Coal City – Behind every successful person is a support group that helped them achieve their goals.
For star running backs the support is usually in front of them, not behind.
That’s the case in Coal City where senior running back Atticus Goodson is ready to embark on a campaign that will put him right in the thick of the Warner and Kennedy Award race.
He didn’t get there on his own.
The road to prestigious accolades has partially been paved by a young, experienced offensive line that arrived a year ahead of schedule.
“We’ve got seven of our top 10 linemen back,” Indy Head Coach John H. Lilly said. “We’ll average about 285 (pounds) across the front. We’re getting close to where I want to be, but we’re still not there yet as far as getting ourselves in shape. The big boys, they’ve got to play themselves into shape. When you’re big like that you can do all the running in the world but it doesn’t help you. You’ve got to get out there and play in it. And that’s what we’re really trying to do right now.
“We’ve got pretty high expectations for them though. They’re all juniors, so they’re not here just for this year, they’re here next year too.”
Perhaps the youth is the most surprising part about this group. Four of them – Logan Isom, Michael Cheek, Brady Grimmett, Aaron Shiflett – are juniors while Fisher Williams is a sophomore. While Lilly is pleased with what they’ve done, he didn’t anticipate the group to be this good this soon. The success of last season let him know they were ahead of schedule.
It was none more apparent than when the Patriots made their return to the postseason last year for the first time since 2016. Though they were bounced in their first game, they were competitive on the road against the eventual Class AA champion in Fairmont Senior, trailing 15-7 going into the half. Behind that offensive line Goodson rushed for 88 yards in the first half.
Unfortunately injuries and turnovers caught up with the Patriots in the third quarter.
But it was a good learning experience coming into a year where the Patriots are expected to make a deep playoff run. It also helps having a position coach in Kevin Grogg that’s won a title before with a similar style of play.
“They were a year ahead of schedule,” Lilly said. “We thought we’d take more bumps in the road than we did last year. And we’ve got a great offensive line coach in Kevin Grogg. He’s got a state championship ring. He’ll do a good job with them, but they’re a step ahead of the game as far as knowledge is concerned. We’ve just got to get them in shape.”
With a year under their belts, Lilly has been pleased with how much the group has grown from a mental aspect. They’ve seen various different fronts and overloads in an attempt to stop the guy they’re blocking for. Though it isn’t a one-man show. Aside from Goodson the Patriots have dynamic threats in the vertical passing game, highlighted by Atticus’ younger brother, Cyrus Goodson.
Still that part of the offense would fall apart if not for mental maturation of the group Lilly hopes paves the way for a special era of Indy football.
“Anytime you’ve got seven out of 10 back you’re going to be ahead of everybody else,” Lilly said. “In that regard we’re okay. The other part is they’re 285. We’ve got size. We’ve got a freshman right here that’s 6-foot-7 and 300 pounds. We’re not little and that’s to our advantage. I’m not worried about the mental part, I’m just worried about making sure they’re in shape. They’re a talented group of kids and we’re fortunate they have two seasons to keep growing together.”
Contact Tyler Jackson at tylerjackson@lootpress.com, call him at 304-731-5542 and follow on Twitter @tjack94
