NCC champs hope to end sectional losing streak

By DAVE KITCHELL
Tribune sports editor

October 17, 2007 11:36 pm

— Who would have guessed it?
Heading into this season, Kokomo High School’s football program was knee-deep into its biggest funk ever. Over the first eight decades of KHS football, the longest stretch of losing seasons was just three — now it had grown to an unimaginable six. Its streak of years without a North Central Conference championship had ballooned to 11.
Then came new head coach Brett Colby who didn’t promise success, but offered a system that had delivered a 115-68 won-lost record over 17 seasons.
Nine weeks into the season, it’s obvious that what worked at South Newton and Frankfort, worked equally well at Kokomo.
The Wildkats are winning again and they hope to continue that trend Friday night when Noblesville (4-5) visits Walter Cross Field for a Class 5A Sectional 4 game. The Kats also hope to end a nine game losing streak in sectional openers.
The 2007 Kats became just the fifth team in school history to win the NCC title with a perfect record (7-0) and their 8-1 finish put to rest the skid of losing seasons.
Colby admitted that yes, he would have been satisfied with just a winning record when he was hired on March 5, but neither he, nor his players, wanted to be content with that.
“We knew Kokomo hadn’t had a lot of recent success,” he said. “We knew a little about our talent but any time you take a job like this, you don’t know your opponents. We watched film of the other teams, but even at that, you don’t know how many of their players were returning.
“Terry Downham [Kokomo’s sports information director] asked me before the season how many games I thought we could win. I thought if we played well we could win six — and that would be a good number for us to continue to sell the program in the offseason to our kids.”
Colby said even in the summer workouts he could see promising talent, but he didn’t know how many of those players would be willing to stay with the program once they understood the demands that would be put upon them.
“To win eight games and go 7-0 in the conference with kids who had never experienced a [varsity] winning season says a lot about our players,” Colby said. “It shows they are coachable and willing to sacrifice and pay the price to be winners. It’s also a great testament for our 16 seniors.”
When Colby hired in, he said his emphasis would be on running the football, using time-consuming drives and stopping foes from doing the same. He also pointed to limiting turnovers and penalties.
Through nine games, the Kats have done just that.
• They have more than doubled opponents in rushing yardage, 2,412-1,170.
• They have held the ball on the average of just over four minutes per game more than their foes.
• They have less penalty yardage, 339-434.
• They have fewer turnovers, 16-27.
Consider all bases touched.
Colby points to the development of his offensive line as the biggest reason for Kokomo’s success. He said the seven-man group of Devin Schacht. Kirby Pavey, Craig Ryan, Shane Reed, Jerell Johnson, Doran Slater and Julian Bellamy were the biggest factor in the Kats’ crucial NCC win over Logansport.
The line, along with the quarterbacking of Taylor Carpenter and blocking of fullback Dylan Green, will likely produce an oddity — having two 1,000-yard rushers.
Senior Justin Patterson has rushed for 1,099 yards and Braxton Shelton, at 962, figures to pass the milestone Friday night. Patterson has also run three kickoffs back for scores (99, 76 and 94 yards) and his 130 points in a season stands No. 2 on Kokomo’s all-time single-season list.
Kokomo’s defense has also delivered, allowing just fewer than 18 points a game. Linebacker Curt Hutchins, who led Kokomo with 100 tackles as a sophomore, has 105. Alston Andrews has been a fierce hitter, logging 92 tackles. Rico Duke (47), Patterson (44) and Jacob Schick (39) have also been consistent defenders.
Kicker Caleb Shockley has contributed as well, hitting two of three field goal attempts and 25 of 30 PATs, while averaging just over 35 yards per punt.
While some might wonder if after winning the NCC, Kokomo is looking past Noblesville for a rematch with Carmel, Colby said that wasn’t the case.
“Our kids were so focused Monday when we looked at film and went over the scouting report,” he said. “And then we had one of the best Tuesday practices we’ve had all season. It would be easy for our kids to say ‘we’ve done enough,’ but they really want to continue the season.”
The Millers lost senior quarterback Sam Swafford to an injury in Week 3 and just got him back last week. He responded by leading his team to a 25-22 overtime win over Harrison. The Millers are 3-0 when Swafford has played the entire game — 1-5 when he hasn’t. The team’s top rusher is 5-8, 160-pound Adam Parker (134 carries for 679 yards).
“They like to spread the field and throw,” Colby said. “Hopefully we can take away the running game and force them to throw. They have a nice quarterback and running back — they’ve looked good on film.”
Noblesville plays in a quality football conference (Hoosier Crossroads), so the 4-5 record isn’t indicative of its talent. And Kokomo players shouldn’t need to be reminded that a year ago, they were eliminated in the sectional opener by a Hoosier Crossroads team that was 0-9.

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