The Clinton Prairie Gophers look to build on a strong 2023 season that saw them finish 6-5 and win the opening round of Sectional play before falling to North Vermillion.
Clinton Prairie football coach Kurt Schlicher enters his third year with the Gophers and said he is looking forward to this season.
“Last season, you know, we had some good moments, and we’re certainly going to miss those players who have graduated,” Schlicher said. “But we’re looking forward to a new season with some new guys out there.”
The Gophers lost several key contributors from a season ago, especially on the offensive side of the ball. Clinton Prairie won’t have top performers Levi Ostler, Cayden Davis, or Seth Whitlock this season.
“Well, certainly last year, we had some outstanding senior football players that we’ll miss this year,” Schlicher said. “All-state lineman Levi Ostler, that will be a big loss for us this year. We also will lose our tailback, Seth Whitlock, who was an all-conference performer. We also lost Cayden Davis, who was an all-conference wide receiver for us.”
Kye Jacobs will take the reins of the offense at quarterback, in limited work a season ago, he threw for over 250 yards and five touchdowns.
Braiden Jarboe slots in at tailback, he served as the backup to Seth Whitlock last season and will look to fill Whitlock’s shoes.
The offensive line is filled with familiar names for the Gophers. Kyle Harsbarger, Caleb Kerschner, Dylan Thomas, and Keaton Williams are all guys who started at points last year.
“Our quarterback position will be Kye Jacobs,” Schlicher said. “He’ll be a junior this year. He played receiver during his freshman and sophomore years and started on defense. Braiden Jarboe, one of our main tailbacks last year, is also back. So you know, we feel like we’ve got some experience on the offensive line, at quarterback and our tailback has played in the past.”
The Gophers play an identical schedule to what they played last season, which means they start with Frontier, Frankfort, Clinton Central, and Tri-Central. They started the season 4-0 last year.
You go one week at a time, so Frontier has been our focus, really, since day one,” Schlicher said. “We have to go on the road. Anytime you go on the road in your opening game, that’s certainly a tough task. So you know, and once that week is over, then certainly we go with our county matchups, Frankfort and Clinton Central. The good news for those games this year is they are home games for us, which I certainly hope will be an advantage.”
The Gophers finished 3-4 in the Hoosier Heartland dropping games against Delphi, Sheridan, Carroll, and Eastern. Coach Schlicher said he knows everyone in the conference will be improved and each game is going to be difficult.
“We know that every week is going to be a dog fight,” Schlicher said. “I think we will play in some close games this year. And you know, you got to find a way to win those. We’ve been talking about how we finished, and finishing starts in the weight room, a sprint on the field, you know, just trying to get the best out of each and every moment. So I do think a challenge for our team this year is whether we are going to be able to win those close ones.”
Clinton Prairie will take the field on Friday against the Frontier Falcons at 7 p.m.
You can watch local high school football action every Friday on hoosierlandtv.com. This week’s Game of the Week covers Carroll vs Caston.
