'It was a sad situation': New coach, QB hope to perk up Edgewood football this fall

When Scott Fischer started taking stock of what he was inheriting with the Edgewood football program, he quickly found out the process would go beyond uniforms, shoulder pads and helmets.

The job offer came right as his current employer, Franklin Central, was on a two-week spring break. With no vacation planned, he came down to Edgewood and went to the lunch room and began introducing himself to each group of boys who came in.

During his high school days, Fischer went through three head coaches, so he knows the feeling.

"I wanted to get to know them and it was a sad situation," Fischer said. "A lot of these kids didn't want to come back out for football until they met me. So you get caught up in the minutia of checking the equipment, seeing what your needs are.

"I just made the decision after the first couple of days to make it all about relationships and trying to really dive in and get to know these kids and hear what their struggles were like and it's been great. It's paid off because I think, more than anything, these kids have bought into the vision and what we're saying this season could be if they buy into it. And they're all in."

A new quarterback

One of them is senior Grant Coffey, who was part of a host of players to take snaps during last year's wacky run through the 10-game slate that saw injury after injury pile up. He ended up with the starting nod against Sullivan as the fourth QB of the season. Running back Gabe Drew became the fifth the next week against Northview before the usual starter, Jacob Murphy, returned in Week 9.

Murphy is not on this year's roster, so Fischer decided to give Coffey a crack at the spot with sophomore Jaxton Collier, one of last year's walking wounded also in the mix. The only other QBs on the roster are freshmen and Fischer wants to keep that class of 30 together by themselves.

"We made a decision to get some quarterback competition going, so we moved him," Fischer said. "He's one of the two best athletes on the team and we didn't want to leave him at wide receiver and have the ball in his hands just a few times a game.

"He's responded really well. He's a smart kid who's picked up the offense really well. He's done that since Day 1. In the scrimmage, we saw him make good decisions and not turn it over."

Getting up to speed

Under Coffey's guidance, Edgewood put the ball in the end zone five times in 10 snaps during the goal line series.

"He was an emergency quarterback last year, so I think that's helped accelerate the process," Fischer said. "As soon as I got the job, we met a lot, had some Zoom calls to go through stuff, how we want to break down a defense, what we're looking for. How to make reads. Now, we have to take it from the chalkboard to the field.

"It's been a little bit of a process, but he works hard for it. When practice ends, he's at home on Hudl, trying to get better."

The key will be keeping Coffey healthy and avoiding last year's issues. Edgewood hopes a bigger commitment to strength and conditioning will pay off there as will actually have an offensive line with some veterans on it for a change after playing so many young guys the past two years.

Heading into the opener, Edgewood is keeping things as simple as possible early and looking to expand the playbook as the season goes on, allowing Coffey to play at game speed as he settles into his job full time.

"If Friday was any indication, he's ready," Fischer said. "He wants his senior season to be totally different from what he's experienced before."

A quick look at the Mustangs

LAST YEAR: 2-8 overall, 0-4 Western Indiana Conference Gold Division.

RETURNING STARTERS: Grant Coffey, Sr. QB/CB; Gabe Drew, Jr. RB/CB; Gunnar Caswell, Sr. RB/LB/K/P; Chris Davis, Sr. OL; Carter Hayden, So. OL; Evan Dodds, Sr. TE/OT/DL; Corey Holland, Sr. OL; Keegan Lane, Jr. OL; Gunnar Perry, So. DL.

OUTLOOK: New coaching staff, new expectations and new mindset this season as a small varsity group (just under 40) look to get the Mustangs out of its funk. The schedule has changed a bit, with trips to Washington and Cascade this year then comes the usual gantlet of Owen Valley, Indian Creek, South Putnam, Sullivan and Northview. Coffey, who filled several roles last year, including QB, is the new signal caller as Fischer wants one of his best athletes to have the ball in his hands often. There's a solid run game back with Drew, now up to 190 pounds, backed up by Edgewood's utility knife, Caswell, who will handle the kicking duties and play some linebacker, and senior Simeon Venegas-Kot. The receiving corps has new starters in juniors Owen McGovern, Christian Couch and Nehamiah Strunk. Davis, back from shoulder surgery that caused him to miss track season, Holland, Hayden (who returns at center) and juniors Keegan Lane and Braxton Tanner, along with Dodds, will man the trenches up front.

Defense will be a smaller group that will have to swarm to the football and use its speed and decisiveness. Fischer saw that play out in the scrimmage as they get more comfortable with the scheme. Dodds, nose Gavin Morris and senior Terrance Moore (DT) are up front and all three will fill in at tight end. Linebackers Caswell and Venegas-Kot inside and Perry and Strunk outside will form the rest of the starting front seven. Corners are McGovern and either Coffey or Drew with Couch at strong safety and senior Brady Pruett at free safety. Senior Devin Cody is also a corner candidate.

GAMES THAT MATTER: Sept. 8 at Owen Valley, rivalry game will feature two rebuilding squads with new coaches, but the emotion will still be there. Sept. 22, at Indian Creek, Edgewood is still looking for its first win against the Braves since they joined the WIC in 2016. Sept. 29, Sullivan, the Arrows have dropped to 2A but haven't had a losing season since 2010 and played Linton tough in last year's sectional final. Oct. 6 at Northview, battling the biggest school in the WIC has never been easy. The last time the Knights hit the Mustangs for fewer than 42 points was 2014.

Contact Jim Gordillo at jgordillo@heraldt.com and follow on Twitter (X) @JimGordillo.

This article originally appeared on The Herald-Times: New coach Scott Fisher hopes to perk up Edgewood football in 2023