HANCOCK COUNTY — Round 1 is over and Round 2 begins.
For Greenfield-Central, Mt. Vernon and New Palestine, the high school football season is a three-part series.
The Class 4A schools play two non-conference games to start the season followed by seven contests in the Hoosier Heritage Conference. The third segment is the all-important postseason.
Week 3 gets underway tonight with the three large-school county teams beginning HHC play.
Two will open with a head-to-head matchup. Mt. Vernon (1-1), who is receiving votes in the Class 4A Associated Press poll, travels to No. 9 Greenfield-Central (2-0). New Palestine (0-2), ranked No. 10 by the AP, welcomes Class 3A No. 10 Yorktown for its conference opener.
The Indiana Football Coaches Association 4A poll has the Dragons at No. 7 and the Cougars at No. 10.
Class 2A Eastern Hancock (2-0), opened its three-game Mid-Eastern Conference schedule last week with a win over North Decatur. The Royals are on the road tonight at Class 3A Centerville.
“This year, the conference (championship) is going to be wide open,” Mt. Vernon head coach Vince Lidy said. “I think almost anybody can beat anybody on any given Friday. Greenfield has scored over 100 points and given up zero. They’re not the only one in our conference, there are a couple other teams that nobody has scored on yet. Something must be in the water on defense this year.
“(Greenfield-Central) is going to be a great challenge.”
Pendleton Heights has outscored its opponents 64-0. Yorktown comes in with a 105-13 scoring advantage against its first two foes.
Defending conference champion New Palestine is the only HHC team without a win, but you could argue only Mt. Vernon has played a comparable schedule the first two weeks.
The Dragons lost to Class 6A No. 5 Westfield in the opener and were edged 43-42 last week at Class 5A No. 4 Decatur Central. They’ll be playing a ranked opponent for the third straight week.
Mt. Vernon lost its opener against Class 6A No. 10 Noblesville before picking up a win against Class 5A Franklin last Friday. The Grizzly Cubs were receiving votes in the 5A poll before they were beaten by the Marauders last week.
“Every game you play you want to win,” New Palestine coach Kyle Ralph said. “In our conference, that’s important to us. You’ve got The Helmet (the HHC traveling) and you’re defending the conference championship. It’s a lot more important than just playing two random teams. You want to win every game, but our conference and that conference championship is something very important to us.”
New Palestine and Mt. Vernon have dominated the last decade-plus of HHC crowns. The Dragons, along with being defending league champions, won HHC titles in 2010, 2011, and from 2013-2019. Mt. Vernon won the HHC in 2012 and 2020-21.
Greenfield-Central has continued to grow its program under fifth-year head coach Travis Nolting, who took over 2019 following an 0-10 season. The Cougars have gotten better each season and have been among Class 4A’s state-ranked teams the last two years.
They are still trying to get over that hump against the Marauders and Dragons. They’ll get their first attempt tonight.
They’ve lost six straight against Mt. Vernon and are looking for their first win in the series since a 27-0 shutout in 2017. They’ve not beaten the Dragons since an 8-6 win in 2007.
“I think we play in one of the toughest conferences in the state,” Nolting said. “It’s competitive. There are multiple state champions and good historic programs. Every week is a battle and this week is no different.
“(Mt. Vernon) is going to be well-coached and has some great players. It’s a situation where we have to go in and play the best of our ability to come out on top with a win.”
Greenfield-Central is looking to go 3-0 for the first time since 1993. The last four times (2022, 2014-16) it has been 2-0, it lost to Mt. Vernon the following week.
Eastern Hancock is looking to go 3-0 for the second time in three seasons. The Royals started 2021 with a 3-0 mark.
