By RICHIE HALL
Reporter Sports Editor
Variety is the spice of life, and it was also a keyword for the Fishers football team this summer.
The Tigers saw several different teams during their summer camps, including several powerhouses. Fishers coach Rick Wimmer reported that his team attended the Bishop-Dullaghan Team Camp for three days in June, and “were able to work against several quality teams.”
Those teams included one state champion: Westfield, last year’s 5A state title winner. Other teams included 6A regional champion Ben Davis and 6A sectional winner Crown Point. Columbus East and Bloomington South both won 5A regional titles. Whiteland was also at the camp; it fell to Columbus East in a 5A sectional championship game.
Last week, Fishers attended a one-day camp at Taylor University, where it worked against Homestead, Fort Wayne Carroll and New Haven, a 4A sectional champion.
“We have had a good summer and made some strides but many of our players are also competing in other sports, which we encourage so we have not really had our full team together very often,” said Wimmer. The Tigers are also conducting their own team camp this week.
The roster for this year’s Fishers team will include a healthy mix of experienced seniors and juniors. The 12th-graders coming back on the offensive end include running back Michael Noble, who is the leading returning rusher with 341 yards in 79 carries.
Wide receiver Will Syrus, another senior, returns the most catches with 13 and the most yardage among his position with 233. Also back are two quarterbacks who saw varsity action: Senior Matt Wolff and junior Jon Vore, who threw for 658 yards last season. Both Wolff and Vore threw four touchdown passes last season.
Also back are senior tight ends Isaiah Dunnuck and Bryce Gee and right tackle Luke Martin. Juniors on the offensive end returning are center-offensive guard Nathan Pairitz, left guard Andrew Voskuhl, junior running back HL Lewis and junior wide receiver Collin Statz.
The defensive end will be very experienced, with the top three in total tackles returning, all linebackers. Senior Mike Nettleton made 107 tackles last season (72 solo and 35 assists) with 11 tackles for a loss. Junior Emmanuel Davis compiled 70 tackles (43 solo and 27 assists), with senior Seth Sontich making 68 tackles (47 solo and 21 assists).
Also returning are senior defensive tackles Nick Douglas and Luke Thomas, and senior cornerback Michael Prewitt. Prewitt made four fumble recoveries last season, and he and Sontich both collected two interceptions.
There will be one schedule change of note this fall for Fishers. The Tigers’ Week 7 opponent is now Roncalli, which replaces Cathedral. This will be the first ever meeting between Fishers and the Rebels, who were undefeated Class 5A state champions last year.
Senior running back Michael Noble will be the leading returning rusher for the Fishers football team. Noble ran for 341 yards in 79 carries last year as a junior. (Kirk Green)
Fishers coach Rick Wimmer took his team to the Bishop-Dullaghan Camp in June, where they worked against several 5A and 6A regional champion teams. (Kirk Green)
Luke Martin and Bryce Gee are also D1 commits. Martin to Ball State. Gee to Indiana State.