ROCKTON — Hononegah’s football program bid farewell to some of the NIC-10’s best playmakers, including MVP quarterback Cole Warren and Division 1 recruit Isiah Houi, following an 11-1 season in 2023.
But there are few tears being shed around the league for a team that is known for contending for titles year in and year out.
This fall is no different.
“For us to have the season we had last year it’s obvious we had some tremendous talent and we lost some of that,” said head coach Brian Zimmerman, who is 59-12 in his seven seasons, including 52-6 in the NIC-10. “But because of our success last year we had a lot of players who had the opportunity to play who were not starters. Those guys got a lot of experience. So I don’t feel like we’re rebuilding, just reloading.
“Certainly, we would love to pull off an undefeated conference season like last year and realistically, I would expect us to be right there in the mix for the top spot.”
The bar is indeed high. The past four years, Hononegah is 28-2 in conference play and 32-5 overall. And replacing players like Warren, Houi and four other all-conference seniors will take some doing.
Zimmerman likes the candidates.
At quarterback, the Indians will look to Dominic Kelly, a transfer who played at Lake Mills, where he was a first-team All-Capitol Conference defensive back and special teams player. He averaged 16.3 yards per return on punts and scored one touchdown. He also averaged 20.7 yards per return on kickoffs. On defense, Kelly had 31 tackles and intercepted three passes.
With the Indians, he’ll be asked to replace Warren, who was the Beloit Daily News All-Area Offensive Player of the Year after setting a school record for most yards passing in a season including playoffs (2,038) and best passing percentage in a season at 61 percent (131-214). He threw 28 touchdown passes and just four interceptions. He also ran 45 times for 287 yards and five additional TDs.
“Dom’s our No. 1 and Tommy (Castelli) is a solid backup,” the coach said. “Dom has certainly held up his part of the bargain and Tommy has improved tremendously this year, too. He has done some really intelligent things in practice.”
Warren was like having a coach on the field the way he efficiently operated the Indians’ read-option offense.
“We were spoiled having Cole at quarterback, the way he could read defenses,” Zimmerman said. “That will be something Dom needs to continue to work on, taking what defenses give you. That’s something we work on in practice and we see improvements.”
Zimmerman said the offense will have a few new twists, but fans will see a lot of similarities with the past. With Warren, the Indians had an attack that could ramp up the passing game when needed, depending on the opponent. That won’t change.
The Indians return four true starters and three are offensive linemen: brothers Max and Jacob Benson and Cale Walls. The Indians lost tackle Isaak “Chuck” Smith and guard Drake Broege to graduation, but they still look formidable up front with 6-foot-7 Joseph Grover in the mix.
The Indians’ fourth returning starter is all-NIC-10 wide receiver Cole Schmall. They have a number of other solid receiving candidates, including slot/wideouts Caven Colwell and Anthony Bufalo.
The X-factor is another transfer, junior Brian Little from Beloit Memorial.
“Brian is a slot receiver and a defensive back,” Zimmerman said. “I see him seeing action on both sides of the ball. He’s the kind of athlete who can give us similar things to what Isaiah gave us last season.”
That, of course, is saying a lot. Houi, who will play defensive back at Eastern Illinois University, rarely left the field for the Indians. He was All-NIC-10 First Team as a wide receiver as a senior after leading the league in receiving with 39 catches for 690 yards and 10 TDs. On defense, he posted 28 tackles and an interception.
The running game lost Estin Fichter, Greyson Motter and Luke Poppe, but returns Kurt Smith, who also starts at middle linebacker on defense. Brock Anderson is another key returnee.
“I think we’re solid there with four or five backs who can get the job done,” Zimmerman said. “We have a handful of juniors who were impressive on the sophomore team last year.”
The defense has some holes to fill, starting with Houi and including Michael Floyance and Gabe Kohl in the interior and Audra Pilgrim on the edge.
Zimmerman said he hopes Smith, a returning all-conference MLB, will be the Indians’ only two-way starter, but a number of players could see double-duty.
On the line, the Indians hope junior noseguard Aiden Jarvis will be able to hold down the fort with Floryance gone.
“Aiden has been working super hard, bulked up some and did a great job this summer,” Zimmermah said. “We’re also going to have Max Benson come over from the offense at get him in the mix. He’s a load.”
Hononegah will start Trent Harshbarger and Xander Swanson as the opposite ends. Harshbarger has been on varsity since his sophomore year, but fractured his kneecap in the preseason in 2023, returning to play well at the end of the season. Swanson has tremendous quickness on the other side.
Smith returns at middle linebacker and among the other candidates are Anderson and Brody Sendele, the all-conference wrestler.
Even after losing Houi, the secondary looks strong with Colwell, Cam Rodriguez, Brady Jarvis and Little among the candidates.
“We are going to play a lot more juniors this year,” Zimmerman said. “Last year we were pretty senior-dominated. But I feel like the way we practice with sophomores practicing frequently with varsity, they should make that step up smoothly.”
Off-season workouts helped prepare them, too.
“I was really happy with the way our summer went and the dedication shown by our players,” Zimmerman said. “I think that gives us an advantage early on against the teams that might not have the same level of participation we do.”
In conference, Zimmerman expects perennially tough Rockford Boylan “to still be Boylan.” Belvidere North and Rockford Guilford should also have strong squads and Harlem could surprise some people.
The Indians host their annual Purple-Gold scrimmage Friday night. They open Aug. 30 at home against Rockford Auburn.
2024 SCHEDULE:
AUG. 30: ROCKFORD AUBURN.
SEPT. 6: at Rockford Jefferson; 13: at Harlem; 20: ROCKFORD GUILFORD; 27: at Freeport.
OCT. 4: ROCKFORD EAST; 11: ROCKFORD BOYLAN, 7:10 p.m.; 18: at Belvidere North; 25: at Belvidere.
7:15 p.m. kickoffs unless noted.
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