The window in which high school football programs in Indiana can hold spring practices is wide open, meaning for the next several weeks, area teams will be looking to find that edge as the summer looms.
While four months before Week 1 may seem like a long time, it goes fast. Every coach has a different priority list for spring – whether it be schematic install, depth chart battles or just learning your squad and who is committed to showing up and who isn’t.
For five local teams in particular, spring practice holds a bit more in the way of interest and intrigue.
ANGOLA
After five seasons as head coach at DeKalb and one as an assistant under former Hornets coach Andy Thomas, Seth Wilcox is back leading a program.
There is renewed optimism around Angola after last year’s run to a sectional championship, the first since 2018 for the team. However, graduation has gutted the roster, particularly on offense where quarterback Brady Ravis is gone, as is do-everything athlete Hawk Hasselman (1,329 yards rushing, 17 touchdowns) and leading receiver Alex Thomas (32 catches, 369 yards, three scores).
The defense also has significant holes, with the top four tacklers and six of the top seven having moved on. But there are pieces to build with, particularly junior-to-be lineman Niles Knox (88 tackles, nine tackles for loss) and sophomore-to-be Owen Shull (57 tackles, 6.5 TFL) at linebacker.
Coach Wilcox gained familiarity with the roster as an assistant last year at Angola, but with his hiring coming just two months ago, he needs all the time he can get to begin molding the Hornets into the image he wants, particularly with so much production needing replaced.
BELLMONT
In the midst of a 42-game losing streak, the Bellmont football program is facing a crossroads.
How much longer can a team without a victory since 2021 and 1-68 in its last 69 games garner enough interest from kids to field a team?
Enter new coach Blake Blaker, who led Southern Wells, another program short on wins and numbers, to two victories last year in Year 2 at the helm and brings a renewed energy to the Braves.
It is Coach Blaker’s job to earn the buy-in from kids and the community alike. Finding a way to get athletes – particularly those wrestlers – out to the gridiron is of paramount important. Bodies equals added talent and depth, both of which have been at a premium on the roster of the Braves in recent years.
A solid spring with decent numbers is what Bellmont needs entering the summer as it looks to find some sort of momentum heading towards the fall.
CONCORDIA
A lot written about Bellmont goes for Concordia as well, with the program having earned two or less wins in each of the past three seasons.
The Cadets are also 1-22 in their last 23 games against SAC foes, with last year’s 21-20 victory over Wayne ending a 20-game league losing skid. But outside of that win over the Generals, Concordia lost to six SAC teams in 2025 by an average of 40 points per game.
In the fickle world of high school sports in the city, open enrollment can be your friend or your bitter enemy. For the Cadets, it seems to have been the latter, with some talent in the younger classes having transferred out. The team’s best athlete, senior-to-be Eli Trent, will once again be QB1 and will look to lead an offense that averaged 9.7 points a year ago. But Trent can’t do it alone.
Much like Bellmont, Concordia needs bodies. This spring will be pivotal in terms of how many kids are showing commitment to the program. Yes, baseball and track pull away some of those athletes, but Coach Tim Mannigel’s squad needs a renewed sense of desire from within the roster to band together and turn things around.
That doesn’t start in the fall or even in the summer, but in the spring.
NORTHROP
Ask around town and there is still plenty of excitement around Northrop’s eight-win campaign a year ago, the most for the program in 22 years.
But it’s time to turn the page. It’s all about sustainability now. Will the Bruins’ 2025 season go down as a one-year wonder or the return of Northrop as a consistent SAC contender?
It is up to new coach John Schaefer to set the tone that the 2026 edition of Northrop football is going to continue to point the arrow upward. Schaefer knows the team, having been an assistant under former coach Quentin Bowen. He also retained much of the coaching staff that was so important to last year’s success. To Schaefer, continuity is key.
Talent is also important, and the Bruins have two of the most sought-after area college prospects in the city in wide receiver Maddox Weil and EDGE Ifeanyi Emedobi.
But Northrop cannot get complacent. As tough as it is to climb towards the top end of the SAC, it is an altogether different challenge to stay there. Teams like North Side and Wayne have jumped up and had a special season here or there in recent memory, but have lacked the staying power to hang with the Carrolls and Sniders and Bishop Dwengers on a regular basis.
This spring is all about Coach Schaefer ensuring this team is still hungry while not allowing apathy to set in because of what was accomplished last year.
SNIDER
The team that saw its long winning streak over rival Northrop end is also facing a pivotal spring as the Panthers look to move past a 2025 campaign that was the worst by winning percentage (.300) in the program’s history.
Ten defensive starters are set to return, giving the Panthers an aspect of their team to build around, although it is a defense that must improve after allowing an average of 26.8 points per game last season.
Traditionally, Snider is all about messaging. So what is the approach after last year? While the coaching staff wants the roster to learn from last fall, it does not want them to be defined by it. Spring means renewal, and one sub-par season doesn’t mask the decades of dominance displayed by the Panthers program.
There is also the added pressure of fielding a good team in the first season of Snider’s on-campus stadium, which should be completed in June, giving the Panthers plenty of time on their home field to grow comfortable and confident.
The Class of 2027 is ready to do what its predecessors didn’t, lead by example and by voice to set the tone for the summer and fall. Snider’s turnaround started the day after its season ended last year at the hands of Northrop in overtime in sectional play. Spring practice is just that next step.
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