The dust has settled and Blitz is making final preparations for his long hibernation. While you lesser beings without fur are trudging through months of cold, snow and ice, this bear will cozily be sleeping away and looking forward to the 2021 football season, one we hope is without masks, cancellations and attendance restrictions.
Before Blitz takes his long rest, how about some season-ending awards? All this week, Blitz will be giving out honors in each conference in northeast Indiana, as well as one more prediction – which teams look poised to win conference titles next year as we stand right now.
Today, we wrap this series up with a glance at the SAC.
PLAYER OF THE YEAR: JEFF BECKER, CARROLL
It is always tough to pick one of a wealth of players that are the “best” in a conference, but Blitz feels comfortable going with Becker here.
The junior quarterback assaulted defenses all year long, opening with 16 touchdowns and zero INTs in his first four games of the season, including an 8-touchdown pass effort against North Side.
Yes, the Chargers lost in the opening round of the postseason. But in the three losses for Carroll in 2020, Becker threw for 842 yards and touchdowns while the offense scored 21, 41 and 35 points, respectively.
Overall, Becker’s dual-threat ability enabled him to amass 3,130 total yards on the year, throwing for 33 touchdowns and rushing for 10 more.
HONORABLE MENTION: Duce Taylor, North Side; Damarius Cowen, Northrop; Vinny Fiacable, Bishop Dwenger.
MOST VALUABLE PLAYER: DUCE TAYLOR, NORTH SIDE
Where would the Legends have finished in the SAC without Duce?
It is tough to say exactly, but the consensus is not a solid .500 team that put a few scares into Bishop Dwenger.
Duce threw six touchdown passes in a game on three different occasions, and opened the season with a 5-touchown, 0-INT effort in a 30-point rout of Snider.
Duce’s ability to handle and escape pressure, lengthen plays and make accurate throws under duress was a constant through the 2020 season. With the senior Morgan State commitment under center, there wasn’t a game that the Legends were out of.
HONORABLE MENTION: Damarius Cowen, Northrop; Devon Tippmann, Bishop Dwenger; Kam Johnson, Concordia Lutheran; Brenden Lytle, Bishop Dwenger
BREAKOUT PLAYER: CARSON CLARK, BISHOP LUERS
A month into the season, Clark had thrown just three touchdowns and seven interceptions as quarterback of the Knights. His lowpoint, as it was for Bishop Luers, came in a 38-0 pasting at the hands of Concordia, when Clark threw for just 65 yards and a pair of INTs.
But in Week 5 against North Side and beyond, something clicked. By the time the Knights reached Lucas Oil Stadium to take on Western Boone in the Class 2A state championship, Clark was playing some of the best football at the quarterback position in the entire state.
Clark’s biggest strides were the mental aspects of the game – being able to diagnose defense pre- and post-snap, making sound decisions and having confidence. Those attributes helped him finish as the No. 2 passer in the state in terms of yards this past season, with the junior throwing for 3,592 yards and 38 touchdowns with 11 INTs. He threw just one interception from Week 8 onward, with 28 touchdowns over the same time period.
HONORABLE MENTION: Evan Ormsby, Homestead; Ja’suan Lambert, North Side; Nate Anderson, Homestead; Chris Thomas, Wayne
COACH OF THE YEAR: KYLE LINDSAY, BISHOP LUERS
Imagine keeping a team together and focused throughout a pandemic, losing players to positive tests and quarantine over the course of the season.
That was reality for every single head football coach in Indiana this year.
But then mix in just three wins in the regular season playing opponents in higher classes, and then being able to rise when it matters most to get to a state championship game?
That is exactly what Coach Lindsay did with the Knights. It wasn’t pretty at times, particularly early in the regular season, but Bishop Luers returned to state for the first time since 2012, culminating the season on the bigger stage of them all over Thanksgiving weekend.
HONORABLE MENTION: Chad Zolman, Homestead; Jason Garrett, Bishop Dwenger
GAME OF THE YEAR: HOMESTEAD 35, BISHOP DWENGER 34, 3OT
When the Spartans stopped Bishop Dwenger quarterback Brenden Lytle short of the goal line on a two-point attempt in the third extra session, Blitz immediately recognized it as the play that likely decided the SAC championship.
Turns out, the furry bear was right, with Homestead clinching its second-straight league title via tiebreaker with the win.
The game was back and forth throughout, two heavyweights trading heavy blow after heavy blow.
In the end, it was Homestead, even without Coach Chad Zolman who was in quarantine, with the narrow win.
BLITZ’S TOO EARLY PICK FOR 2021 SAC CHAMPION: SNIDER
Snider’s 5-5 record in 2020 you can argue was the single most shocking thing to go down in the area all season, not just the SAC.
For anyone thinking that the Panthers will have a sustained drop in the league, think again.
Coach Kurt Tippmann’s team loses some pieces, but will bring back a lot of talent that will have a year under their belt. It will be led by some legit D1 prospects in linebacker Domanick Moon and lineman D.J, Moore, and the skill position players ooze talent, particularly the likes of running back Tyreese Brown.
The Snider coaching staff will use the struggles of 2020 to fuel the program every day, every practice and every rep in the offseason.
It will pay dividends next fall.
These opinions represent those of Blitz and Outside the Huddle. No opinions expressed on Outside the Huddle represent those of any of our advertisers. Follow Blitz on Twitter at Blitz_OTH
Be the first to comment