By RICHIE HALL
Reporter Sports Editor
At first glance, it appears the Fishers football team will be relatively young this season, and have several new players take to the field when game time rolls around Friday night.
While that may be the case, there are several things that Tigers coach Rick Wimmer is pleased about. His defense appears to be playing and practicing well, and he also has two quarterbacks that he considers starters.
The signal-callers are senior Matthew Wolff and junior Jon Vore. Both got into games last season and played well. In his six games, Vore was 54-of-105 for 658 yards, and threw four touchdowns. Wolff played in three games and also passed for four touchdowns.
“Obviously, only one will start a given game, but I expect to start each of them at different times and play them both,” said Wimmer.
A key offensive return is senior Michael Noble at tailback. Noble is the leading returning rusher for Fishers, gaining 341 yards last season and scoring two touchdowns. Senior Will Syrus and junior Collin Statz are back as the wide receivers.
Wimmer said his team will be “pretty young” on the offensive line. Senior Luke Martin, a three-year starter, will play the right guard position. Two sophomores, Hayden Tobias and Ethan Dye, are slated in the tackle spots, while junior Austin Voskuhl will be at left guard. Junior Nathan Pairitz is the center.
On the defensive side, three seniors return at linebacker: Seth Sontich, Michael Nettleton and Emmanuel Davis.
“I really like the way these guys are playing,” said Wimmer. “Senior Peyton Dozier and sophomore Geoffrey Brown will provide quality depth.”
The defensive line, said Wimmer, is not very experienced, but the coach said it is improving and he’s excited about that group.
“Ends (Daniel) Amadi, (Josh) Everrett, and (Isaiah) Dunnuck have been very disruptive in practice and lone returning starter Nick Douglas has been an anchor on that defensive front,” said Wimmer.
As for the secondary, junior Michael Prewitt is the lone defensive back (at corner) with any starting experience, but Wimmer said many players are competing for spots. The coach said that Fishers’ kicking game will be good as well, with Ben Norton returning at kicker and Joey Galey as the punter.
The Tigers host North Central Friday for their opening game.
