Great story here by Justin Penland about our guys heading on to play college football
By JUSTIN PENLAND of KPC News
KENDALLVILLE — The 2012 season was a wild one for the East Noble football program. After losing long-time coach Chris DePew, the team’s seniors were in charge of helping the team adapt to incoming coach Luke Amstutz’s system.
Boy did it pay off. In Amstutz’s first season, the Knights went 7-3 and set offensive and defensive records, including a school mark for most points in a game and passing yards in a season, and a conference record for forced turnovers.
Of the team’s seniors, four of them recently committed to play college football for schools in either the National Association of Intercollegiate Athletic (NAIA) or NCAA Division III ranks. Quarterback Nic Weimer will play for Franklin College (Div. III), tight end Tom Woehnker and linebacker Alex Frick will attend Defiance College (Div. III), and defensive tackle Drake DeMuyt will suit up for the University of Saint Francis (NAIA).
Three of the four players will have an easier transition since they will enroll alongside a previous or current teammate. “It will be more comforting and a sigh of relief that I will have someone to fall back on if I have some problems,” Frick said about joining the Yellow Jacket program with Woehnker.
Weimer will play with his brother and former Knight Trevor Yates, as well as Kyle Butler. Both Yates and Butler are linebackers while Weimer will continue to play quarterback. Weimer, who will study finance with a possible minor in economics, is one of at least six quarterbacks vying for a starting spot next season with four on the current roster and Fremont’s Chandler McDowell also enrolling.
“I will be more comfortable down there because I have known Kyle and Trevor, and I also have known the coaches for the past two years. I have a really good relationship with them,” Weimer said.
Under center in 2012, Weimer set a school record for passing yards (2,532) and passing touchdowns (28) in a season. He threw for a season-high 319 yards and six scores in a 79-7 rout of Columbia City, a game in which a record was set for points in a game by an EN team.
The Grizzlies offensive playbook will look similar to the Knights’ in the sense of the high-tempo plays and stretches of no-huddle play. Weimer said Franklin would utilize a running and throwing quarterback, with Weimer filling the hole as the latter.
“I’m not the fastest, but our offense was quick (at EN) and I was able to get the ball out,” Weimer said. “(Franklin) will rotate the quarterbacks occasionally. I went down there and talked to the coaches a little bit and it seemed as though the passing scheme and everything is similar. It is pretty much everything at East Noble times three. It’s our playbook on steroids.”
Frick and Woehnker will see plenty of Weimer during their careers. Defiance and Franklin are both members of the Heartland Collegiate Athletic Conference and face each other on a yearly basis.
As a Yellow Jacket, Frick will try to help bolster a Defiance defense that gave up an average of 29 points per game during the 2012 campaign. In a system that runs a 4-2-5, Frick will probably be slated as an outside linebacker, instead of an inside LB as he was in high school.
Frick started halfway through the 2011 season, but began every game as a senior. In 2012, he racked up 51 solo tackles, 10 tackles for loss, three fumbles recoveries and a pair of touchdowns. The scores against Columbia City and Bellmont were on fumble recoveries.
The 4-2-5 scheme “is more of a pass-oriented defense since they drop five defensive backs. It is more of a prevent for passing teams as everyone goes to the spread offense instead of the power game with the I-formation,” Frick said.
“This past season made me realize that football is such a team sport. I thought I was going to get all-conference, but I realized that it was not about that, but being a team player; the cog in the gears to make everything run well.”
Fellow Yellow Jacket and secondary education major Woehnker will be used mostly as a dual-threat tight end in the Defiance option offense. The Yellow Jackets utilize their tight ends to the extreme; often using multiple-TE sets with one or more shifting in motion. Woehnker saw more passes thrown his way in 2012 as a result of the new EN offense. He recorded a season-high four receptions for 33 yards against DeKalb and recorded 46 yards in the Knights’ sectional contest against Concord. Woehnker said his ability to adapt will be key at the college level as he looks at a different offense.
“They described me as a tight end who will block and run routes. Shifting will help me out because it will give me better matchups and make me harder to cover,” Woehnker said.
In Fort Wayne, DeMuyt will continue his career as a defensive lineman for the Cougars. USF is in the Mideast League of the Mid-States Football Association and last year lost in the second round of the NAIA playoffs to the eventual champion, Marian University in Indianapolis.
DeMuyt said he chose Saint Francis because of the team’s program and the school’s reputation. He has yet to decide on an area of study. For his first year, DeMuyt created a goal to start and be an Academic All-American.
“Saint Francis is just a really solid school where I can see myself going for four years,” he said.
DeMuyt’s play on the field improved throughout the 2012 season, where he finished with 34 solo tackles, 14 tackles for loss and an interception as a tackle in the Knights’ 3-4 front. DeMuyt might have to bulk up some to play tackle at the collegiate level, but he said he will play wherever he is asked. At times during the season, he played a five-technique (outside of the offensive tackle), where a traditional defensive end might play.
“During the Concord game, I felt I was playing a different game than I was in the beginning of the year,” DeMuyt said. He recorded six tackles, three for a loss, against the Minutemen.
“I know there are a lot of things to improve on, but I would say my senior season was a good experience. It was nice to have the success we did. I hope I cane take some of the things I had at the end of the season over to Saint Francis.”
