As Owen Valley’s football team looks to begin a revival under new coach Troy Burgess, he needs a team of multi-taskers.
It’s something seniors Tye Voss and Jake Heidrick have been used to for the past two seasons while bringing 20 games worth of varsity experience on offense, defense and special teams to the table. They’ve got one more duty on their plate in 2026.
“We vote for captains, the players and coaches,” Burgess said. “We have five, two seniors and three juniors, and those two are our senior captains. It says a lot right there about what their teammates think of them and the type of leaders they’ve been in the offseason, in the weight room and the type of leaders they’ve been out here in the summer.
“They’re going to play big roles for us. They’re both very athletic and very strong. They’re not going to get much rest. They’ll play big parts on both sides of the ball.”
Heidrick was busy last year, leading the team in rushing (114 carries for 471 yards, five touchdowns) while catching nine passes. On defense, he was the second-leading tackler (57) and picked off a pass. He also returned kickoffs and punts.
Voss was more focused on the defensive side as a rush end, leading the team in tackles (60) and upping his sack (4½) and TFL (6½) numbers while recording 15 quarterback hurries and falling on three fumbles.
As sophomores, they were two of the few players who made it through all 10 games unscathed around a rash of injuries to their teammates. Voss had 66 tackles and two fumble recoveries. They’ve covered a lot of ground while playing at several positions.
At the same time, Owen Valley was just 2-18 over that stretch.
“The experience is kind of a two-sided coin there,” Burgess said. “It’s great that they’ve gotten a lot of playing time. It’s not so great that a lot of that playing time has not seen a lot of success.
“They’ve played a lot of different positions, and I think that has made the transition into our offense and defense a little easier because I think their football IQ is better.”
The duo will have plenty of company as two-way starters this year, especially early as OV works on improving its depth. Keeping them healthy through nine games is important, but it’s tough to ever think about taking them and about a half-dozen others off the field with the game in doubt.
And this is the year for them to erase the doubt of the past two seasons and bring a little more muscle to the fight.
“They believe,” Burgess said. “They bought in 100%. They both like what we’re doing. And they can use what happened in past as fuel maybe. It’s driven them every day to get better and better.”
Owen Valley overview
HEAD COACH: Troy Burgess, 33-9 in fifth year at Owen Valley (1998-2001); 121-92 in 21st year overall. LAST SEASON: 2-8, 1-4 Western Indiana Conference. SECTIONAL: Class 3A 31 (Edgewood, Indian Creek, Scottsburg, Sullivan, Vincennes Lincoln, Washington).
RETURNING STARTERS: Parker Phillippe, Jr. QB/DB; Parker Greene, Jr. FB/ILB; Jake Heidrick, Sr. TB/DB; Cam Kay, Jr. SE/DB; Tye Voss, Sr. TE/DE; Ethan Wright, Sr. C; Gavin Pardue, Jr. G/DT; Mike Mascoe, Jr. G/DT; Max Hamm, Jr. OT; Braddock Nickless, Sr. DE; Ethan Murray, Jr. DB.
OUTLOOK: The Patriots are looking to reset under a veteran coach with plenty of connections to OV’s past and present and will lean on the experience and leadership of their older players who have taken some lumps the past two seasons. “We have seven seniors, and four of them, their dad, their uncle played for me, or I coaches with someone’s grandpa,” Burgess said, “so there’s a little bit of history with them, so they knew who I was coming in, and I think that was a benefit to me. I wasn’t coming in trying to sell something on my own. And I think this group is hungry. They’ve had a rough couple of years, and I think they’re hungry for some success. It was an easy buy-in with this senior group.” Burgess was able to get a head start in the weight room last spring after his hire, and he’s hoping that work will make a big difference, especially in the trenches. “I just think the physical maturity that happens between your sophomore and junior year and your junior and senior year,” Burgess said. “You start to physically mature, and when you’re in the weight room working the way they have, you start to see some differences. It does a lot for your confidence.” Between now and Week 10, finding a bit more depth to spell several two-way starters will be key. “We’ve got to find three or four more guys between now and the tournament,” Burgess said. “If they’re not a starter, then they are 1A. We can’t do the thing we want to do with 15 guys.”
OFFENSE: Burgess’ tried and true emphasis on the run game will not change. “It’s no secret what we’ll do to anybody who’s been around,” he said. “They know that we’re going to run the football. Everything starts with the running game. We’ve stressed that since Day 1.” Running the show again is Phillippe (6-0, 185) at QB, with Greene and Heidrick running the ball, spelled by sophomore Walker LaGrange. “(Phillippe) had a great summer,” Burgess said. “He’s not a little guy. We ran 40s, and he’s in our top three, so he’s athletic. For him, he understands in this offense; we’re not asking him to win football games. We’re going to line up and run, so be a leader and get guys in the right spots. Take what the defense gives you and make plays when called upon.” It helps that OV returns four starters on the line in Wright (250), Pardue (285), Mascoe (295) and Hamm (260). Senior Kolby Lester (330) and junior Eli Wood (240) will rotate at the other tackle spot. “It’s huge,” Burgess said. “They got a lot of reps in those positions, but they’ve had to learn a new system. They’ve had to learn to put their hand on the ground. They did a lot of stuff out of two-point stance, which we don’t do.” Passing targets include Voss at tight end, Kay at split end, junior Kelice Leger and Murray at wide out, with freshmen Noah Hobbs and Exander Huffstutler also looking for reps. Burgess is trying out a pair of soccer players to fill the kickoff/placekicking duties.
DEFENSE: A lot of the same names will populate the defense for coordinator Duane Potts with Voss and Nickless as ends and Mascoe and Pardue inside. Sophomore Bentley Kelley is athletic enough to spell both spots. Greene and LaGrange are the inside backers with Leger outside. Senior Brendyn Griffey will back them up. Heidrick, Key, Murray and Phillippe form the secondary with Hobbs and Huffstutler backing them up along with Chuck Burkett, the backup QB. Fundamentals have been harped upon. “The thing that we have really stressed all summer, is we have to become better tacklers,” Burgess said. “You watch film last year, and not a knock on anybody, we just didn’t tackle very well. Part of that was lack of size, lack of experience, lack of age, all those things that go with playing young guys.”
SCHEDULE: Aug. 21 Brown County, 7 p.m.; Aug. 28 at Southmont, 7 p.m.; Sept. 4 Cloverdale, 7 p.m.; *Sept. 11 at Edgewood, 7 p.m.; *Sept. 18 Northview, 7 p.m.; *Sept. 25 at Sullivan, 7 p.m.; *Oct. 2 West Vigo, 7 p.m.; *Oct. 9 South Putnam, 7 p.m. *Oct. 16 Vincennes Lincoln, 7 p.m. *-Western Indiana Conference game.
This article originally appeared on The Herald-Times: Owen Valley football reboot will be powered by 2-way starters
Reporting by Jim Gordillo, The Herald-Times / The Herald-Times
USA TODAY Network via Reuters Connect
By Jim Gordillo, The Herald-Times | USA TODAY Network
