Local Football Opens 3-1 as Rivalry Week Looms
Clinton, Carroll and Boone County Daily News — compiled from WILO’s Party Line
Week one of Indiana high school football is officially in the books, and if Wednesday’s edition of WILO’s Party Line was any indication, area fans are in for an entertaining fall.
Host Melissa Miller and WILO Sports Director Sam Wort spent the morning breaking down season-opening wins for Clinton Central, Clinton Prairie and Carroll, previewing this weekend’s rivalry games and catching up on volleyball and golf around the county.
Clinton Central grinds past Frankfort, 12-6
The week’s headline game lived up to its billing as a defensive struggle. Clinton Central scored all 12 of its points in a busy first quarter, then leaned on its defense to hold off Frankfort the rest of the way. Frankfort answered with a punt-return touchdown in the third quarter to make it a one-score game, and the Hot Dogs had chances in the fourth quarter but couldn’t punch one in. Senior Luke Shelley was named the First Bank Midwest Player of the Game for Clinton Central, finishing with two touchdowns and a defensive interception.
Wort praised Frankfort’s special-teams unit and first-year head coach Andy Dudley, a longtime Hot Dogs baseball coach making the move to football. He also liked what he saw from Frankfort’s freshman quarterback, who struggled with a couple of turnovers — typical for a first varsity start — but showed poise, including a third-and-16 conversion throw to keep a drive alive. “It looks exciting, and who knows what we’ll see the rest of the year,” Wort said.
Prairie’s ground game leads Gophers over Frontier, 28-13
Clinton Prairie leaned on senior Gaige Kuzmicz, now a three-year starter after splitting quarterback duties the past two seasons, to key a 28-13 win over Frontier. The Gophers lost their top backfield weapons from a year ago — Kye Jacobs, Hunter Cooper and Braiden Jarboe — but Alex King’s move from receiver to running back helped fill the void, and Prairie’s dual-threat quarterback gave the offense balance. The Gophers gave up two early touchdowns before shutting out Frontier the rest of the way, a sign of a veteran offensive line and a defense that settled in as the game went on.
Carroll’s sophomore QB shines in 37-16 win
Carroll entered the season with a question mark at quarterback after starter Cale Peters was sidelined by a preseason injury. Sophomore Reid Hayden answered it emphatically, scoring a pair of touchdowns and throwing for another in a 37-16 win. “You know a coach like Blake Betzner, he’s gonna have his boys ready,” Wort said, noting Carroll’s strong youth pipeline compared with the other county programs, which are still building theirs up.
Two-way players and summer conditioning
With new coaching staffs at both Clinton Central and Frankfort, Wort said fans should expect plenty of position shuffling as those programs identify their best fits. He also pointed out that county schools simply don’t have the roster depth of bigger programs — Clinton Central alone had seven players going both ways in the opener — and both coaches flagged conditioning as an early-season issue after an unusually hot and unpredictable summer disrupted preseason training.
Volleyball and golf roundup
On the volleyball side, Frankfort has been the story of the county, jumping to 6-1 overall and 2-0 in conference after sweeping North Montgomery. Senior Lily Rockhold, the program’s leader in kills, was named the inaugural Frankfort Pizza King Student-Athlete of the Week. Rossville sits at 5-3 after taking second at the Hoosier Heartland Conference tournament, falling only to Eastern while beating Sheridan, Carroll and Twin Lakes along the way. Clinton Prairie, under coach Kathy Martin, has hit a rough patch at 3-4 with losses to Covington, Benton Central and Faith Christian after opening 3-1 in conference play, while Clinton Central and Carroll continue building their programs.
In golf, Clinton Central, Clinton Prairie and University squared off in a three-way meet, with University taking first, Clinton Prairie second and Clinton Central third. The county girls’ golf tournament is set for this Saturday.
Looking ahead
This week’s Hoosierland TV Game of the Week pits Frankfort at Clinton Prairie, a rivalry the Gophers have controlled in recent seasons. Wort said Frankfort’s path to an upset runs through its young quarterback continuing to develop and the Hot Dogs’ skill players getting into open space. Carroll faces a stiff nonconference test against Maconaquah, which opened its season with a win over Sheridan, while Clinton Central looks to start 2-0 for a third straight year when it hosts Faith Christian. The rivalry slate keeps coming after that, with the Corn Bowl and Bacon Bowl games on deck the following two weeks.
Also discussed on the show: Clinton Prairie coach Kurt Schlicher has found a weapon in fall tryouts — a kicker with a soccer background, continuing a trend of county programs mining the soccer pipeline for reliable leg strength.
Fans can catch full analysis on Inside the Huddle, airing at 9 a.m. Saturdays on WILO with a replay at 7 p.m. Sundays, and archived anytime at HoosierlandTV.com.
