2011-2012 Official Wolves football thread |
2011-2012 Official Wolves football thread |
Jun 27 2011, 07:58 AM
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Spends WAY too much time at CBTL Group: Admin Posts: 16,460 Joined: 8-December 06 From: Michigan City, IN Member No.: 2 |
http://posttrib.suntimes.com/sports/613986...ick-around.html
QUOTE Stop me if you’ve heard this one before. New football coach at Michigan City. Really excited about the gig. Sees unlimited potential in the “sleeping giant.” Plans to stick around and really build something at Ames Field. Sound familiar? Craig Buzea said all that in 2007 when he stunned Portage by leaving for the downtrodden Wolves. After three years and some significant progress, he left for Homewood-Flossmoor, and the program once again was in tatters. Eric Schreiber said all that last summer when he took over for Buzea. One season and one win later, he left to take the top job at Hammond High. Enter Michael Karpinski, Michigan City’s new head coach, who was approved last week by the school board. He’s really excited about the gig. He sees unlimited potential in the “sleeping giant.” He plans to stick around and really build something at Ames Field. And he means it. Honest. “I’m excited to add some stability,” he said. “I’m not planning on going anywhere. By no means am I looking at this as a stepping stone. I’m looking to build something here. I understand people have heard that before, but you don’t understand — my wife will kill me if we move again.” Indeed, Karpinski’s no nomad. He’s no football mercenary. Heck, he only went after this job because he lost his teaching job at Franklin Central during a reduction-in-force that gutted the school district. The 43-year-old spent the last eight years coaching at Franklin Central — a former powerhouse that won four state championships between 1980 and 1990, but has fallen on hard times lately. After six years as an assistant, he was the head coach the past two years, going 7-13 with a pair of close losses in sectional openers. Before that, Karpinski coached for six years at the University of Indianapolis, where he wound up after playing cornerback at Hillsdale College. Hillsdale is about 90 miles from his hometown of Hastings, Mich., where he was a high school quarterback. Moving to Michigan City brings him much closer to home — and gives him a teaching job and an exciting opportunity. “I just feel real blessed to be right here,” he said. The Wolves can only hope he sticks around and helps the moribund program (no conference or sectional titles since Rogers and Elston were consolidated in 1995) realize the potential it briefly showed under Buzea. After just four practices, Karpinski has been particularly impressed with the enthusiasm the players have for the game, for him and for his new system. It’s easy to assume that the Wolves would be jaded and cynical while dealing with yet another new coach making the same old promises. But Karpinski was thrilled to find that they’re not like that at all. “I sure haven’t noticed it,” he said. “They sure haven’t shown it if that’s the case. They’ve been working their tails off and have done everything I’ve asked of them. I’ve come in with a lot of enthusiasm, and they seem to have responded.” Karpinski made a good impression with his first practice. Rather than the usual morning workout, he brought his team to Ames Field — probably the coolest football stadium in the region — under the lights on Monday night. And while it took more than a half hour just to teach the kids how to warm up and break the huddle — “baby steps,” Karpinski said — things quickly came together. He introduced the players to his offense — a traditional power-I. Not as complicated as Buzea’s multiple-set spread offense, not as one-dimensional as Schreiber’s option. “It’s basic football,” Karpinski said. “In today’s game, it seems like a lot of coaches try to get too cute. We’re going to come out and run the football, be physical, and we’re really going to stress blocking and tackling — shoot, that’s usually what it comes down to. We’re going to play power football, fire off the ball and really be physical out there.” Karpinski insisted he’s not daunted by the enormity of the task, trying to wake up the sleeping giant. But he’s got his work cut out for him. The football program always has taken a backseat to basketball. And the relentless losing has made it even tougher to convince kids to come out for the team. Karpinski said he’s ready for all of that. He also said he’s not intimidated by the meatgrinder that is the Duneland Conference, a brutal schedule that makes rebuilding difficult — and