FORTVILLE — Exhaustion is just a word to Rylan Cole.
No matter how fatigued Mt. Vernon’s iron man might have felt on the football field, the Marauders’ team captain knew exactly where to find his second, if not third, wind.
“I wasn’t doing it for myself. I really just wanted to do it for the team. I wanted the team to win, no matter what,” Cole said. “Whatever was best for the team is what I wanted. It was really amazing to be on the field 24-7 most of the time. I valued every moment I was on the field.”
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Rarely taking a play, let alone a minute, off on game days, Cole was a true triple-threat as a running back, defensive back and kick returner for the Marauders, earning him the distinction of 2020 All-Hancock County Football Defensive Player of the Year.
A starter on both sides of the ball, the senior was named IFCA All-State as a safety, selected to the 2020 All-Hoosier Heritage Conference team and regardless of his role, could break open a game at any given time.
“He’s as gifted as some of the best kids that I’ve coached. He’s got unbelievable hands out of the backfield. His instincts on the defensive side with 19 career interceptions is phenomenal,” Mt. Vernon head coach Mike Kirschner said.
“What people really miss is his ability to return punts. He can catch the ball and make that first guy miss which is an uncanny knack because there is always one guy that gets through. If you can make the first guy miss, you can have a big punt return.”
Personifying how a good offense is equally as important as a strong defense, Cole, who stands 6-foot-1 and weighs 190 pounds, did everything within his ability to put the Class 4A Marauders in prime position to win.
With 18 total touchdowns to his credit this season, Cole ended his final year at Mt. Vernon with the program’s career record for interceptions, amassed 1,427 all-purpose yards — 352 in punt return yardage — and surpassed the century mark in yardage six out of 13 games.
Part of Cole’s capability was a by-product of maturation, coming up through the Mt. Vernon Youth Football League before high school, where he was coached by his father, Marcus, on Team Indiana and went stride-for-stride with his older brother, Dylan.
His commitment to Indiana State University this summer and his measurables on and off the field, however, were a result of his competitiveness and dedication to become a leader through example for the Marauders.
“Rylan, when I first got here (three years ago), was squatting 300 pounds. Now, he’s squatting 425 and he benches 325 and he cleans 300,” Kirschner said. “When you do things like that, what happens is you physically can start doing things in games that maybe you couldn’t do because you didn’t have the strength or the speed or the size.”
Cole officially broke out as a sophomore, filling in for Dylan at running back when his brother suffered an ankle injury, but the two-time all-state selection in 2019 and ‘20, cemented his legacy this fall.
“His versatility on the offensive side, the defensive side and on special teams make him a really unique kid. And, his physical size. He’s 6-1, 190 pounds, so he’s not a small kid,” Kirschner said. “He’s a big kid with a lot of power.”
His personality matched his strength. Laid back outside the lines, Cole flips the switch once the lights turn on Friday nights.
As a running back, Cole rushed for 677 yards and 13 touchdowns, including a pair of 100-plus yard contests. He added 328 yards receiving on 29 catches and two touchdowns.
Defensively, he recorded 68 total tackles — 48 solos — with four going for a loss. Cole had four passes defended and two interceptions for a combined 70 return yards.
“He’s just around (the ball). He sees things. He reads it. He understands coverages. He understands schemes, and how he fits within that scheme. And, then he reacts,” Kirschner said. “Sometimes sports is just reacting. You see it. You react, and you go. His ability to do that makes him really special.”
Cole showed just how special the Marauders’ historic 2020 season would go from the first game against Noblesville on Aug. 21, returning a punt for a touchdown a week before taking two more to the house against Richmond on Aug. 28.
“I never took plays off and wanted to make plays,” Cole said. “It was awesome.”
With the COVID-19 pandemic and the uncertainty of a complete season in the backdrop this year, Cole and his teammates refused to let any opportunity slip away, leading to a perfect 9-0 regular season and a 12-1 record overall.
The Marauders held the top-spot in the state’s rankings at 4A a majority of the season, and they won back-to-back sectional titles for the first time in program history.
While the Marauders couldn’t replicate 2019’s semistate appearance, falling to eventual 4A state champion Roncalli 35-14 in the regional title game, Cole and his teammates made their mark.
And, they reaped the benefits, winning the team’s first HHC title since 2012 with an outright 7-0 league record to reclaim the Boundary Rail from rival New Palestine and the conference’s traveling helmet trophy.
“It was awesome knowing we were the champions of the Hoosier Heritage Conference, and after we beat New Pal, I knew there was no stopping us but us,” Cole said. “It was definitely a struggle (with the pandemic), but we fought through it. It was truly a special season to say the least.”
Cole contributed on offense with a season-best 147 total yards against HHC foe New Castle on Oct. 2, another 110 against New Palestine on Sept. 11 and 5.2 tackles per game.
His highest tackle total came against Roncalli with 18, including 14 solos, leaving nothing behind before walking off his home field for the last time.
“It’s always been a dream of mine since little league, pee-wee football just to be able to play on that field, being a senior under the lights. I really just cherished that moment,” Cole said. “It was amazing to be on our home field, playing with all the people I’d been playing with my whole entire life.”
Looking back now, with his collegiate future ahead of him, the one word Cole clings to as he prepares for Indiana State this summer after graduation is gratitude.
“Before the season, knowing that us seniors might never play another football game, we had the desire to put in a lot of work and stay in the weight room and really just push so we had a season,” Cole said.
“During the season, we still had that in the back of our mind that we had to play each game like it was the last game because the next week was never guaranteed. Things could be shutdown. I could see the passion on everyone’s face and how bad we wanted it this year. It was gratifying.”
That appreciation goes both ways. Part of a senior group that went 30-8 over three years, 23-4 in consecutive seasons and won the program’s first sectional titles since 2012, the Marauders set a new standard that Cole won’t soon forget.
“Now, whenever my kids are growing up, we can go to a Mt. Vernon game and see sectional championship, regional championship (in 2019) on that,” Cole said. “It was amazing how the whole community was with us through it all. There was a lot of pride. It was really just amazing to be a part of that.”
At Indiana State, Cole is eager to build a new tradition and provide a spark in the defensive secondary and in the return game under head coach Curt Mallory.
“Now, I know what to strive for,” Cole said. “Both years, we really saw how much we grew as a team and as a program. All the work we put in last year and how far we made it really set us up for this year and led us to an undefeated regular season. I honestly can’t wait. Coach Mallory and his amazing coaching staff, I can’t wait to be a part of their team.”
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DL Joey Roland, Greenfield-Central
DL Jarred Williams, Mt. Vernon
DL Mekhi Richmond, Mt. Vernon
DL Conner Knudson, Eastern Hancock
LB Richard Clevenger, New Palestine
LB Keagan La Belle, Mt. Vernon
LB Chase Riggs, Eastern Hancock
LB Spencer Johnson, Greenfield-Central
DB George Burhenn, Mt. Vernon
DB Jack Johnson, New Palestine
DB Cayden Sotelo, Eastern Hancock
DB Rylan Cole, Mt. Vernon
P Matt Brown, New Palestine
Honorable Mention: New Palestine — Nick Bastian, Aidan Ewers, Hunter Burks, Noah Mack; Mt. Vernon — Jalen Thomeson, Avery Williams, Matt Foor, Nate Weaver, Jack Robinson; Greenfield-Central — Brady Durnell, Chris O’Connor, RaShawn Street; Eastern Hancock — Jacob Johnson, Tyler Speer, Cole Rainbolt, Wes Kane, Landon O’Neal.
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