The Press-Dispatch
Issue link: https://www.ifoldsflip.com/i/1143439
B-2 Sports Wednesday, July 17, 2019 The Press-Dispatch Cody Davis appearing to be the team's most explosive in- terior lineman. "When I go back and watch some of the film from earlier in the summer, he's doing great and I look for- ward to a big season out of him both offensively and defensively," Stephens said, adding that he hopes to get more consistency from his line on both sides of ball. "We have to do a better job of picking up our run scheme and pass protections versus defensive line movement and blitzes. The kids have the skill and it's starting to get better, but we still have a ways to go." Pike Central's defense seems to be getting a bet- ter feel of what the coach- ing staff wants on that side of the ball too. "Last year, we had a dif- ficult time conceptually ex- ecuting the scheme of the defense," Stephens said. "Defense is buddy ball. Ev- eryone has to know and ex- ecute their role. [This year] guys are really doing a great job of executing the defense. We're forcing guys in the direction we want and the guys are rallying with good group tackles. We are play- ing on our terms. So, I am really excited about that de- fensively." It looks like McCarter, Frasure and Brandon Goep- pner will be the Chargers top defenders this season. Stephens said McCarter has completely transformed his body since last year. "He came in weighing 175 pounds and he is 210 pounds this year and it's all muscle," he said. "He doesn't miss workouts. He's committed to his diet and eating the right things. There are a lot of kids who have physical- ly transformed themselves, but if you looked at a photo from last year to this year, it's obvious that Levi has made the most dramatic growth physically." Frasure set the school re- cord for tackles by a fresh- man last season and had the third most tackles in a sea- son by any player in the his- tory of Pike Central football. He is expected to have an- other great season and rack up some big time stats be- cause the Chargers defense is schematically set up to fil- ter everything to the middle linebacker. "We look forward to him having a big season," Ste- phens said. "We turned stuff back into him. We look to Wyatt, as a running back and a linebacker, to have a huge season for us." Goeppner missed this past week due to a family va- cation, but he pulled down two or three interceptions during the team's scrim- mages against Cloverdale (Class 2A) and North Da- viess (Class A) earlier this summer. "He's another kid that if you look at him on the sur- face, he doesn't look super imposing," Stephens said. "But you can see how much he has grown physically and with his athleticism. He al- ways kind of has a knack for knowing where to be on de- fense, and I think he is go- ing to be a guy who is sur- prisingly good for us." Pike Central also traveled to Mount Vernon for a scrim- mage with the Wildcats on Thursday, July 11. It was the Chargers' first match-up of the summer against a similar sized Class 3A school. "They have about 55 or 60 kids on their roster and are a little bit further in- to their rebuild," Stephens said. "Our boys began well. It was just hard coming off of two weeks of moratori- um and competing against them. They got the better of us, but we learned some things, including that we needed to play faster when we face that kind of compe- tition." The Chargers will scrim- mage at Washington on July 25. Then the team will host its annual Charger Night on August 9. The event is free for the community to at- tend and will feature an in- tra-squad scrimmage. Pike Central will travel to Cloverdale on August 16 for its official scrimmage before opening the regular season the following week at Brown County. Stephens said it's not too late for anyone interested in playing football to join the team. "We are always looking for numbers," he said. "Just because we already started in the summer doesn't mean the door is closed for anyone who wants to play football." The team practices Mon- day through Thursday from 6 p.m. to 8 p.m. "Come out and talk to us and we will get you set up with the things you need if you want to be part of the team," Stephens said. "It's not too late to come out and be apart of what we are do- ing. Realistically, our depth isn't great with our number of players, but I love the guys that we have. We just need more of them." Henry praised the volun- teers who assisted with the camp and said it would have been impossible to have such a successful camp without their assistance. Josh Harker, 11, took part in the camp for the second straight year. "Last year, it was kind of hard, but it was also re- ally fun and a good experi- ence," he said. "This year, I was motivated to improve my driving and putting and I had a lot more fun." Harker also plays foot- ball and basketball, but said there was just something calming about being out on the golf course. "It nice being out with my brother and some of our friends," Harker said. "I'm excited to be able to play golf with my dad." No one was surprised to see Kady Gideon, 10, at- tending her third consecu- tive camp; after all, her fa- ther, Jarrod, is the head golf coach at Pike Central High School. She said she enjoys just getting to play and swing the club. "I love driving the ball and just being out here during the summer and staying ac- tive," Gideon said. "[Having a father who is coach] really gives me a big advantage be- cause he knows a lot about golf, but he also knows how to talk to kids and get them to understand what he is saying." Gideon said she was six years old when she first picked up a golf club and hit a ball, and she already has some high aspirations when it comes to the game of golf. "Hopefully, I can earn a scholarship and golf in college after I finish high school," she said. "But no matter what, I think I will always remember the fun I had out here during these camps." SPORTS BRIEFS Chargers youth football camp set for July 17 Staff Report The Pike Central High School football program will be hosting a one-day camp on Wednesday, Ju- ly 17 from 6 p.m. to 9 p.m. The third and fourth graders will hit the field from 6 p.m. to 7:30 