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SOUTH WHITLEY – There are dry spells, and there are droughts.
What Whitko has experienced in recent history might be described as a “super drought.” Over the last nine seasons, the Wildcats have had just one season with multiple victories. Which leaves the 2026 team with plenty of room to make things better.
Second-year head coach Thomas Tyree has seen reason for some optimism in this year’s team, as recently as last Friday’s scrimmage with Southern Wells and Churubusco.
“I've seen a lot of young guys that we weren't really sure about step up and rise to the challenge that we presented them,” he said. “And they did a really good job with it.”
Among the returnees is quarterback Cooper Laukhuf, a sophomore who played just five of Whitko’s 10 games last year due to injury. Keeping Laukhuf healthy and upright is a key for the Wildcats, and Tyree said he’s been happy with what he’s seen from a group of young linemen, which in turn gives Laukhuf time to get the ball to his receivers.
“We’ve got some young guys up front, David Hernandez, Aidan Barber, Adam Coyle, three sophomores, that have had good off-seasons,” the head coach said. “But they're still sophomores nonetheless, and they were able to provide a lot of time for our quarterback in the passing game.
“We had some receivers catch the ball that did really well. I know we had (sophomore) Hudson Routson caught the ball well, Lewis Skinner, tight end sophomore, caught the ball well.
As is the case with many smaller-school football programs, the roster is small in terms of numbers. Just 29 players are on the Whitko roster, with eight being upperclassmen,
“We’re a sophomore heavy team right now. But those sophomores are stepping up and showing that they might be ready for the Friday night lights,” Tyree said.
The Wildcat head man was very happy with his defenders after the scrimmage.
“Defensively, I think that we played out of our minds,” said Tyree. “The kids stepped up to the challenge. They did really, really well deciding that ‘hey, look, like, we're here to play football too.’ Even though it's the same kids that are playing on offense, I just think seeing them fly around the way they did was really impressive and to be able to step up and stop the run versus 2 teams that want to be run heavy or make sure that they get the ball downhill.
“So yeah, just stuff like that, that was really impressive that I was really proud of our guys.”
Another key returnee is senior Crew Ebbinghouse, who was the third-leading receiver behind a pair of graduating seniors. His numbers as a receiver were reduced as he filled in for the injured Laukhuf as starting quarterback for five games. Ebbinghouse averaged nearly 19 yards a catch in 2025.Sophomore Mason Hersha returns after leading the Wildcats in rushing as a freshman with 418 yards and a trio of touchdowns.
After opening the last six seasons with Prairie Heights, splitting the series evenly with the Panthers, Whitko opens this year’s campaign at 7 p.m. Friday at home against Hoosier North Athletic Conference member Caston. Tyree said he’s looking to move the program forward one step at a time, building on the experience they had in the scrimmage.
“I just think we just have to take the next step when it comes to execution, when it comes to knowing the game plan, when it comes to reading our keys, and I think we've seen that in our young guys.
“When these young guys got to high school, all they know is me. So they understand how I do things and how we coach them. So we're starting to see those guys do their jobs more at a high level. First, you know, you have to learn your job. Then as you're learning your job, you learn to execute the job. And so far, they've learned it, they're executing it. And then Friday, they just put it together and was able to fly around and play fast. I would say that's was the most effort I've seen on our defense in my time here so far.