painful. He knows the drill; at Franklin Central, he played state powers Lawrence Central, Pike and Columbus North every year. “I just know it’s an unbelievable conference, and I’m excited,” Karpinski said. “I’m ready for the challenge.” Heard that before, too, right? Every coach has said that. But the hard truth is nobody in the 16-year history of Michigan City High School has proven to be up to that challenge. Not for any extended period of time, at least. Will Karpinski be any different? He sure seems to think so. But, of course, it’s too early for anyone to tell. He won’t really get a feel for how well his new players can handle his system until they put on the pads in August. And the Wolves won’t really get a feel for Karpinski until they sweat their way through those two-a-days. But Karpinski feels good about what he has. And while he knows these kids and this community have been burned before, he hopes the feeling is mutual. “Kids are the same all over,” he said. “I think these kids are really looking for someone to step up and lead and fight for them. And I’m that guy.” |
Aug 15 2011, 03:40 PM
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Really Comfortable Group: Members Posts: 2,006 Joined: 6-July 09 From: In Front of a computer screen Member No.: 929 |
http://heraldargus.com/articles/2011/08/13...2f381578155.txt
QUOTE Wolves moving forward under new head coach By Adam Parkhouse Staff Writer 1-866-362-2167, Ext. 13869 sports@heraldargus.com Published: Saturday, August 13, 2011 5:06 PM CDT MICHIGAN CITY —With a first-year coach and a program coming off a rough season, the focus for Michigan City football is just improving from week to week. Those who were in attendance at both last week’s Blue-Grey Scrimmage and Friday’s scrimmage with New Prairie would probably agree that’s the case. “I think we got better this week,” Karpinski said. “We came here and took care of the ball better and our (No.) 1s did a great job against their (No.) 1s.” In first-team-on-first-team action, Michigan City held a 7-5 touchdown edge, though official score wasn’t kept. In the first set of plays (15 snaps from your own 35-yard line) Michigan City scored just once on a 14-yard touchdown run from Rashem Bell. However, that set did end with a pretty, 30-yard pass play that started with a great throw from senior quarterback Joel Hirsch. “He threw some really good passes,” Karpinski said. “Our offensive line has gotta get better, but I thought he played fantastic.” On New Prairie’s corresponding set, City’s defense was on lockdown mode against the Cougars’ vaunted option attack. New Prairie had three turnovers on downs and crossed midfield just once. “They’re a good football team,” Karpinski said of the Cougars. “They’re well-coached and run that option well. It’s tough to stop.” The next set was 10 plays from your opponent’s 10-yard line, and City did good work on the ground. Freshman Ryan Washington lined up under center during this set, but it was Karpinski’s stable of running backs that stood out. Bell scored from 6 yards out before James Washington and Ryan Jones scored on back-to-back plays from 10 yards. Two plays later, Jones made it three touchdowns on four plays after a 16-yard score following a sack of Washington. “There’s no question, those guys can go the distance every time they touch it,” Karpinski said of his running backs. “That makes it easier when it comes to playcalling.” In the 10 plays, Washington — the younger brother of Rodney Washington, who was City’s QB for the last two years — was “sacked” three times and threw an incomplete pass. Technically, no QB was sacked all night as referees blew the play dead whenever the QB was in danger. New Prairie also found the end zone frequently in their “goalline” set, scoring three times. Quarterback Cody Carlisle scored on a keeper and also threw a touchdown pass. The final set for the first team consisted of 12 plays from the opponent’s 35-yard line, and each team found paydirt twice. For City, Scott Kaletha scored from 23 yards out and Hirsch also scored on a QB keeper on the goalline. “Now we’ll watch film,” Karpinski said. “This will be their first opportunity to see the things we’ve been telling them, and film don’t lie.” Overall, with next Friday’s season opener at home against Gary Roosevelt looming, Karpinski is happy with where things stand. “No question, we’re right on schedule,” he said. “We’re nowhere near 100 percent, but we’re maybe at 70 percent of our potential and that’s a credit to these kids. “I can’t say enough about the kids. They’ve done everything we’ve asked them to do.” |
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