North Vermillion looks for fresh start in 2026

After a season where wins and participants were hard to come by, the North Vermillion Falcons enter the 2026 campaign focused on redeeming themselves and avenging last year's 0-10 season.

And, the Wabash River Conference member will do it with a new coach, as Nate Crum replaces Brian Crabtree, who took over at West Vigo. Crum is no stranger to the sidelines, as he spent 22 years as an assistant and defensive coordinator at North Montgomery and hit the ground running at North Vermillion. 

"We have had a great offseason with players turning out in the weight room and for practices. I believe the players want to redeem themselves but we have not made a lot of last year. We have just focused on moving forward and doing the best we can for the upcoming season," Crum told The Parke County Post. 

Crum has the task of trying to find replacements for the likes of Shawn Martin, Bradley Cope, Andre Buchhaas and Aden Rangel, all of whom did a lot for the Falcons last season, according to the first year coach. 

With that said, North Vermillion will benefit from having so many young players who had to step up and play quality minutes last season. 

"We were so young last year that we had a lot of players that played some significant minutes in significant positions. We will look for most of those players to expand their roles and take another step in their maturation as a football player. One thing I have been very happy with has been the leadership of our seniors so far this summer. Bradyn Uplinger, Joe Bennett, Xander Holt, Caleb Mitton and Parker Graves have really led by example," Crum said. 

With the moratorium behind them, the Falcons will look to continue to learn both the offense and defense ahead of the season opener Aug. 21 against North Central (Farmersburg). And, Crum is urging his team to understand that growing pains will happen along the way. 

"We need to have patience and make sure that we understand the goal is not to be our best in June but in October. That means we need to get all the growing pains out now and be ok with it. We are excited to see these players in action. We feel that they have grown this offseason and are going to be ready to compete," Crum said.