Linton Miner Football

08/29/2026

From the desk of Daniel Phillips

I was glad to see a lot of people stick around to the very end last night. Because that's what we need. We all knew coming into this season was going to be a little bit tough, not because of lack of talent. But lack of experience. You cannot possibly question the heart of these kids that are on that field for the school.

Others would quit others would not put forth. The others would just decide not to play. The program has given this town and school a ton of great moments and respect not only from the state but the tri state. I know this personally from wearing my l
Miner football gear at gigs all across three states, and it never ceases to amaze me how many people go ooh, man. I've heard about their football team.

We have been spoiled in that year in and year out despite graduation and smaller numbers, this team continues to put out and now, with the increased schedule strength we've added each and every year this is something that could happen. Sort of the perfect storm with so many multi year starters, graduating, and so many young kids being put in starting positions without ever playing a down in varsity football. It is different.

Believe me between j v or junior high and, add to that the level of talent that's facing us across the field and the level of preparation. Then because the opponents know they 're facing one of the best small school football programs in the state, we are going to get every school's best shot. There are little if an
y gimmes in our schedule this year.

And it's going to be tough all year long. But these kids take pride in putting all that helmet, take pride in running out on the roy and take pride in representing their school on the road. I would challenge anyone to question this. It is the same for me. Because I literally recoil, when I hear anyone question my loyalty. But that's a subject for another day.

Now more than any other time, we need to pack the stands and be very vocal and give these kids support because they are our future. And not only that, we do have seniors on this team that have given insane amount of work and dedication and they deserve that respect. Even in times of crisis..

GO MINERS...win or lose.. we back you.

08/28/2026

It is a beautiful day and gonna be an even more beautiful night. There are a few things better than coming out to the Roy for high school football in linton, indiana. I think it would be awesome for this place to be packed with support for our team. Believe me when I say they feel that support when it's there and they can feel it when it's not there. It's a big game tonight, and they need to feel that we're there. Go Minersi I

08/28/2026

From the desk of Daniel Phillips.

Monrovia.....
QB 10 Mikey Terrell 12 6'0 175
RB 21 Ryder Bain 11 5'9 210
WB 4 Coewan Stinson 12 5'10 160
WB 24 Gavin Wolsiffer 11 5'10 150
TE 84 Ryan Cooney 12 6'5 245
WR 14 Jack Taylor 11 6'0 155

LT 55 Dontae Rodman 10 5'9 190
LG 75 Hayden Ragsdale 11 6'2 230
C 56 Brayden Chadd 11 5'10 195
RG 77 Triston Mountcastle 12 5'11 255
RT 70 Landon Hoffman 12 5'10 230

also see
WB 26 Logan Tolle 12 5'11 150
WR 20 Colby Schmaltz 11 5'7 145
WR 0 Gannon Prosser 12 5'9 170
WR 17 Bentley Parris 10 5'5 120

ILB 8 Daxtin Warthen 12 5'8 180
ILB 11 Gage Tolen 12 6'0 200
OLB 29 Ethan Rash 11 5'9 185
OLB 34 Payton Hall 10 5'4 155
DE 70 Landon Hoffman 12 5'10 230
DT 77 Triston Mountcastle 12 5'11 255
DT 56 Brayden Chadd 11 5'10 195
CB 20 Colby Schmaltz 11 5'7 145
CB 24 Gavin Wolsiffer 11 5'10 150
SS 14 Jack Taylor 11 6'0 155
FS 0 Gannon Prosser 12 5'9 170

AND...
DL 1 Harry Harris 11 5'11 160
DL 75 Hayden Ragsdale 11 6'2 230
DT 55 Dontae Rodman 10 5'9 190
DL 87 Braydon Pitcock 12 6'3 190

Bain and Stinson each had over 900 yards rushing last year..and Wilsiffer over 700. Monrovia returns 3 starting OL, actually 4 but another is sidelined. Tolen was the leading tackler in 2025 with over 120 stops. Hall started as freshman last year and was 2nd in tackles. He moved to OLB from ILB.

The Bulldogs lost to the defending 3A champs (who somehow have moved back to 2A!) 41-7 last week. The Cadets racked up 341 on the ground with another 56 in the air for 397 of offense. Monrovia did manage 161 of offense fairly even in 73 yard passing from 4 of 14 from QB Terrell. The big one a 49 yard TD to #14 Taylor. They got 88 on the ground but only averaged 2.8 per carry. Stinson with 12-50 and Bain 9-19. Hall and Tolen led the Bulldogs with 10 tackles each, Taylor with 9.

Miners have played Monrovia 17 times winning 10. Linton has won the last 6 of 7 including last year’s 34-19 win at Monrovia, and a 22-20 win at home in 2024. The lone Bulldog win in that stretch came in 2023 in a DOT 27-26 game.

First meeting was in 1989, a 20-0 Monrovia win. The Bulldogs won the first meetings (‘89 & ’90; ’99-’01) then Linton reeled off 4 wins in a row leading to wins in 10 of the last 12 meetings.

Andy Olson came aboard as head coach in 2020 with a 2-8 record, but turned in around to 7-4 in 2021. 2022 a strange season where the Bulldogs ended the regular season with 7 losses and a 2-7 record only to win the sectional and regional before a 35-7 loss to Lawrenceburg in sem-state. They had back to back 9 win seasons in ’23 and ’24., but a disappointing 4-7 season last year. He is 38-33 over-all in his 7th year. Brian Oliver at Linton is 136-32 in his 14th year.

They play in the Hoosier Legends conf with powerhouses Triton Central, Tri-West & Indian Creek. Also 4A’s Greenwood, Shelbyville and Beech Grove. Their Sectional (38) could be one of the most loaded in southern Indiana with Cascade, South Putnam (both state champions from 2025) and Southmont.

