SYRACUSE — A new regime has begun at Wawasee, even though most of the players are returnees. Following head coach Tom Wogomon’s departure to Northern Lakes Conference rival Northridge, the Wawasee High School football team was turned over to former offensive line coach Joshua Ekovich. Serving two years as a Wawasee assistant coach, the 28-year-old Ekovich is noticing some changes in his new role as the head coach. “Just the management side of it,” he said about his initial reaction to his new gig. “Usually, I was so focused on the offensive line and offense, but now I have to set up the practices and make sure everything is running smooth. That’s the biggest difference.” Luckily for him, he doesn’t have to break in a lot of new guys. Returning 20 lettermen from last year’s 7-5 squad that won five-straight games before bowing out at the sectional semifinal against Concord, the Warriors aren’t a reclamation project. “Due to injuries last year, as well as position moves, a lot of kids got a lot of playing time,” Ekovich said. “That’s really great, because the kids won’t have that first Friday night shock. If we were to throw in a kid that got playing time last year, we’d expect him to not worry about the lights, crowd, band and the whole atmosphere of a Friday night. They can focus more on their job.” Along with getting time on the field, the guys also gained confidence after shaking off a 2-4 start, which hit a low with a 53-14 loss at Plymouth, but also ignited the strong finish. Based on the positive ending to the 2012 campaign, the Warriors have something to build on. “The group has a lot of confidence in itself, a lot of confidence in their abilities,” Ekovich said. “With that said, they’re not cocky. They still have a chip on their shoulder, because, as everyone knows, Wawasee isn’t exactly a football powerhouse. It’s something we’ll strive to be.” If the team’s to be a power this year, it will most likely be based on the success of junior quarterback Gage Reinhard. With Reinhard earning the starting position in Week 3 of last year, the Wawasee offense was forced to transition from a running scheme, to more of a passing attack. After a couple weeks to work out the kinks, things began to pick up for Reinhard, who finished the year with 1,328 passing yards and 13 touchdowns. A three-sport athlete, Reinhard has to be judicious with his time, which limited his football training, but Ekovich believes he got enough in this summer to be improved. “He’s a three-sport athlete, so throughout the summer, you don’t get the kid like some schools,” he said. “At some schools, a kid may just play football. There’s not too many 4A kids that play three sports. So, he didn’t get that much of a chance to get in the gym and throw. “We did do more seven-on-seven drills than we have in the past,” continued Ekovich. “We went up to New Prairie, Fairfield and then went against Goshen and Jimtown in early July. So, he was able to gain confidence, without having the stress of having to rush it this fall.” Helping to alleviate any stress will be junior wide receiver Clayton Cook. When the offense became more pass-friendly, Cook took off, catching 40 passes for 782 yards and 11 scores in 2012. With the duo back on the field this year, Ekovich is looking for the numbers of the Reinhard and Cook combo to continue to look good. “The biggest thing is for us to grow off the offense we developed last year,” he said. “We need to build off the success we had and the skill set they naturally have, then fine tune those skills. “Back then, they were forced to use just their God-given abilities to help us win games,” he added. “Now, they have to be more of leaders. They have to be more vocal and they’re going to be asked to do a little more than they have in the past.” Gone from last year’s team is leading rusher Derrick Sorensen, and there’s no one guy that will be helping keep the pass rush honest this season. “Right now, it’s by committee,” Ekovich said of his running back situation. “We have a unique set of backs that each have their own talents. It comes down to personnel groupings and the play (called). We have (senior) Brandin McCulloch moved back from wide receiver. (Senior) Braxtin O’Haver was a tight end last year, but when we got rid of the tight end, we moved him to the slot, but now he’s back in our fullback position. We also have another big back in (junior) Dominik Sanderson. I expect him to have quite a few touches. “(Junior) Nic Wilson and (junior) Mylon Betts are our returning rushers, for a total of about 35 yards a piece,” he added. “So, if you want to give the award to the returning rusher, it’d be Nic Wilson, because he had the most yards per carry.” Along the offensive line, the Warriors will be relying on a versatile group, led by (senior) Ronald Vardaman, (senior) Ryan Crosley and (junior) Nate Prescott, all of whom have experience. “We don’t have guys that are just a tackle or just a center,” Ekovich said. “They’re all able to play every single position. That is very nice, because, right now we’re starting to find out where to put people, but we can also move guys around.” On defense, the linebackers and secondary will need to carry the load, until the line finds its footing. “Our line is the most inexperienced (defensive unit), so I’d say our back seven will be our strength,” Ekovich said. “Everyone in our back seven started at least one game last year. (Junior) Kurtis Liston came in last year and took over for Sorensen at corner, against Plymouth and Concord. Nic Wilson is another kid that came in and started against Plymouth. We all know what Plymouth looked like, but it’s all about getting experience. It takes away that first game rush. “I think it all starts with Braxtin O’Haver (middle linebacker), (senior) Austin Lutz (safety) and Brandin McCulloch (safety),” he added. “With those three, they’re very knowledgeable. They don’t need to keep learning right now, they just need to keep getting better as football players.” The team voted O’Haver, Lutz, Crosley, Vardaman and Reinhard as team captains, but O’Haver has been standing out amongst the group. “They’ve all done a good job, but Braxtin O’Haver is beginning to become a little more vocal and challenging guys a little more,” Ekovich said. “He’s one of those guys that really works hard, so he expects everyone else to work hard.” In leading the team, the captains and coaching staff are working to make sure they don’t underestimate any opponent, beginning at home Aug. 23 against Whitko. “If we don’t take it game by game, it may overwhelm us,” Ekovich said. “We’ll get too overwhelmed if we start to think, ‘Oh man, we’re going to play St. Joe in Week 2.’ We'll overlook Whitko (if we do that). So, I’m just focused on Whitko.” Following the two non-conference games, the Warriors open the NLC season Sept. 6 against their former coach at Northridge, which will be the start of a challenging campaign. “Goshen has a ton of skill guys, Memorial – you never know, because we’ve never played Memorial well,” Ekovich said when describing the conference. “The NLC is always good. NorthWood’s NorthWood, so you have to take it game by game. I feel the NLC is getting a little better.” In helping his team get better as well, Ekovich has instituted a different practice routine, which has no time for water breaks. “I think, the kids are buying in to constant effort,” he said. “When transitioning from group to group, it’s just getting that sprint in, so we can limit our conditioning. “My philosophy is, we shouldn’t have to condition if we’re not giving breaks,” Ekovich added. “You can still get water during a practice to stay hydrated without breaks, so that will take away from wasted time. That way, we can work more on skill than conditioning.” With practice being just one of the changes Ekovich is making with the Wawasee program, Warrior fans are hoping it correlates into continued success.
