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[Southsider2k12]

http://posttrib.suntimes.com/sports/613986...ick-around.html

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.”

[taxthedeer]

http://posttrib.suntimes.com/sports/756737...valparaiso.html

Simms steps into spotlight for Valparaiso
By Tom Wyatt Post-Tribune correspondent September 10, 2011 12:08AM

Updated: September 10, 2011 2:03AM

VALPARAISO — Stephen Simms was not supposed to be the premier running back this season. But on Friday night, Valparaiso had no choice but to put the junior in that role.

With junior running back Andrew Kittridge already out with an injury coming into the game, senior Bryon Duncan, the Vikings’ leading rusher, went down on the sixth play from scrimmage and had to be helped off the field. He was taken away with an undisclosed injury to his right leg.

That left Simms — all 5 feet, 6 inches and 145 pounds of him.

And he was clutch.

Simms carried 27 times for 193 yards and two touchdowns to help lead Valparaiso to a 38-21 Duneland Conference victory over Michigan City, on a night when the Vikings unveiled their new video scoreboard.

“Really, I was a little scared,” Simms said. “But the coaches pumped me up and my teammates pumped me up. I just did the best I could do.”

Simms’ 10-yard dash into the end zone with 7:27 to play in the second quarter gave the Vikings (2-2, 2-0 DAC) a 28-0 lead. It seemed the rout was on, because at that point, Valparaiso was running its offense nearly as efficiently as possible.

Quarterback Paul Andrie, who finished the night with 243 yards passing, completed his first 11 passes, and the Vikings had positive yardage on their first 30 plays. They were cruising.

“Offensively, we did about all we could,” Valparaiso coach Mark Hoffman said.

But then the Wolves woke up. Rashem Bell took the direct snap on a fake punt and sprinted 73 yards for a touchdown to pull Michigan City to within 28-7. After a Valparaiso field goal, the Wolves (1-3, 0-2 DAC) went 88 yards on seven plays, with Joel Hirsch hitting Donovan Wilson for a 24-yard touchdown with 1:22 left in the first half.

That made it 31-14, but then Michigan City’s Anthony Catchings recovered a Simms fumble on the ensuing kickoff and returned it 38 yards for a score. All of a sudden it was 31-21 with 1:07 left in the second quarter.

“We gave up two easy scores and let them back in the ballgame,” Hoffman said.

Michigan City, however, managed just 48 yards of offense in the second half, and the Vikings added an Andrie 1-yard sneak late in the third quarter to stave off any possible Wolves rally.

In addition to Duncan, Valparaiso lost offensive lineman Paul Runyan to injury and linebacker Jake Grossnickle.