South Vermillion looking to move to over .500

It can be argued that nobody understands what it means to play for the South Vermillion football team more than first year head coach Corey Miller.

Miller was a standout player under head coaches Will Porter and Greg Barrett before playing college football at Saint Mary of the Woods. When he got into coaching, he did so as an assistant under Barrett and now in his first season, has the Wildcats sitting at 2-2 ahead of Friday's contest at Covington. 

"It has been an absolute dream come true to be where I am at right now. If you would have asked me five years ago or even a year ago, if I thought this was where I would be at, I'd say absolutely not. I've just been fortunate to be around bright people who guided and taught me. I couldn't be any more thankful," Miller told The Parke County Post. 

The first year head coach credits Barrett, who left South Vermillion at the end of last year to take over at Terre Haute South, as a main player in his success.

"It's tough to replace the winningest coach in school history. I will be honest, when I got into coaching, it was a weird scenario. My parents ran into him somewhere in Terre Haute and Coach Barrett was saying I should join his staff or my parents said something along those lines. I met with him a month later, and I couldn't be more fortunate having him allow me to come on and then replace him. He's been a massive help because he has really taught me. Filling those shoes is tough. He's built the program up and proven that you can win here. I think for a very long time people thought it was impossible to win, but when you get the right guy and a dire need to win, it comes together. He loves football and he loves his players, and he should be proud for what he did for South Vermillion. I hope to fill those shoes and continue to build the program and continue the winning culture," Miller said.

Last week, South Vermillion shut out rival North Vermillion, 30-0. 

In the win, quarterback Ben Shryock was 18-of-32 for 104 yards and two touchdowns through the air and added another 32 yards and a trip to the endzone on the ground. Colton Robertson had 15 carries for 68 yards and a score, while the Wildcats were paced on defense by Mason Larson, who had 10 total stops. 

Miller acknowledged that, at times, the season has been "tough at times."

"There's things that can't be corrected, and there are things that can be corrected, but it has been a massive lack of experience. Across the board, I think we have four returning starters and they are in completely new positions. West Vigo was a massive win and a must win, in my eyes. We are off to the right track, and we have to continue working. The first four games for us has been to try to find an identity offensively and defensively, and I think we have found our identity now," he said.

And, the first year head coach admits his Wildcats are near where he thought they would be as the team enters the halfway point of the regular season. 

"If you would have asked me if we'd be 2-2 at this point, I don't know what I would tell you. I didn't really think about a number. I thought we had to play hard with great effort and great attitudes. We knew we'd have tough games, but to come out 2-2 with a bunch of freshmen and sophomores, I think we are in a good spot right now considering the injuries and things we've dealt with so far," Miller said. 

The Wildcats will look to move over .500 this week when it travels to Covington, who lost to Fountain Central, 40-12, last week. The Trojans are 3-1 on the season, average 38 points on offense and surrender just under 14 on defense. Miller notes his team will be in for a challenge. 

"Covington is a tough team. They have a lot of tough guys. Their running back and quarterback are very good. They have good receivers. It's always tough to play up at Covington, and those kids play hard. They're going to get after it, play hard and be tough. We have to play as a team with all 11 guys doing the right thing at the right time," Miller said.