When it comes to Braxton Carpenter, the Edgewood football team is looking to do more with less.
The senior is the kind of player it’s hard not to overwork, given the multiple positions that now 185-pounder could play.
Two years ago, Carpenter was already on a bad knee late in the season when he had to step in as the emergency starter at quarterback for the sectional opener at Indian Creek. Moved to the tailback role last year, he ran for 921 yards, with five 100-yard games, and seven touchdowns while helping where he could on defense and special teams.
Defensive coordinator Dave Whittemore would love to put Carpenter to work, but the back’s legs will be most valuable this year in powering Edgewood’s offense and making things tough on opposing linebackers and safeties.
“He’s never been a guy afraid to tackle someone,” Edgewood coach Scott Fischer said. “Dave wants him to play more on defense, Carp wants to play more on defense. But I think when he carries the ball 25-30 times a game, he’s going to realize I do need to keep my legs fresh and recover. But he will play some.”
Carpenter, a backup outside linebacker, has been hard-nosed since his first varsity snap, and that’s the way he runs. Having him focus on a singular job is paying off.
“You can just see, he’s very confident,” Fisher said. “He’s running the ball extremely well. He’s reading his cuts better. We’re getting him a lot more time at running back.
“He’s always been the backup quarterback, so he’s had to do a lot of quarterback stuff, and we’re trying to get him more time with the running backs so he can see his holes, read his keys, those kinds of things. So we’re looking for great things from him this year.”
Edgewood has high hopes coming off a 5-4 season, its best since 2019. Carpenter and the offense are looking for more consistency and balance this year, and a strong run game would go a long way to spell the defense and set up Braylon Linerode and air game.
“It’s just believing in themselves,” Fischer said. “They’ve got a ton of confidence. They big, pretty strong, fast. They’ve got the ability to dominate a football game.
“When they all started as sophomores, they could play with some teams, and there were teams they were just overwhelmed by physicality. That’s not going to be the case.”
Not if Carpenter has anything to do with it.
“He’s an absolute warrior,” Fischer said. “If you had to go into an alley and get in a street fight, he’d be the first guy you’d want to take with you into the alley.
“He’s a competitive kid, and his biggest thing is he expects so much from himself that when he does things wrong, he gets down on himself a little bit. But it’s that same mentality: go on to the next play, go to the next day, and keep believing in yourself. Because he’s a warrior.”
Edgewood overview
HEAD COACH: Scott Fischer, 9-20 in fourth year at Edgewood; 26-65 in 10th year overall. LAST SEASON: 5-4, 3-2 Western Indiana Conference. SECTIONAL: Class 3A 31 (Indian Creek, Owen Valley, Scottsburg, Sullivan, Vincennes Lincoln, Washington).
RETURNING STARTERS: Braylon Linerode, Sr. QB; Braxton Carpenter, Sr. RB/LB; Lincoln Getts, Sr. OT/DE; Corbin Mobley, Sr. C; Maddox Beauchamp, Sr. OL/DE; Toby Connors, Jr. TE/MLB; Kade Gilchrist, Sr. K/P; Rowan Heitink, Jr. MLB; Evan Enghauser, Sr. OLB; Dylan Wickens, Sr. TE/OLB.
OUTLOOK: Fischer is sending off his first group of freshmen this year, and it’s gone by fast, but they’ve raised the ground floor for the Mustangs program heading into this season. The schedule is a bit tougher than last, but they’re prepared for it after being the first to embrace the new system. “Their buy-in was really the key,” Fischer said. “For the most part, they’ve done everything we’ve asked them to do. They’ve revamped our track program, so they’ve really changed two programs. I can’t say enough about the impact they’ve had. They’re a great group of kids. A real joy to coach.” And see get bigger and more athletic. “The kids are just so different than they were last year,” Fischer said. “Getts was playing at around 235, and he’s 265 now. If we go forward and don’t look back, I think we’ll be pretty good.” And that’s what all that work over the past three years is leading toward. “It’s easily the deepest two-deep we’ve had,” Fischer said. “Our numbers are down a little bit to about 50, but the reality is, I think it’s the right 50. Every kid is bought in.”
OFFENSE: Getting the rugged Carpenter going on the ground will be the focus this year behind a front line with three starters back in the 287-pound Mobley (moving to center), Getts (who has an offer from Indiana State) and Beauchamp. They’re joined by junior Kaleb Moore (265) and senior Chance Banks (265) at the guard spots. Junior slot receiver Eli Lirot (192) and junior Jaden Lucas (190) bring good size as backup running backs. Meanwhile, Linerode (76-157-10-984, 16 TDs) has plenty of deep-ball threats, including junior William Hosey (7 catches, 192 yards), who posted a 10.84 in the 100 during track season, and seniors Noah Cosby and Jake Scherschel. “(Linerode) has got a better command of the offense and what we’re trying to do in the RPO passing game,” Fischer said. “He’s starting to feel more comfortable after he sort of got thrown to the wolves last year.” Connors will play tight end. Gilchrist will add punting to his kicking duties.
DEFENSE: Heitink (97 tackles) and Getts (74 tackles, 9 sacks, 12 TFLs) lead a crew loaded with experience and talent. Beauchamp and Getts are at the ends and are joined by senior DT Rylan Kinney (220) up front. The backers all return in Heitink and Connors in the middle and Enghauser (53 tackles, 5 TFLs, 2 INTs) and Wickens (61 tackles) at the outside spots. “Given the experience, they just look confident and look faster on their reads,” Fischer said. “I think we’ve done a good job all summer of shutting down the run and making that difficult to do. And then when we get teams into down and distance situations, having Getts and Beauchamp on either side is a pretty good luxury to have.” The secondary is a work in progress with Scherschel, senior Gibson Bell and senior Kit Collier at the corners and Lucas and Lirot at the safeties. Hosey will sack them up and also looking for time are junior Zaven Johnson (CB) and senior Noah Dobbs. “We’ve got some length back there, and they run pretty well,” Fischer said. “It’s just making sure they’re communicating and playing together as a unit. They’ve played a lot of football, but they haven’t played as starters.”
SCHEDULE: Aug. 21 Springs Valley, 7 p.m.; Aug. 28 at Beech Grove, 7 p.m.; *Sept. 4 at South Putnam, 7 p.m.; *Sept. 11 Owen Valley, 7 p.m.; *Sept. 18 West Vigo, 7 p.m.; *Sept. 25 at Vincennes Lincoln, 7 p.m.; *Oct. 2 at Sullivan, 7 p.m.; *Oct. 9 vs Northview, 7 p.m.;* Oct. 16 at Indianapolis Scecina, 7 p.m. (at Beech Grove). *-Western Indiana Conference game.
This article originally appeared on The Herald-Times: Senior class ready to have a special year for Edgewood football
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