KENDALLVILLE — The 2012 season was a wild one for the East Noble football program. After losing long-time coach Chris DePew, the team’s seniors were in charge of helping the team adapt to incoming coach Luke Amstutz’s system.
Boy did it pay off. In Amstutz’s first season, the Knights went 7-3 and set offensive and defensive records, including a school mark for most points in a game and passing yards in a season, and a conference record for forced turnovers.
Of the team’s seniors, four of them recently committed to play college football for schools in either the National Association of Intercollegiate Athletic (NAIA) or NCAA Division III ranks. Quarterback Nic Weimer will play for Franklin College (Div. III), tight end Tom Woehnker and linebacker Alex Frick will attend Defiance College (Div. III), and defensive tackle Drake DeMuyt will suit up for the University of Saint Francis (NAIA).
Three of the four players will have an easier transition since they will enroll alongside a previous or current teammate. “It will be more comforting and a sigh of relief that I will have someone to fall back on if I have some problems,” Frick said about joining the Yellow Jacket program with Woehnker.
Weimer will play with his brother and former Knight Trevor Yates, as well as Kyle Butler. Both Yates and Butler are linebackers while Weimer will continue to play quarterback. Weimer, who will study finance with a possible minor in economics, is one of at least six quarterbacks vying for a starting spot next season with four on the current roster and Fremont’s Chandler McDowell also enrolling.
“I will be more comfortable down there because I have known Kyle and Trevor, and I also have known the coaches for the past two years. I have a really good relationship with them,” Weimer said.
Under center in 2012, Weimer set a school record for passing yards (2,532) and passing touchdowns (28) in a season. He threw for a season-high 319 yards and six scores in a 79-7 rout of Columbia City, a game in which a record was set for points in a game by an EN team.
The Grizzlies offensive playbook will look similar to the Knights’ in the sense of the high-tempo plays and stretches of no-huddle play. Weimer said Franklin would utilize a running and throwing quarterback, with Weimer filling the hole as the latter.
“I’m not the fastest, but our offense was quick (at EN) and I was able to get the ball out,” Weimer said. “(Franklin) will rotate the quarterbacks occasionally. I went down there and talked to the coaches a little bit and it seemed as though the passing scheme and everything is similar. It is pretty much everything at East Noble times three. It’s our playbook on steroids.”
Frick and Woehnker will see plenty of Weimer during their careers. Defiance and Franklin are both members of the Heartland Collegiate Athletic Conference and face each other on a yearly basis.
As a Yellow Jacket, Frick will try to help bolster a Defiance defense that gave up an average of 29 points per game during the 2012 campaign. In a system that runs a 4-2-5, Frick will probably be slated as an outside linebacker, instead of an inside LB as he was in high school.
Frick started halfway through the 2011 season, but began every game as a senior. In 2012, he racked up 51 solo tackles, 10 tackles for loss, three fumbles recoveries and a pair of touchdowns. The scores against Columbia City and Bellmont were on fumble recoveries.
The 4-2-5 scheme “is more of a pass-oriented defense since they drop five defensive backs. It is more of a prevent for passing teams as everyone goes to the spread offense instead of the power game with the I-formation,” Frick said.
“This past season made me realize that football is such a team sport. I thought I was going to get all-conference, but I realized that it was not about that, but being a team player; the cog in the gears to make everything run well.”
Fellow Yellow Jacket and secondary education major Woehnker will be used mostly as a dual-threat tight end in the Defiance option offense. The Yellow Jackets utilize their tight ends to the extreme; often using multiple-TE sets with one or more shifting in motion. Woehnker saw more passes thrown his way in 2012 as a result of the new EN offense. He recorded a season-high four receptions for 33 yards against DeKalb and recorded 46 yards in the Knights’ sectional contest against Concord. Woehnker said his ability to adapt will be key at the college level as he looks at a different offense.
“They described me as a tight end who will block and run routes. Shifting will help me out because it will give me better matchups and make me harder to cover,” Woehnker said.
In Fort Wayne, DeMuyt will continue his career as a defensive lineman for the Cougars. USF is in the Mideast League of the Mid-States Football Association and last year lost in the second round of the NAIA playoffs to the eventual champion, Marian University in Indianapolis.
DeMuyt said he chose Saint Francis because of the team’s program and the school’s reputation. He has yet to decide on an area of study. For his first year, DeMuyt created a goal to start and be an Academic All-American.
“Saint Francis is just a really solid school where I can see myself going for four years,” he said.
DeMuyt’s play on the field improved throughout the 2012 season, where he finished with 34 solo tackles, 14 tackles for loss and an interception as a tackle in the Knights’ 3-4 front. DeMuyt might have to bulk up some to play tackle at the collegiate level, but he said he will play wherever he is asked. At times during the season, he played a five-technique (outside of the offensive tackle), where a traditional defensive end might play.
“During the Concord game, I felt I was playing a different game than I was in the beginning of the year,” DeMuyt said. He recorded six tackles, three for a loss, against the Minutemen.
“I know there are a lot of things to improve on, but I would say my senior season was a good experience. It was nice to have the success we did. I hope I cane take some of the things I had at the end of the season over to Saint Francis.”
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