It is July, which means that every team in northeast Indiana has visions of this season being successful.
However, there may be teams that have more motivation than others. For some, it could be high preseason expectations. For others, it could be bouncing back from a down season or setting the tone for future success.
There is a multitude of reasons why, but suffice to say there is a bit more incentive with the teams below to put together a solid, if not stellar, 2025 campaign.
ANGOLA
The Hornets have finished sub-.500 in three of the last four seasons, including a four-win campaign in 2024 that saw just a single NECC Big Division win.
Senior Hawk Hasselman can do it all, as we have seen the last few years. But he shouldn’t HAVE to do everything for Angola. This is a proud program with recent success. It seems like the last few preseasons we have pointed at the Hornets as a team to watch to break out, like Garrett did last year.
Can this year be the year in Hasselman’s final prep campaign? It won’t be easy. Angola once again opens at DeKalb, a team that has handled Coach Andy Thomas’ squad in Week 1 the last two years. That’s followed by a visit to Leo, home against Fremont and then on the road again at West Noble.
It would be nice to see Angola split the non-conference games and perhaps even open some eyes with a dub at West Noble to show it is a solid contender in 2025.
BISHOP DWENGER
We had the Saints on this list a season ago. The result? A second-straight 6-6 campaign that culminated in a 38-0 rout at the hands of East Noble in the sectional championship.
Bishop Dwenger is entering Year 4 without a postseason title of any kind, the longest drought since 1997-2002.
However, the offseason, and particularly the summer, has been very kind to Coach Jason Garrett’s team. A new offensive scheme aims to bring some consistent threats downfield and to the edges to complement Bishop Dwenger’s traditional interior physical attack. After battling injuries last season, senior quarterback Henry Jordan is healthy and energized by the opportunity to air it out more under center.
The leading receiver Beckham Russell and leading rusher Gus Tippmann are both back, as is arguably the best lineman in the area, Eastern Michigan verbal commit Andrew Trahin.
The defense is adopting a more aggressive and attacking style and has dudes at all three levels, even with the loss of leading tackler Dylan Tippmann.
The league also presents opportunity, as questions abound for many of the heavy hitters in the “A” division.
BLUFFTON
Coach Brent Kunkel may not be open about it, but he has the best set of skill players in the ACAC. You can make a case for junior Axton Beste as the best QB, Cooper Craig as the top RB and AJ Streveler as the best wideout.
Some forget that Bluffton began the season 6-0 before dropping its final four games, including two to league foes Heritage and Adams Central by a combined 56 points.
Adams Central has owned the conference with four-consecutive league titles. The Tigers have the firepower to put up numbers on the scoreboard. But the key to competing with the Flying Jets will be a defense that returns nine starters, including do-everything senior linebacker Griffin Morgan.
Keep Oct. 10 open, as the Week 8 showdown between Bluffton and visiting Adams Central may be a de facto ACAC championship game.
HOMESTEAD
The Spartans have not had a winning season for three-straight years, the longest slump for the program in its history dating back to 1970.
Now technically, Homestead hasn’t had a losing season over that time either, going 5-5 each campaign. But suffice to say that expectations in and around the program are higher than what we have seen recently.
Homestead has the most proven returning quarterback in the SAC in Michael White. He has underrated leading receiver Carter Kennedy (45 receptions, 608 yards, six TDs in 2024).
What continues to hamper the Spartans is lack of size in the trenches. Coach Chad Zolman’s team always has a dude or two up front, but the lack of a substantial amount of those guys has really hurt on both sides of the ball.
Early indications are that Homestead will lack heft at the point of attack once again. But if technique can get the best of pure bulk, the Spartans could be in good shape.
In what should be a very competitive SAC race, Homestead can be in the conversation late in the season for the first time since 2020.
HUNTINGTON NORTH
Were the Vikings a one-hit wonder or is something consistent building under Coach Mike Eshbach?
No one knows for sure, but Huntington North will need some new names to step up after the graduation of All-NE8 First Teamers Tony Decker at quarterback, wide receiver Tatum Brooks and linebacker Jason Teusch.
Decker leaves the biggest void, as he may have been the most impactful player behind center in the entire area last year in terms of what went through him offensively and how special he was in Huntington North’s offensive scheme.
Concordia transfer Bradan Corbett may have the inside track on the QB1 spot to replace Decker, but flirting with double-digit wins again could be in the hands of the dudes up front. Injuries and lack of numbers was a constant issue last year, with the guys who were available doing a tremendous job as the Vikings went 9-4.
But smoke and mirrors up front won’t be enough with Decker gone. If this team is going to compete against East Noble, Leo and Columbia City, it will need dudes, and plenty of them, holding their own up front on both offense and defense.
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