With Football season officially one month away, take a look at how the local teams are shaping up heading into the 2025 campaign.
Clinton Prairie is coming off of a 5-6 season that saw them fall in the Sectional Semi-final to Sheridan.
Kurt Schlicher enters his fourth season as coach of Clinton Prairie. He has a 16-16 record through the first three seasons.
“Anytime you’re a new coach in a new school, it takes some time to get to know your players,” Schlicher said. “The longer you stay, you start to build relationships with your players. I’m more than just the football coach; I’m a teacher too, and my job is to be a mentor not only on the practice field but also during the school day. I think the biggest thing for me heading into my fourth year is you get to know the players better, you get to know the parents and you understand the community a little bit better.”
The Gophers return a handful of key offensive players, including quarterbacks Kye Jacobs, Gaige Kuzmicz and Brady Allen. They also bring back three strong runners in Hunter Cooper, Connor Rios and Braiden Jarboe.
The Gophers’ losses from graduating seniors will be felt in the trenches and on the defensive side of the ball. Lineman Keaton Williams is among the biggest losses. Williams, alongside Dylan and Blake Thomas, Kyle and Ryan Harshbarger, Braxten Nail and Liam Hughes, will be tough to replace heading into the new season.
“We’re definitely losing not only some great football players but some great kids,” Schlicher said. “But on the other side we have a group of about 18-20 freshmen coming in. They’re excited; we’ve got really nice numbers in our freshman class.”
Clinton Prairie will start the season at home against Frontier. The Falcons came out on top last year 36-26 and went on to finish the regular season 8-0 before falling to Carroll in Sectional play.
After week one, the battle for Clinton County begins with the Gopher taking on Frankfort and Clinton Central on the road in weeks two and three. Clinton Prairie has swept the County in each of the last three seasons.
“Our kids are looking forward to those games,” Schlicher said. “It’s games like that that you never forget. You always remember county games in your playing career.”
The first Clinton Prairie game on Hoosierland TV will be on Sep. 5 against Clinton Central.
Listen to the full interview with Clinton Prairie coach Kurt Schlicher below.