Caston 2/731

BY VAL TSOUTSOURIS

Sports Editor, RTC

RTC4 Football Player of the Year Brant Beck

Brant Beck often had the ball on offense. Brant Beck often was near the opponent with the ball on defense.

A relentless competitor on both sides of the ball, the Rochester junior is our RTC4 Football Player of the Year.

Beck split time between fullback and wingback the first two weeks of the year, but once Kale Shotts emerged at fullback, Beck was back at wingback, and he finished with 1,460 yards and 20 touchdowns rushing.

Meanwhile, any opponent who thought about running between the tackles against the Zebra defense usually found Beck at inside linebacker there to fill the hole. He went from 88 tackles last year to 102 this year, and he also recovered three fumbles.

Beck also stands atop our All-RTC4 football list. We thank area coaches for sending us their scores and statistics every game, and we also thank them for sharing their insights on their team.

Having said that, this list is ours and ours alone, and we take full responsibility for it. We go to games every Friday and watch video of the games we do not see in person.

Brock Derf Grady Moriarty Xavier Vance Ashton Boyer

Grant Clark Mason Hisey Wes Parker Parker Zimpleman

All-RTC4

Brant Beck (Rochester) (Player of the Year) – Beck runs through tackles when he has the ball on offense, and he never misses a tackle on defense. Even in the fateful season-ending loss to Eastern in the sectional, he had 197 yards rushing.
Micah Rans (Pioneer) – Rans accounted for 35 touchdowns – 29 rushing and six passing. A junior quarterback, he also accounted for over 2,000 yards of total offense for the season. This was a breakout year for him after an injury-plagued 2023.
Brock Derf (Tippecanoe Valley) – Derf, a senior fullback-linebacker, ran for 522 yards on 7.1 yards per carry, but he was more impactful as the leader of the defense, where he recorded a team-best 119 tackles. He also had nine tackles for loss.
Grady Moriarty (Tippecanoe Valley) – Moriarty had a healthier 2024 than he did in 2023, and he wound up leading the team in carries with 96 at a 6.5-per carry average. As an outside linebacker, he had 108 tackles.
Eli Guffey (Pioneer) – Guffey made a bigger impact on offense as a tight end, but we are putting Guffey here because he absolutely wrecked opponents’ offense from his linebacker spot, where he had 102 tackles and an incredible 22 tackles for loss. He was likely atop each opponent’s scouting report but still made plays.
Xavier Vance (Rochester) – Vance spent more time playing defensive line than offensive line in 2024, and he pretty much demanded a double team since no one blocker could stop him. And he finished with a team-high nine tackles for loss.
Talen Garner (Winamac) – A senior, it was clear from the start of the season that Garner was going to be a key component to both the Winamac offensive and defensive lines, and he was. He moved well as a puller on the offensive line, and he had 103 tackles on defense.
Noah VanMeter (Pioneer) – VanMeter is the latest in a long line of great Pioneer fullbacks, and VanMeter ran for 1,132 yards on 7.4 yards per carry. That included 261 yards in a regular season win over Caston.
Ashton Bowyer (Caston) – Bowyer missed two games to injury but still led the Comets in rushing. He was also third on the team in tackles on defense.
Wes Parker (Tippecanoe Valley) – Parker led Valley with 870 yards rushing, but the most impressive stat regarding Parker was his 12.4-yard per carry average. He was an explosive big play threat on a team that did not have a ton of them.
Fletcher Smith (Pioneer) – Smith was a formidable left guard on offense and also had a banner year on the defensive line.
Grant Clark (Rochester) – With his long arms and constant energy, Clark was most likely the best defensive end in our area. He finished with a team-high nine tackles for loss.
Jonas McCuen (Culver) – Culver’s offense showed right from Week 1 that it was going to be a lot more productive, and McCuen's improved accuracy at quarterback had much to do with it. It’s one thing to throw for more than 200 yards against an overmatched Attica team, but it’s another when you throw for that many yards against teams like Pioneer and North Miami.
Gage Overbey (Tippecanoe Valley) – We already knew that Overbey was a great kicker, but he proved to be a great punter and two-way lineman too.
Mason Hisey (Rochester) – Hisey was big, tall and mobile, and he often led the way for Beck from his left guard spot. But he also was an effective defensive end, keeping the opposing quarterback inside the pocket.
Logan Caudill (Culver) – If it seemed like many of Culver’s big plays went left this year, it was because they were running behind Caudill at left tackle.
Parker Zimpleman (Caston) – The Indiana Football Coaches Association’s Junior All-Star teams consist mostly of, well, juniors. Occasionally, a sophomore will sneak onto the team. A freshman making the Class 1A Junior All-State team is practically unheard of, but Zimpleman made that team. He is the future on the offensive and defensive lines for the Comets.
Tearson Wolford (Winamac) – Wolford had his breakout year as a sophomore, running for a team-high 559 yards. He showed off football smarts of a player much older than him.
Drew Bowers (Rochester) – Bowers, a senior, played football for the first time since he was in elementary school, and he showed off exceptional hand-eye coordination and an ability to adjust to the ball in the air from his receiver spot. He also was an effective safety with 33 tackles.
David Hite (Culver) – Like Rochester’s Bowers, Hite is another senior who came out for football for the first time in high school, and he led Culver with 468 yards receiving on 23.4 yards per catch. He is an explosive athlete.
Liam Rouch (Pioneer) – Rouch had an injury-plagued 2023 season, but he stayed healthy in 2024 and showed what he could do as both an offensive and defensive tackle.
Brady Price (Pioneer) – Price was yet another Pioneer lineman who stepped up, showing excellence at center on offense and tackle on defense.