Anticipation is high after historic grid seasons

Excitement is building to a fever pitch on both sides of Greene County as the 2016 gridiron campaign approaches for our two county football programs.

Expectations are running high in Eastern Greene County after the best season in school history. And in Linton, expectations are always lofty.

Eastern Greene and Linton-Stockton are coming off the finest seasons in the respective histories of each program.

It was a history-making year in Little Cincinnati.

The Thunderbirds enjoyed the winningest season in the 13-year history of the program, posting an 8-3 record.

And it was a season of firsts. The 8-3 mark was the first winning record in program history. And Eastern Greene won its first-ever Southwest Conference championship.

Linton-Stockton experienced unprecedented success in 2015.

The Miners finally got over the semistate hump, making it to Lucas Oil Stadium for the IHSAA Class A State Finals for the first time in the storied history of the program.

Can both teams duplicate last year's successes? We may not know until November. Then again, we might find out early.

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Eastern Greene finds itself in a position similar to Linton-Stockton a year ago.

The Miners returned 15 starters from 2014's 11-2 team.

The Thunderbirds graduated just five seniors from last year's squad.

But four of those five comprised the bulk of the offensive line and anchored the defense. The fifth graduated senior was the team's top running back.

Tight end/defensive end Gaven Hill will be throwing the heavy steel ball at Wabash College. Tyler Dodds won't be around to lead the defense.

Third-year coach Joey Paridaen must fill the void left by Wyatt Long and big Jake Williams up front. And the coach hopes to find a running back option to replace Brent Price.

The T-Birds return dual-threat quarterback Jeff Graham.

Last season Graham rushed for 1,759 yards and 21 touchdowns. The QB threw for another 1,418 and 13 scores in his first season under center.

Caleb Hamilton emerged as a playmaker - in his first season playing football. The junior will likely be counted on more heavily this season.

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For coach Paridaen, winning the Southwest Conference title is always at the top of the list of the season's goals.

And this year's Thunderbirds will be aiming for a sectional championship.

But winning the sectional is a tall order with West Washington in the field.

Critics are quick to point out Eastern Greene's conference championship came after Linton-Stockton dropped out of the then-Southwest Seven.

Point taken.

I applaud Athletic Director Charlie Karazsia for making the gutsy call to cut ties with the conference and aggressively upgrade the schedule.

Upgrading the schedule was an absolute necessity to prepare the Miners for deep postseason runs.

This year 2A State Champion Monrovia replaces Tecumseh in Week Three.

Next season Linton-Stockton adds 3A Southridge to the docket.

And like last year, the tougher schedule is front-loaded.

The Miners' first two contests are on the road. Linton-Stockton opens at Speedway and visits rival Sullivan the next week.

Just because the Miners handled these two last year doesn't mean we'll see the same outcome this time around.

Then Monrovia awaits, followed by North Vermillion at Lucas Oil Stadium.

Linton-Stockton will be tested right off the bat so we'll find out a lot about this team early on.

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The Class A State Finalist Miners bid farewell to 12 seniors - seven of whom were starters.

At the top of the list is two-time All-State lineman Dylan Morris.

You don't replace Dylan Morris. Players like Morris come along once a generation - or less.

Half of the Four-Headed Monster backfield departs. Mitch Eberhardt and Pierce Jackson were two of the Miners' four 1,000-yard rushers a season ago.

Quarterback Tyler Meurer's favorite receiving target, Jacob Clothier, is attending Rose Hulman.

Meurer returns - and he's quite the dual-threat signal caller in his own right. He amassed over 1,200 yards both rushing (1,223 yds., 26 TDs) and passing (1,265 yds., 19 TDs).

Fullback Garrett Mason, the Miners' fourth 1,000 yard back, joins Meurer.

But coach Brian Oliver will have some obvious holes to fill. And some of the holdovers will be expected to assume bigger roles.

It's easy to assume Linton-Stockton might take a step back this year.

After consecutive semistate appearances in 2011 and 2012 I expected to see a drop-off in 2013.

Well, the 2013 team made it back to the semistate, manhandling Sheridan along the way.

At some point a downturn is inevitable. It happened at Sheridan.

With limited numbers, small schools won't always be able to "reload" year after year.

But for the better part of 15 years the Miner program has had players step up each year and continue the program's sustained success.

This year's edition will be battle-hardened early. Can the Miners survive the meat grinder that is the first four weeks?

Terry Schwinghammer is a sports writer for the Greene County Daily World. He can be reached by telephone at (812) 847-4487, ext. 27. He can also be reached via email at tschwing32@yahoo.com. Follow him on Twitter @TSchwing32.