Boone Grove’s Tony Tinkel named Colts prep football Coach of the Week
From the Indianapolis Colts
Boone Grove Head Football Coach Tony Tinkel has been named the Colts/NFL Coach of the Week, a program presented by Anthem Blue Cross and Blue Shield.
Tinkel was selected after his Wolves defeated Wheeler High School 30-12 on Friday night. This is only the second season for varsity football at Boone Grove while it was Wheeler’s first regular season loss since 2007.
The 2012 season marks the 13th year the Indianapolis Colts will be recognizing outstanding Indiana High School football coaches through the Colts/NFL Coach of the Week program, presented by Anthem Blue Cross and Blue Shield.
More and more high schools from across the state of Indiana seem to be adding football as a varsity sport. At Boone Grove, that addition was made last year as 2011 marked their inaugural football season for the small school located in Valparaiso. Their program’s first win was last season against Gary Roosevelt. However, Friday August 17 is a night that will be remembered as the marquee win for the program.
This will help build our team for many years, I feel more and more kids will come out to play, Tinkel said.
Tinkel in only his second year of coaching was able to lead the Wolves to a win over Wheeler, who had won 43-straight regular season games. This was a bit of a redemption game as Boone Grove fell to the Bearcats 51-7 in last year’s opener.
Cody Poynter led the charge for the Wolves as he carried the ball 26 times for 212 yards scoring all four of their touchdowns. This helped Boone Grove get out to a 24-6 halftime lead. They never looked back finishing out the game with a strong second half while coming away with the 30-12 victory.
This is an something that I never even thought of, there are so many great coaches in the state and I get chosen, I owe it to my staff and kids, is how Tinkel summed up the honor.
The Coach of the Week program was designed to recognize high school coaches who transform the best available athletes into high potential football players through their hard work and dedication to young people.
All high school head coaches in the state of Indiana are eligible regardless of their school size, league or division. Coaches are evaluated on various factors including the coach’s impact on his team, school and community, as well as performance of the team. The honorees are selected by a panel of high school football media, former athletic directors and other football representatives from all regions of the state.
Each Monday, following a high school football game weekend, one head coach will be announced.
At the conclusion of the high school football season, each winning coach will receive a framed certificate signed by NFL Commissioner Roger Goodell, Colts Head Coach Chuck Pagano, Colts General Manager Ryan Grigson and Colts Youth Football Commissioner Mike Prior, as well as a $1,000 donation from the NFL Youth Football Fund. In addition, Anthem Blue Cross and Blue Shield will contribute $1,000 for the school’s athletic fund.
Honorable mention:
Region 2- Levon Johnson – Elkhart Central
Region 3 – Kurt Tippmann – FW Snider
Region 4 – Darren Rodriguez – West Central
Region 5 – Brett Colby – Kokomo
Region 6- Mark Bless – Avon
Region 7- Ty Hunt – Cardinal Ritter
Region 8- Scott Snodgrass – Hagerstown
Region 9- Dustin Powell – Pike Central
Region 10- Darin Ward – Corydon Central
