SOUTH WHITLEY - In the words of third-year Whitko High School football coach Wayne Swender, there's no substitute for hard work.
Hard work in the offseason, as well as during the season, helped the Wildcats win their first outright Three Rivers Conference championship since 1990.After posting a 3-7 record last season, including a 3-4 mark in conference play, the Wildcats completely turned things around this season and were 8-2 overall and 7-0 in the TRC.
"It really starts with the players and their dedication and determination," said Swender. "They worked hard in the offseason, and that carried into this season. There's no substitute for hard work."
For his role in helping the Wildcats turn things around, Swender has been named the 2010 Times-Union Area Football Coach of the Year.
"I've got an excellent staff of assistants," said Swender. "They really do a great job helping get the boys ready. That goes all the way down to the middle school staff. And we've got a bunch of good kids who bought into things. We believe in the total team concept."
While Swender and his staff of assistants employed a team concept, Whitko still had its share of standout individuals.
One of them was 6-foot-3, 180-pound junior Derek Snep.
For the second straight year, Snep led the Wildcats in receiving and was among the TRC leaders in both catches and yards.
His 37 catches for 614 yards and four touchdowns have earned him Times-Union Offensive Player of the Year honors.
"Derek is one of those kids that has worked hard," said Swender. "He's a big kid, he can jump and he has decent speed. He reads the defense well and knows how to get open. He's got great hands. He's a special athlete, and it's be nice to have him back next year."
Swender said he will return four offensive linemen, quarterback Alex Stoddard and some other skilled position players from a team that lost 20-17 in overtime to eventual sectional champion Bremen in the first round of the playoffs.
In the loss to Bremen, Snep had six catches for 78 yards, including a 33-yard touchdown from Stoddard that put the Wildcats up 7-0.
Snep's standout junior season, which included him averaging 17 yards per catch, came after he caught 32 passes for 433 yards, an average of nearly 14 yards per catch, last season.