p.m. and be followed by fifth and sixth graders from 7:30 p.m. to 9 p.m. The camp is free to at- tend; however, camp T- shirts will be provided for a fee of $10. Also, youth football will be offering an early sign- up discount that night. Those who wish to sign up for youth football on the camp night of July 17 will receive $10 off the normal registration fee of $ 60. Any questions, contact Dave Stephens at 812- 272-8525, Caleb Cherry at 812-677-0521 or Matt Rob- inette at 812-582-2533. er since. Q: What attracted you to the opportunity to coach and teach at OCU? A: It is exactly what I was looking for, the oppor- tunity to coach basketball again at a Christian univer- sity. It is an honor to follow Coach [Mike] Sandifar as the head coach at OCU. His teams represented his de- sire to develop men of char- acter on and off the court, and I look forward to car- rying on that focus of the program. I love the cam- pus and athletic facilities, but it is certainly the peo- ple who make the univer- sity and community so ap- pealing. Q: How would you say things are going as you get more familiar with the pro- gram and prepare for the season? A: I have had the oppor- tunity to meet with Coach [Mikel] Breeden, who is staying on as the assis- tant, the athletic staff and admissions. They have all been very helpful in getting me up to speed. Q: What was your No. 1 goal entering the summer and how do you accomplish that? A: My goal is to contin- ue to recruit high quality young men who are excit- ed to be a part of the OCU community and basketball team. Q: How familiar are you with OCU's current per- sonnel and what they can accomplish in the season ahead? A: I look forward to meeting our returners this summer, to getting to know them a little bit personal- ly and watch some film to have an idea of their abil- ities on the court. I rarely talk about wins and loss- es as seasonal goals with my teams. I do focus on three things that players can control and will hope- fully help them in basket- ball and beyond; choose to have a positive attitude so you can have fun, choose to work as hard as possible so you can be well prepared and choose to encourage others so that you can be a great teammate. Q: What style of basket- ball can fans expect to see from your teams? A: The athletic abilities of our players will have the greatest influence on the style of play, especially on the amount of full-court pressure that we can ap- ply, but the expectation of the players will be that they are disciplined enough to be able to play multiple de- fenses, take advantage of easy opportunities to score by pushing the ball up the floor, work as a team for a high assist ratio on inside shots and a high percent- age on three-point shoot- ing, and be able to make transitions in every aspect of the game as quickly as possible. Q: It's common for play- ers to transfer out of a pro- gram when there's a coach- ing change. How will you deal with that? A: That is definitely a common occurrence, but we are very fortunate that, at this point, all of our re- turners have indicated they will be back on campus this fall. Q: What are the most im- portant character-building qualities to teach your play- ers? A: Love, joy, peace, pa- tience, kindness, good- ness, faithfulness, gentle- ness and self-control. Ga- latians 5:22-23 is a great place to start. There are so many opportunities to develop one's character in the game of basketball, and each player's background and perspective on our ex- perience will be different. My hope is that they can become more than just basketball players, but that they recognize that there will be a life beyond basket- ball for which they are ulti- mately preparing. I always ask the question "Who are you when the ball stops bouncing? " Q: What do you say to the people who see a new coach, a new team and ex- pect instant success? A: I love John Wood- en's definition of success, "Success is peace of mind attained only through self-satisfaction in know- ing you made the effort to do the best of which you're capable." With that in mind, our goal will be to be our absolute best on ev- ery possession, and we'll let the end results take care of themselves. Q: I have to imagine it's challenging to recruit guys to a program that has new faces. What's the secret to bringing in these recruits and making them buy into what you're preaching? A: Prayer. Most players that I have had through my career truly want the opportunity to improve, to add to their skill set, and to be a part of a team that values them and can be a value to them. The beau- ty of OCU is that we get to provide that in a Christian university setting with the chance to make an eternal impact in the lives of our players, students and com- munity. That is worth go- ing to work for. Q: Anything else you would like to add? A: I want to thank Dr. [Ray] Barber, Dr. [Dan- ny] Dunivan, Coach [Pat- ti] Buchta, Coach Fletch- er and all the OCU staff for making us feel right at home and giving me the chance to do what I love. MOORE Continued from page 1 YOUTH Continued from page 1 Jacob Harker, Josh Harker, Arri McDonald and Rueger Troutman look on as Brayden Hartley celebrates after making a putt during the 2019 Peters- burg Kiwanis Junior Golf Camp at Pride Creek Golf Course. Jacob Harker examines the putting green at Pride Creek Golf Course before attempt- ing a shot during the 2019 Petersburg Ki- wanis Junior Golf Camp on Friday, July 12. Josh Harker watch- es as his putt sails to- wards the hole during the 2019 Petersburg Kiwanis Junior Golf Camp at Prides Creek Golf Course on Friday. Josh and Jacob Harker watch as Rueger Troutman sinks a putt during the 2019 Kiwanis Junior Golf Camp at Prides Creek Golf Course. The camp ran Wednes- day, July 10 through Friday, July 12. The Chargers' Samuel Coleman battles against a Crawford County player during linemen drills at Weathers Field on Friday. Pike Central coach Dave Stephens watches as quarterback Lars Utterback drops back into the pocket during the team's scrimmage on Friday. Chargers' wide receiver Connor O'Neal makes a spectacular catch over a Crawford County defen- sive back on Friday at Weathers Field. SCRIMMAGE Continued from page 1