Yorktown High School football players work with coaches during a preseason practice.
YORKTOWN – On Yorktown High School’s football practice field, you’ll find a slight difference of perspective when it comes to the subject of roster transition.
Take the outlook of Ball State-bound offensive lineman Anthony Todd.
“It’s hard to replace a guy like Riley (Neal) and Riley (Miller) and Carson Moore, Jacob Preston, Clay Dungan, dudes that I’ve been playing with since I was a freshman,” Todd said. “It’s definitely a rebuilding year, but I think we’re going to be all right.”
That’s certainly a fair way to look at it. The group of seniors was noteworthy and prolific to say the least.
But ask Tigers coach Mike Wilhelm if it’s one of the biggest exoduses of talent he’s seen in a decade at the school, and he takes a different outlook.
“It’s actually one of the years where we haven’t lost a lot,” Wilhelm said. “Believe it or not. Did we lose our production, yardage-wise on offense? Definitely.
“But we have everybody back on the offensive line. So those guys were the guys responsible for the 5,000 yards of offense last year.”
So how big of losses are we talking about?
The Tigers lose, in no particular order, their top passer, top two rushers, top seven pass catchers (who had 233 of 235 receptions) and five of the top six tacklers (nine of the top 11). Then you throw in the players that got 20 of the team’s 22 sacks and all 16 of the team’s interceptions.
Among those 15 outgoing seniors were the program’s all-time leading passer in Neal (who also ran for more than 1,300 yards) and receiver in Miller. Then there were key two-way starters in Moore, Preston, Jacob Stephenson, Dungan (as a wide receiver/kicker) and a pair of beastly edge rushers. All told, the defense lost nine starters and the offense six.
That group was key in squads that won 21 games in two seasons, but as with any team, it just means someone else has to step in.
There should be a solid backfield behind the line led by the Division I-bound Todd. Peyton Stites is a sturdy fullback, and both Dawson Allen and Jordan Spangler have shown flashes as runners. Quarterback Brogan Miller worked with the starting unit on the first day of camp, and former quarterback Brandt Applegate was among his receiving crew.
“I think we have a lot of hungry young kids that want to play, too,” Stites said. “They’ve been like waiting for their spot. Now that it’s open, I think they’re going to be hungry, they’re going to want to play and they’re going to perform.”