Preview: Yorktown football 'expecting success,' looking to make history in 2023 season

YORKTOWN, Ind. — Yorktown football owns five sectional titles, none of which have come in back-to-back years.

Yet the Tigers expect to make history following a thrilling 2022 postseason that featured a last second goal-line stand against rival Delta, a career-best performance from running back Jalen Thomas and a 21-point championship comeback at Norwell.

It marked the program's first sectional crown since 2014, and now that the players have that winning feeling, they're determined to recapture it.

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"Usually in the past, I've had to hold a few guys back because they're just so malicious in practice," head coach Mike Wilhelm said. "Now I'm having to hold our entire team back most practices because we are so competitive. I've never had to do that before.

"They're hungry and they want to eat. We've gotta get to Friday so we don't hurt ourselves."

The Tigers have valid reasons to be excited. Although they graduated X-factor Kolton Nanko (Top-20 in Indiana receiving yards, field goals made and kickoff return yards), and IFCA Class 3A All-State selections Luke Wilhelm 183 total tackles, second in Indiana) and Jackson New (121 total tackles), Yorktown returns stars at pivotal positions like Thomas, senior quarterback Mason Moulton, senior linebacker Jayce Key and others.

Moulton, who led Delaware County in passing with 2,067 yards and 19 touchdowns, is excited about the offense. He'll miss Nanko's reliability, yet he feels a slew of speedy receivers — Ephraim Daugherty, Quintin Williams, Sean Gibson, Cole Perdue, Wilson Webster — add more diversity to the passing attack.

"We have a lot more playmakers … Offensively speaking, (it's) more spread out this year, so I think (we're) less predictable," Moulton said. "And we have a bunch of athletes and speed, and that's gonna lead to a lot of big plays. I think we'll have a very explosive offense this year."

Moulton does, however, want to cut down on his turnovers. He was intercepted 20 times in 2022, seven more than during his sophomore campaign, so he enters his final season determined to take better care of the ball and not put his defense in disadvantageous positions.

To combat this, he plans to increase his preparation and avoid forcing throws. That means watching more game film so he can better read defenses pre-snap and know where the ball should go against a certain defensive look.

Moulton's also striving to trust his body and stay in the pocket to progress through his reads. He admitted that a preseason shoulder injury last preseason, which sidelined him for the first two games, affected not only his throwing ability but his headspace as well, which led to miscues.

"I felt like the first few games coming back from the injury I was almost a little timid just to take any hits. So I think sometimes I was kind of getting rid of the ball a little early," Moulton said. "(Now) I'll be much more confident just sitting in the pocket and being patient and making the right reads. So I think that is one thing that will lead to maybe less turnovers and better decisions going into this year."

"I look back a year ago, and we were kind of scrambling with how we were going to be as a team (without Moulton)," Wilhelm said. "We just weren't quite in rhythm, really in our first couple of games ... It's nice to have (Moulton) 100% going into our game Friday."

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Despite too many turnovers for Moulton's liking, Yorktown's offense wasn't solely reliant on gaining yards through the air.

What aided the squad to 27.3 points per game was the Thomas' breakout season, in which he amassed 1,255 yards and 15 scores on the ground, as well as 37 catches for 373 yards and three TD's as a receiver. He produced a highlight play nearly every game, making for a true dual-threat offense that many opponents struggled to stop.

Senior Ayden Ewing is a productive rusher in his own right, fitting the mold of a bruiser to Thomas' finesse. He averaged six yards per carry with three TD's, and the pair should again be a top one-two punch in the Hoosier Heritage Conference.

"Both of them have gotten stronger. Both of them have gotten bigger. They've worked really hard in the offseason, really focused on track and football, and it's paid dividends," Wilhelm said. "They're more explosive and I don't think it matters who we have in the backfield. They both can do things."

Thomas, who's been in contact with several college programs, was even influenced by Ewing and said he committed to the weight room over the offseason, putting on 15 pounds to help make him a more well-rounded runner.

"I think mainly my focus has been gaining more weight, being able to carry people on my back," Thomas said. "Trying to get more explosive plays and beat the linebackers and DB's."

Thomas admitted that this preseason has been possibly the most difficult of his career. He credited the defense, led by Key, for bringing an increased tempo and intensity to practices.

The unit might have lost some key contributors, but multiple Tigers agreed that it's the fastest group they've seen since arriving at Yorktown. Key hopes that leads to more consistency and potency this fall.

"Just flying around to the ball. We pride ourselves on that," Key said. "Eleven guys at the ball every play and we like to cause chaos and cause turnovers."

Through its combination of returning experience, improved athleticism and self belief gained through postseason triumphs, Yorktown believes it's a better team than a year ago.

Moulton thinks the skies the limit so long as the Tigers are confident in themselves, knowing they have enough to make another run.

"We don't need to play outside of our comfort zone … We're truly confident that we can play with any 3A team in the state, especially after that game against Norwell," Moulton said. "If we play like we did in that game throughout every game this season, I mean, we've got eyes on the state championship, really. So if we just do what we need to do every game, we're expecting a lot of success this year."

Gus Martin is a sports reporter at The Star Press. Follow him on Twitter @GusMartin_SP, and contact him at gmartin@gannett.com.

This article originally appeared on Muncie Star Press: 2023 IHSAA season preview Yorktown football looking to make history