Greencastle looks to end regular season on a high note

As the 2026 high school football regular season concludes, Greencastle head coach Dave Stephens sees his team heading in the right direction.

After opening the season 1-4, the Tiger Cubs find themselves at 3-5 heading into Friday's Week Nine contest against Southmont. 

"We are at a point where we have to maximize our potential. Our young guys have grown a little bit, and they've managed some injuries and are getting to where we expected. We are never satisfied and want more, but our growth process is great. We are a completely different team than week one. This is the time of the year we taper down in our practices. We try to save our legs, we hit a lot less and we end a half hour earlier. We want to be fast and quick, but everyone is beat up. We want to save the wear and tear so that when the playoffs start, we play our best. We will see how it bodes for us," Stephens told The Putnam County Post. 

Perhaps, most importantly, Greencastle enters the Senior Night clash fresh off a 44-26 win over Crawfordsville. 

In the win, quarterback Cole Stephens threw for 239 yards and rushed 19 times for 198 yards and three touchdowns. 

"It was a complete, team effort. The first half they gave us some stuff through the air, and we were able to pass the ball a little bit. They made an adjustment. We were up 30-6 and looking to get to a running clock situation, but in the second half, we had some turnovers and they kept coming back. We had a 15 point lead and were trying to play complementary football, and I feel like our offensive line really cemented the game for us. We sometimes get a bad rap for our toughness and how we play, but seeing the way our offensive line played—with two freshmen and a sophomore—that game was won by how our offensive line established dominance. A lot of credit goes to the toughness of our offensive line, which gave us a chance to win," Stephens said. 

The fourth year head coach said he is pleased with how his offensive line has improved during the season. 

"It was nice to be in a situation where the ultimate litmus test is when you need it, can you pass when you need to and can you run when you need to. Our defense was reeling a little, and we needed to salt the clock, possess the football and click off first downs. Those young guys did that. It starts with our two seniors, Ayden Deno and Grayson Linneweber, really do a good job for us in setting the tone. Adam Caste is our sophomore center, and then you've got freshmen Easton Dunigan and Blake Hamblet. We ask a lot of those guys, especially Blake, as the blindside blocker for Cole. Our young guys are good football players, and the Greencastle offensive line is in good hands if they keep maturing and growing," Stephens said. 

Having won two of its last three, Stephens is optimistic Greencastle can close out the regular season on a high note against Southmont. 

"It is another one of those games where we are going up against a heavy run team. I have a lot of respect for Coach Hannum and what he has done, over 100 wins in his career. We expect a heavy dose of that fullback. They have some size on that backend that you don't always see in Class 2A. We will have some challenges there. Last year's game, we were up 42-41 in the fourth quarter and it ends up being 62-42 for a final score. We feel like they only had two losses last year against Cascade and Andrean, and we feel like we let them off the hook. We had a lot of mental errors and didn't close out that fourth quarter. We didn't finish the fight, and our guys are real excited to get back after it. They are a four win team, reeling themselves with three straight losses. It's senior night for us, and it could be our final night at home," Stephens said. 

To secure a win, Stephens said Greencastle must play with toughness and discipline. 

"We have to be the toughest team out there. We have to have 11 playing as one, do things to put ourselves in a spot to not beat ourselves, take care of the football and put ourselves in a spot to win the game. If we do those things and do it for more plays than Southmont, we will have a chance to win. This is a chance where our guys can come out successful, if we do things the right way," Stephens said.