and a 68-yard TD run. He also was their top defender at linebacker with two tackles for loss.
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Class 1A No. 4 North Decatur (1-0) at Eastern Hancock (1-0)
Kickoff: 7 p.m.
Coaches: Steve Stirn, 66-30 in 9th year at North Decatur, 153-79 in 21st year overall. Pat Echeverria, 29-20 in 5th year at Eastern Hancock, 61-76 in 13th year overall.
Recent history: Teams are 8-8 versus each other over last 35 years. North Decatur won last year’s game in Greensburg, 40-0.
Sagarin ratings (last season): North Decatur 59.48, 119th overall, 7th in 1A. Eastern Hancock 52.02, 159th overall, 24th in 2A.
Players to watch: North Decatur – QB Mason Morris, RB Kaleb Phelps, WR/DB Kaden Muckerheide, OL/DL Owen Wiseman. Eastern Hancock — QB Elijah Edon, WR/DB Dylan Bowman, NG/T Logan Hoskins, OL/DL Jacob Wickard, S/KR Garrett Shaw, WR/S Cam Volz, WR/K Aaron Redmon, TE/LB Kayden Ruble, WR Eli Manship.
What to look for: The Royals are coming off an impressive win at Frankton, where they took control by outscoring the Eagles 21-0 in the second half. It was a balanced attack with Edon hooking up primarily with Manship, though the Royals boast a number of weapons in their passing game. Mark Kube also had a strong night running the football. It was a good Week 1 win, but this will be a big test to start the Mid-Eastern Conference season. The Chargers are No. 4 in Class 1A and had a strong running and passing game last week, too. Muckerheide had TDs on the ground and through the air. He also had 68 yards in kick returns.
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Class 4A No. 5/6 New Palestine (0-1) at Class 5A No. 7 Decatur Central (1-0)
Kickoff: 7:30 p.m.
Coaches: Kyle Ralph, 116-12 in 11th year at New Palestine. Kyle Enright, 60-22 in 8th year at Decatur Central.
Recent history: They’ve met three times. The Dragons beat the Hawks 28-14 in the 2018 Class 5A state title game. They also won last year’s game at NP, 49-0.
Sagarin ratings (last season): New Palestine 85.72, 15th overall, second in 4A. Decatur Central 71.5, 62nd overall, 12th in 5A.
Players to watch: New Palestine — RB/LS Grayson Thomas, OL/DL Ian Moore, OL/DL Michael Thacker, RB/WR Kyler Kropp, WR/DB Mason Hiatt, QB Gavin Neal. Decatur Central – QB Bo Polston, RB KC Berry, WR/CB Chris Richmond, ILB Halbert Aguirre, ILB Stephen Oyatayo, LB Brycen Bonawitt
What to look for: Since the Dragons beat the Hawks in the 2018 Class 5A state championship game, the teams have split meetings with both winning on their home turf. New Palestine, against a very young Decatur Central team, won last year’s matchup 49-0. This year, the Hawks are more experienced and considered one of the best teams in Class 5A. The Dragons are the youthful group this time around with a number of sophomores in their starting lineup. New Pal hopes to rebound after a tough outing against a very good Class 6A club in Westfield in sophomore Neal’s debut as a starting QB. Expect the Dragons to play better, but it’s another tough road challenge before Hoosier Heritage Conference play starts next week.
