Getting ready for some football 

Wayne County football teams are ready to kick off the season with scrimmages and jamborees scheduled for Friday, Aug. 14, and regular-season openers Friday, August 21. 

Centerville, Hagerstown and Richmond all return proven players at the quarterback position to lead them, but there will be several material changes. 

Centerville and Northeastern will begin play as members of the newly formed Eastern Crossroads Conference, with the Bulldogs now classified 3A for postseason play. 

Hagerstown and Lincoln will continue as members of the Tri-Eastern Conference with the Tigers now classified 2A for postseason play. 

For the fourth time in the last seven seasons, Lincoln has a new head coach. 

For the sixth time in the last 10 seasons, Richmond will also have a new head coach. 

Centerville

Head coach: Ryan Cole (5th year)

2025 record: 7-3

Conference: Eastern Crossroads Conference

The Bulldogs, who have been elevated to 3A by the IHSAA, will have several new leaders after graduating 12 seniors last year. The Bulldogs do return junior quarterback Jace Hollendonner who has the arm and running speed to keep them in every game. 

Hollendonner threw for 2,059 yards and 30 touchdowns last season. Only three Indiana high school players across all six enrollment classes threw for more touchdowns last season. Hollendonner also ran for a team-leading 592 yards and six touchdowns. Bryson Brown, who gave up tennis to play football, is athletic enough and quick enough to make an attractive target for Hollendonner. Kyle Dickenson is also a proven receiver.  

The Bulldog defense will be anchored by senior Austyn McGuire who collected 78 tackles last season. Dickenson and Brylan Riggs are also expected to be key contributors. The Bulldogs are known for playing smashmouth football and bringing constant defensive pressure, and that is unlikely to change.

The Bulldogs will travel to Monroe, Indiana, to scrimmage perennial power Adams Central on Friday, Aug. 14. The Bulldogs will host the only two Tri-Eastern Conference teams remaining on their schedule to open their season. 

Winchester will travel to Centerville for a non-conference game on Friday, Aug. 21, and Hagerstown will travel to Centerville for a non-conference game on Friday, Aug. 28. 

The Bulldogs will be assigned to 3A Sectional 30 along with Batesville, Franklin County, Greensburg, Lawrenceburg, New Castle, Rushville and South Dearborn.   

Hagerstown 

Head coach: Scott Snodgrass (16th year)

2025 record 5-7

Conference: Tri-Eastern Conference 

Scott Snodgrass, dean of Tri-Eastern Conference coaches, guided his Tigers to the 1A sectional championship game last season before falling to eventual regional champion South Adams.

The postseason path will be different this season because the Tigers have been elevated to 2A. The Tigers are one of only two Tri-Eastern Conference teams who still have games scheduled with 3A Centerville and 2A Northeastern. Hopefully their regular-season schedule will help prepare them for postseason play. 

The Tigers will look to junior quarterback Graham Vinson, who threw for 1,504 yards and 15 TDs last season, to guide the offensive attack. Vinson will have a stable of sure-handed receivers at his disposal to keep the defense guessing. Arlin Berger, Fletcher Callahan, Jaxon Hale, Ben Hokey, Ty Lieberman, Keith Lumpkin, Nick Tinkle and Landon Thornburg all caught passes last season.  The elusive Vinson also rushed for 438 yards and scored seven TDs. 

Speed merchant Jaxon Hale is also an effective runner. Hale ran for 337 yards and five TDs last season. Keegan Rue and Tinkle will also carry the ball more. Sophomore Lincoln Small, the leading ground gainer last season with 918 yards and 10 TDs, will start the season on the bench recovering from off-season surgery with a yet-to-be determined return date. 

The offensive and defense lines will not be huge, but they will be quick and hard to block and are a veteran group.   

The Tigers will travel to Eastern Hancock on Friday, Aug. 14, for a scrimmage game before opening their regular season with a road game at Knightstown on Friday, Aug. 21.  

The Tigers will be assigned to 2A Sectional 36 along with Alexandria, Blackford, Frankton, Lapel, Northeastern, Shenandoah and Winchester. 

