by Beau Wicker
Caston’s football team has put together its best season in years.
Now the Comets have an opportunity to play Class A’s No. 1-ranked team tonight with sectional hardware on the line when they host Lafayette Central Catholic at The Crater at 7 o’clock.
“We just have to come out and treat it like any other game,” Caston coach Chris Ulerick said. “We can’t let the name Central Catholic intimidate us. I know the kids will show up and be ready to go. To me, that’s the biggest thing is to make sure they are ready to go, and I think they are right now.”
The Comets (8-3) do have experience with facing Class A’s elite teams this season. They were defeated by arch-rival Pioneer 56-0 in Week 4 this season in a game that included a closely-played first half when the Panthers took a 14-0 lead into the break.
“When we played Pioneer we played an extremely good half of football. It could have easily been 7-0 if we would have managed the clock better and not allowed them to score late in the half,” Ulerick said.
Central Catholic (11-0) defeated Pioneer 20-0 in a first-round sectional game in a contest that was closer than the final score.
“Central Catholic is a very good football team,” Ulerick said. “We’ll have to play an extremely good football game in order to put ourselves in a position for a chance to win.”
Other tough opponents the Comets have played this season include No. 7-ranked Winamac (a 15-0 loss on the road in Week 8) and South Newton, which had been ranked as high as No. 8 this season. Caston avenged a regular-season loss to South Newton with a 14-7 win on the road last week. Also, Caston defeated a two-time defending sectional champion, Triton, the team that knocked off Winamac in sectional play, 26-0 on the road in Week 1.
Ulerick said the Comets have to believe they can pull off the upset against the Knights.
“The kids have played well enough and hard enough to be put in this type of a game,” he said. “I think they will be mentally prepared to play in that type of a game — with the energy that will be surrounding the game and how many people will be there.”
The Comets have won more games this season than the previous four combined. Their eight wins are their most since their nine-win season in 2003, which was also the last time they played in a sectional title game. They are seeking their first sectional championship.
The Comets run what has been dubbed “the wildhog” offense — a reference to the popular NFL “wildcat” offense and the Caston community’s close ties to agriculture.
Ulerick said the offense is basically the wing-T, but the Comets drop their quarterback into a shotgun formation and they spread the field more than the traditional wing-T offense does.
“It’s all wing-T principles,” he said. “It’s the same plays, but it’s a different look because we’re more spread out. We’re undersized and we know we are. It doesn’t allow defenses to stack the box so much.
“If people want to call it the wildhog, that’s fine. It sounds good. It fits our kids’ country-boy mentality.”
The Comets have a balanced rushing attack out of the wildhog and have rushed for 2,522 yards and 21 touchdowns this season. They are led by running backs Trevor Hoover (651 yards, 6 TDs) and Eric Goller (622, 4), fullback Austin Ault (585, 7) and quarterbacks Wil Holloway (450, 3) and Blain Hizer (109, 1).
Holloway has passed for 505 yards and nine TDs and Hizer adds 202 yards and three TDs. Goller has 20 catches for 209 yards and three TDs, and Hoover has 18 receptions for 279 yards and four TDs.
Linebacker David McMenamin leads the “D” with 86 tackles. Jordan Graham has 16.5 tackles for a loss. Ault has a team-high three interceptions.
The Knights have been dominant this season, averaging 52 points per game while allowing just 1.6 — the best figures in the state. They are seeking their first sectional title since 2005 and have won four overall. They won state championships in 1976 and 1999.
Quarterback Chris Mills has passed for 2,248 yards and 32 touchdowns. His main targets are Cody Christopher (37 catches, 545 yards, 7 TDs), Danny Anthrop (36, 534, 8) and Marc Withers (26, 602, 10).
Tom Almond, the Knights’ leading rusher with 479 yards and 11 TDs, is out for the season with a knee injury suffered during the Pioneer game. Joe Naville, who had a team-high 80 yards rushing on 14 carries in the Knights’ 33-6 win at Frontier last week, will likely get the start.
Mark Strong leads the Knights with 60 tackles and 4 sacks. Jake Milakis has 59 tackles despite missing three games this season, and he will miss a fourth tonight after being ruled out with a knee injury suffered last week.
Scott Windler has 58 tackles and four interceptions for the Knights. Greg Burns has five interceptions.
