IHSAA prep football notebook
By CLIFF BRUNT
and BEN FAHRBACH
ISL Staff
INDIANAPOLIS — Sam Jost stepped in seamlessly for one of the state’s most effective rushers last week.
The 5-foot-11, 175-pound senior filled in for the injured Alex Kimack and ran 26 times for 206 yards and three touchdowns to help the Trojans defeat Guerin Catholic 24-0.
Jost ran for touchdowns of 4, 54 and 47 yards.
Kimack, a 6-foot-2, 219-pound bruiser, hurt his shoulder the previous week against North Central while making a tackle on punt coverage. With sectionals upcoming, the team didn’t want to take a chance on Kimack, a senior who ran for 1,170 yards and 14 touchdowns in his first seven games.
Kimack suited up against Guerin but was limited to punting duty. Chatard assistant athletic director Mike Harmon said Kimack was “available in an emergency situation.”
Chatard closes its regular season Friday against Indianapolis Arsenal Tech. At least now, the Trojans know if something happens to Kimack again, their running game is in good hands.
NEW STATE RUSHING RECORD?
Elwood High School running back Sammy Mireles is within striking distance of becoming the IHSAA’s career rushing leader, needing 211 yards to overtake Indianapolis Cathedral’s Otis Shannon who finished his career in 2000 season with 7,560 yards. Mireles, who is averaging 244.9 yards per game this season, will get his chance when the 5-3 Panthers travel to 6-2 Alexandria in a Central Indiana Conference game. Shannon is expected to be in attendance on Friday.
Mireles currently sits in second place with 7,350 yards over his four seasons. He began last week’s game against Frankton in sixth place on the state list, and his 301-yard effort in front of the home crowd on Senior Night helped him surpass four of the top five rushers in state history.
Mireles needs only 41 yards to eclipse the 2,000 yard milestone for the third straight season.
COACH OF THE WEEK
Luke Amstutz of East Noble High School has been named the Colts/NFL Coach of the Week, a program presented by Anthem Blue Cross and Blue Shield. Coach Amstutz was selected for this award after his team beat an undefeated New Haven football squad 30-6.
New Haven had won its previous contests by a margin of 34 points. East Noble improved to 6-2.
The 2013 season marks the fourteenth 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.
The following coaches were recognized as honorable mentions for Week 8:
| Region 1- Zac Wells – Merrillville | Region 6- Brian Oliver – Linton Stockton |
| Region 2- Brian Stutz – South Bend Riley | Region 7- Bill Peebles – Southport |
| Region 3 – Winner | Region 8- Pat Echeverria – Eastern Hancock |
| Region 4 – Kevin O’Shea – Central Catholic | Region 9- Ross Fuhs – Forest Park |
| Region 5 – Pete Gast – Alexandria | Region 10- Mo Moriarity – Bloomington South |
ARSENAL TECH’S EKIYOR COMMENDED
Cathedral coach Rick Streiff went out of his way to praise Arsenal Tech coach Emil Ekiyor after the Irish defeated Tech 23-14 win last Friday night (here is the game story).
Streiff is one of the state’s most successful coaches, so his comments carry significant meaning.
Streiff was impressed with Tech’s overall improvement. Though Tech is now best known for its fight with Fort Wayne South Side, Streiff wanted to focus on what the Titans have done on the field. Tech is 4-4, but one of those losses was a forfeit against South Side as punishment, even though Tech led 24-6 when the fight erupted.
“They’re a very, very good football team,” Streiff said. “Five, seven, 10 years ago, they weren’t that caliber. Emil’s done an outstanding job with them. You can tell they’re well coached. They’re disciplined. You can tell they’ve got some athletes in the program, but they’ve always had athletes. Now, you can tell that they’re getting coached up.”
Here is a run by Tech’s star running back, James Gilbert, last week. He finished with 165 yards and a touchdown on 32 carries.
POLL UPDATE
Penn remained No. 1 in The Associated Press’ Indiana Class 6A football poll, but the Kingsmen weren’t as dominant as they had been.
Zach Oakley ran for two touchdowns and threw for another as Penn defeated South Bend Riley 21-11 last Friday to maintain its spot. Penn led just 14-11 in the third quarter. Riley outgained Penn 355 yards to 176.
The Kingsmen had won all of their previous games by at least 32 points and had allowed just 14 points total in their first seven games.
Despite the rough outing, the Kingsmen received 15 of 18 possible first-place votes in this week’s poll. No. 2 Ben Davis got the other three.
Hamilton Southeastern moved in at No. 10 in 6A. The Royals host McCutcheon on Friday, then host No. 4 Carmel in their sectional opener.
In Class 5A, Westfield, Terre Haute North, Indianapolis Cathedral, Whiteland and Mishawaka remained the top five teams, in that order. Fort Wayne Wayne moved in at No. 9 and Zionsville, at 4-4, is No. 10.
In Class 4A, Columbus East remains No. 1. Previous No. 2 New Haven fell all the way to No. 10 after a 30-6 loss to East Noble.
In 3A, Andrean is No. 1, Gibson Southern is No. 2 and West Lafayette is No. 3. All three are unbeaten. Hamilton Heights fell from No. 4 to No. 8 after a 35-14 loss to Western.
Evansville Mater Dei is No. 1 in Class 2A. Lafayette Central Catholic is No. 2 and Indianapolis Ritter is up to No. 3. Previous No. 3 Churubusco fell to No. 7 after a 35-14 loss to Fairfield.
The top four teams in Class A are undefeated — No. 1 Linton, No. 2 North Vermillion, No. 3 Winamac and No. 4 Eastern (Hancock).