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Friday’s Games
7 p.m. — Eastern Hancock at Centerville
7 p.m. — Mt. Vernon at Greenfield-Central
7 p.m. — Yorktown at New Palestine
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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;2;15;26;340;.577;170.0;6;0;141.8
Luke Ertel, Mt. Vernon;2;33;49;407;.673;203.5;3;0;113.2
Elijah Edon, Eastern Hancock;2;21;33;246;.636;123.0;2;0;106.4
Gavin Neal, New Palestine;2;12;26;177;.462;88.5;0;3;29.3
RUSHING
Name, School;G;CAR;YDS;AVG;Y/G;TD
Grayson Thomas, New Palestine;2;44;315;7.2;157.5;5
Mark Kube, Eastern Hancock;2;33;239;7.2;119.5;5
Joliba Brogan, Mt. Vernon;2;41;230;5.6;115.0;2
Kyler Kropp, New Palestine;2;17;169;9.9;84.5;2
James King, Eastern Hancock;2;18;128;7.1;64.0;0
RECEIVING
Name, School;G;REC;YDS;AVG;Y/G;TD
Kirk Knecht, Greenfield-Central;2;6;205;34.2;102.5;3
Kyler Kropp, New Palestine;2;8;158;19.8;79.0;0
Eli Manship, Eastern Hancock;2;9;141;15.7;70.5;2
Chris Edmonds, Mt. Vernon;2;7;124;17.7;62.0;0
Brayden Sullivan, Eastern Hancock;1;1;48;48.0;48.0;0
TACKLES
Name, School;G;S;A;T;T/G;TFL
Mason Hiatt, New Palestine;2;12;8;20;10.0;0
DJ Johnson, Mt. Vernon;2;13;6;19;9.5;0
Garrett Shaw, Eastern Hancock;2;11;7;18;9.0;2.5
Garrett Ranes, New Palestine;2;11;6;17;8.5;2.0
Gabe Johnson, Eastern Hancock;2;13;4;17;8.5;3.5
SACKS
Name, School;G;S;S/G
Gabe Johnson, Eastern Hancock;2;1.5;0.8
Evan Wheeler, Eastern Hancock;2;1.5;0.8
Christian Kiptoo, Mt. Vernon;2;1.0;0.5
Josh Ranes, New Palestine;2;1.0;0.5
Garrett Shaw, Eastern Hancock;2;1.0;0.5
Dominic Shelby, Eastern Hancock;2;1.0;0.5
INTERCEPTIONS
Name, School;G;I;I/G
Kirk Knecht, Greenfield-Central;2;3;1.5
Carson Anderson, Greenfield-Central;2;1;0.5
Dylan Bowman, Eastern Hancock;2;1;0.5
Caden Jacobia, New Palestine;2;1;0.5
Tre Jones, Mt. Vernon;2;1;0.5
Kody Smith, Greenfield-Central;2;1;0.5
Cameron Volz, Eastern Hancock;2;1;0.5
Caiden Willis, Eastern Hancock;2;1;0.5
PUNTING
Name, School;P;YDS;AVE
Aaron Redmon, Eastern Hancock;2;91;45.5
John Duncan, Mt. Vernon;7;238;34.0
Aaron Lee, Greenfield-Central;2;58;29.0
Gavin Neal, New Palestine;1;25;25.0
Jake Wells, New Palestine;6;137;22.8
RETURN YARDS
Name, School;K;P;T
Tre Jones, Mt. Vernon;278;16;294
Kirk Knecht, Greenfield-Central;100;0;100
Kyler Kropp, New Palestine;50;0;50
Zaidyn Ramsey-Fox, Mt. Vernon;32;0;32
Micah Clark, New Palestine;25;0;25
Garrett Shaw, Eastern Hancock;25;0;25
SCORING
Name, School;G;TD;CONV;S;K;TP;P/G
Mark Kube, Eastern Hancock;2;5;0;0;0;30;15.0
Grayson Thomas, New Palestine;2;5;0;0;0;30;15.0
Kirk Knecht, Greenfield-Central;2;4;0;0;0;24;12.0
Tre Jones, Mt. Vernon;2;3;2;0;0;20;10.0
Aaron Lee, Greenfield-Central;2;0;0;0;14;14;7.0
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Game Capsules
Eastern Hancock (2-0) at Centerville (2-0)
Kickoff: 7 p.m.
Coaches: Pat Echeverria, 30-20 in 5th year at Eastern Hancock, 62-76 in 13th year overall. Ryan Cole, 9-3 in 2nd year at Centerville, 9-11 in 3rd year overall.
Recent history: Eastern Hancock has won three of the last four meetings, but Centerville won the last one, 49-12 in the first round of the 2021 postseason.
Sagarin ratings: Eastern Hancock 63.63, 93rd overall, 5th in 2A. Centerville 47.33, 186th overall, 40th in 3A.
Players to watch: Eastern Hancock — QB Elijah Edon, WR/DB Dylan Bowman, NG/T Logan Hoskins, RB Mark Kube, LB Gabe Johnson, OL/DL Jacob Wickard, S/KR Garrett Shaw, WR/S Cam Volz, WR/K Aaron Redmon, TE Kayden Ruble, WR Eli Manship, RB James King. Centerville – QB/LB Jake Tinkle, RB Jeremiah Mull, TE/LB Nathan Dickenson, RB/S Kollyn Peed, RB/CB Owen Boyd, LB Ethan Vecera, DE/TE Shea Hollendonner, RB/SS Aiden Hoelscher.