Lincoln 

Head coach: Chad Bowman (1st year)

2025 record 0-10

Conference: Tri-Eastern Conference 

Chad Bowman will take over as the head coach with an objective to grow his roster and make his Eagles more competitive. The Eagles graduated seven seniors last year, including four-year players Braxton Dick and Dustin Lunsford, but they also expect to return at least 15 players who saw some varsity action last season. If they all return, it will be a good number to start the rebuilding process. 

The first order of business will be to identify a quarterback. Senior Wyatt Gray is the only returning Eagle who has played the QB position before this year and he only attempted four passes. The defense will also need to be more efficient. The Eagles surrendered nearly 73 points per game last season.  

The players are working to earn playing time in practice and at this point the team that will end up on the field is unknown.    

The Eagles have also retooled their schedule to play teams of comparable enrollment size. Centerville has been replaced by the Indianapolis Crimson Knights and Northeastern has been replaced by Christel House. 

The Eagles will travel to Union City on Friday, Aug. 14, to take part in a jamboree before hosting the Crimson Knights in their regular-season opener on Friday, Aug. 21. 

The Eagles will be assigned to 1A Sectional 45 along with Indianapolis Tindley, Knightstown, Monroe Central, Tri, Union City and Wes-Del 

Northeastern 

Head coach: Wes Oler (8th year)

2025 record 9-2

Conference: Eastern Crossroads Conference  

After winning the Tri-Eastern Conference in their last year in the league the Knights will begin this season in the newly formed Eastern Crossroads Conference.

The Knights have used a nearly impenetrable defense and a fast-paced offense to dominate opponents over the last two seasons. They still have speed to burn. Senior Trent Deloney, who caught 41 passes for 939 yards, including nine touchdown passes a year ago, and senior Quanell Denton, who caught 23 passes for 598 yards and seven TDs, both return along with junior Caden Retter, who caught seven TD passes.

The only question is who will throw them the ball. Marshall Phillips, who threw for 2,224 yards last season, graduated. The quarterback job is up for grabs. Jarrett Leitner might be the early front-runner for the job. If coach Oler finds the right guy, the Knights will be competitive in their new league, where defending regional champion Lapel is the early favorite to win the league title. 

The defense remains strong. Deloney and Denton combined to intercept nine passes and leading tacklers Gavin Platt and Gavin Harrison, who combined for nearly 21 tackles per game, will also return. 

The Knights will take part in a jamboree at North Decatur on Friday, Aug. 14, before hosting Eastern Hancock in their regular-season opener on Friday, Aug. 21, in a game played on Earlham College’s campus. 

The Knights will be assigned to 2A Sectional 36 along with Alexandria, Blackford, Frankton, Hagerstown, Lapel, Shenandoah and Winchester. 

Richmond

Head coach: Ronnie Hibbler (1st year)

2025 record 3-7

Conference: North Central Conference 

Ronnie Hibbler is the new head coach, and he brings 15 years of coaching experience to the role, including serving as an assistant coach with the Red Devils last season. The Devils won three games last year, their most in six years, and Hibbler hopes to increase that number. 

Senior Thomas Stargell, who threw for 1,136 yards and 12 touchdowns, and rushed for six more, returns to lead the offense.

Senior Deandre Street, who caught 17 passes for 263 yards and two touchdowns last season, and junior Syn’cere Russell, who caught 11 passes for 227 yards and three touchdowns, are likely targets.

Junior Tyziyah Stubbs, who averaged seven yards per carry while gaining 509 yards and scoring six touchdowns last season, will likely be the featured back in the Red Devil offensive attack. 

The Red Devils will also have a veteran defense. Junior Maurice Hibbler, who led the Devils in tackles last season with 94 and had two fumble recoveries, returns along with senior Jayvonne Burdette (48), junior Kylin Cooper (40), senior Daniel Gammage (33), senior Adalah Belcher (31) and Stubbs (28).  

If Richmond is to contend for the North Central Conference title, Lafayette Jefferson will be its biggest hurdle. 

Richmond will play a scrimmage game at Jay County on Friday, Aug. 14, and then open regular-season play on Friday, Aug. 21, with a road trip to play longtime rival and potential sectional opponent Connersville.  

The Red Devils will be assigned to the 4A Sectional 22 along with Beech Grove, Connersville, Greenwood, Indianapolis Attucks, Indianapolis Roncalli, Martinsville and Mooresville.