What to look for: Both teams come in 2-0. Centerville, a 3A school with no 3A programs on its schedule, has both wins over Class 1A teams. The Royals have some great momentum coming in after beating North Decatur, the defending league champion, in a Mid-Eastern Conference game last week. The Royals have been tied at halftime in each of their first two games and have not given up a second-half point. In Week 1, Edon and Manship were a potent QB-WR combo, last week it was the ground game led by Kube and King. For a little extra motivation, the Bulldogs beat the Royals in their last meeting, a 2021 first-round sectional matchup.
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Class 4A RV Mt. Vernon (1-1) at Class 4A No. 9 Greenfield-Central (2-0)
Kickoff: 7 p.m.
Coaches: Vince Lidy, 21-6 in 3rd year at Mt. Vernon. Travis Nolting, 21-22 in 5th year at Greenfield-Central, 81-50 in 13th year overall.
Recent history: Mt. Vernon has won the last six contests with Greenfield-Central last winning in 2017. In a competitive game at MV last season, the Marauders won 35-28.
Sagarin ratings: Mt. Vernon 74.14 46th overall, 10th in 4A. Greenfield-Central 78.35, 30th overall, 5th in 4A
Players to watch: Mt. Vernon — QB Luke Ertel, WR/KR Tre Jones, OL/DL Roland Trimble, LB Aidan Lindstrom, RB Joliba Brogan, RB/DB DJ Johnson, WR Chris Edmonds, DB Jaden Gibson, WR Domanic Barnett, TE/DE Tyler Etherington. Greenfield-Central – TE Lane Wadle, QB Dallas Freeman, RB/LB Cooper Hinton, RB/LB Jake Hinton, FB Braylen Benavente, WR/DB/KR Kirk Knecht, FB/DL Payton Foley, OL Brayden Flener, DB Kody Smith, TE/DE Zachary Blevens.
What to look for: Both sides boast an abundance of talent that should lead to an entertaining night at Clayton Myers Field. Big plays could be in order with the likes of Jones for Mt. Vernon and Knecht for Greenfield-Central. Both have returned kicks for TDs this season and are all-state track stars. The Cougars have outscored their first two opponents 106-0, but they’ve not faced anyone the caliber of the Marauders. Mt. Vernon has had a high-powered offense, too, scoring 71 points in games against a Class 6A (Noblesville) and Class 5A (Franklin) opponent, but they hope to shore things up on the defensive end that has relinquished 48 and 38 points, respectively.
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Class 3A No. 10 Yorktown (2-0) at Class 4A No. 10 New Palestine (0-2)
Kickoff: 7 p.m.
Coaches: Mike Wilhelm, 102-97 in 19th year at Yorktown. Kyle Ralph, 116-13 in 11th year at New Palestine.
Recent history: Dragons have dominated the series (22-4 over last 35 years) and won last year’s game 50-13.
Sagarin ratings: Yorktown 77.37, 35th overall, 3rd in 3A. New Palestine 76.46, 37th overall, 7th in 4A.
Players to watch: Yorktown – QB Mason Moulton, RB/LB Ayden Ewing, WR/FS Ephraim Daugherty, WR/CB Quintin Williams, WR/LB Wilson Webster, MLB/TE Jayce Key, OLB Jacob Booher, LB/G Landon Bradnick. 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, LB Josh Ranes, LB Garrett Ranes, OL/DL Colin Whetsel, DB Caden Jacobia.
What to look for: The Dragons, for the third straight week, will be taking on a state-ranked opponent. After losses to Class 6A Westfield and Class 5A Decatur Central, they’ll take on Class 3A Yorktown in the HHC opener. Youthful New Palestine will be playing on its home field for the first time this season. The Dragons have won 11 in a row at Kelso Stadium and have won 10 straight against the Tigers. Coach Ralph said his club, which starts numerous sophomores on both sides of the ball, showed improvement in a 43-42 loss at DC. Back after an injury ended his 2022 season prematurely, Thomas appears to be back to his pre-injury form. He had a career-best 233 rushing yards against the Hawks. Moulton is a veteran QB. He has thrown for 5 TDs and is averaging 200.5 passing yards per game.