Coach Kevin Hutchins led Monrovia to a state title in 2015, and a previous state title game in 2009. As a whole Monrovia lays claim to 6 sectional titles, 5 regional and 2 Semi State trophies. Linton counters with 16 sectionals 12 regionals, 3 semi states and 1 state title (1a).

In Sagarin Terms… it’s about equal. Linton at 58.83 (19 in 2A), Monrovia at 57.16 (23). Home game at Linton I believe is a +2 putting Miners as favorite by 3.67. Monrovia with a 77.66 Schedule strength (28th in state), Linton at 69.22 (78th).

Linton is still getting the rankings from pollsters.. #6 in AP, tied at #11 in IFCA and #9 in USA.

On Linton’s schedule—Northview #14 in 4A Sullivan in #15 in 3A, Lutheran #5 in 2A, Eastern Greentown #6 in 2A Riverton Parke #1 1A, North Decatur #7 in 1A. (IFCA rankings)

GO MINERS!

08/26/2026

IMPORTANT NOTICE REGARDING YARD SIGNS:
(please read)

Miss ordering a Yard Sign for Linton Sports / Band / Kadets ?
NOW is the time to order --- and an order will be placed TOMORROW (Thursday at 10 am).

This is for Linton:
HS Volleyball | HS Cross Country | HS Band | HS Kadets | HS Football Cheer | HS Football | HS Boys Tennis | HS Girls Golf | MS Volleyball (that is being captured today)

Reminder :: $3 from every day is returned BACK to the sport ordered. And I will be making these donations on FRIDAY of this week.

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Payment options are below.
PLEASE Make sure, if you are sending Venmo or Zelle, to note WHO the sign is of and sport (so we can reference this).

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Interested in YOUR club / team having yard signs made ?
Contact me for details.

08/22/2026

First game is under our belts. Riverton Parke is a senior loaded team with an awful lot of talent, and I expect them to make a deep run, certainly probably facing south putnam.!!oops SP jumped up to 2a!!. I will be pulling for the panthers to reach Lucas.... True small town public school football.

I think it's good to get that first game in and see the areas that improvement can be attained. I was proud of our boys to not hang their heads and just fold up shop in the second half. That simply is not the Linton way. The schedule's not gonna give us much mercy. And I fully expect the coaches and the players themselves to do what's necessary to improve. The reality is we have a lot of young kids getting their feet wet in varsity football, and it is at a different level in both intensity and in speed. A lot of things you can't experience until you actually do it. And so, you have to expect there to be mistakes. The team just has to stick together. Keep each other uplifted and supported. Just as Miner fans need to do the entire year by coming out and being loud. So they can hear it.

We have a lot of young talent and we have solid seniors who've been in the program for a long time. When you've been at the top of the heap in the area for such a long time, everybody wants a piece of you. Just as everybody wants to kick you when you seem to be down. You just have to keep churning boys. Keep working and things will start happening. Go Miners...Always

08/21/2026

ILB- #17 Derek Collom Sr 5’10 180
ILB- #6 Marcus Lindley-Jr 5’8 180
OLB- #13 Brody McConnell-Sr 5’11 175
OLB- #8 Jackson While-Sr 6’2 170
DE- #53 Zeke Golay-Sr 6’3 270
DE- #24 Nemo Knox-Sr 5’11 185 or #22 Noah Pope-Sr 6’1 185 (DNP scrimmage 2025 Starter)
DT- #77-Lane Griffin-Sr 6’4 280
DT- #78 Bryer Oldham-Jr 6’2 280 and/or #50 Josh Ushman-Sr 5’10 170
CB- #27 Jaxton Blevins-Jr 5’8 155 and/or #9 Kane Llewellyn-Sr 5’11 140
CB- #5 Vickter Shoopman-Jr 5’8 165
S- #11 Anthony Barfay (Soph 5’11 155) or #2 Isaac Pope-Soph 6’0 155

Defensively…. Where the offense returns 6 starters, it’s the defense where things look real good for the Panthers with 9 returning starters.

ILB- #17 Derek Collom Sr 5’10 180 and Scrimmage had #6 Marcus Lindley-Jr 5’8 180 in that slot. Collom led RP in total tackles with 88, Bennett had 51. Lindley saw little action defensively in 2025. Immediate backups were #48 Gavin Childress-Soph 5;9 155 and #52 Isaac Greene-Soph 5’10 165

OLB- Again, both starters return with #13 Brody McConnell-Sr 5’11 175 and #8 Jackson While-Sr 6’2 170. While was 3rd in tackles with 71; McConnell with 29. While also had 4 picks of RP’s 19 total last year. Scrimmage back ups were #28 Gunner Childress-Soph 5’7 145 who had 28 stops and 5 TFK. #11 Anthony Barfay-Soph 5’11 155) also there and had 11 tackles in ’25.

DE- yet again the starters both return. #53 Zeke Golay-Sr 6’3 270 and #22 Noah Pope-Sr 6’1 185. Pope was 2nd in tackles with 72 and 13 TFL but was in street clothes at scrimmage. Golay with 62 tackles, 4.5 sacks and by far the leading TFL guy with 26 of the team’s 113 Total. #24 Nemo Knox-Sr 5’11 185 saw most of the action in the scrimmage, and did play a lot at DE in ’25 with 31 tackles. Backups were #54 Cody Trubizio-Soph 6’2 230 and #10 Brody Jenkins-Soph 6’2 185 (also the back up QB)

DT-Both DT’s return, and both huge with a combined 560 lbs. #77-Lane Griffin-Sr 6’4 280 and #78 Bryer Oldham-Jr 6’2 280. Griffin was a beast with 62 tackles and 21 for loss, Oldham with 35 stops and 8 TFL. #50 Josh Ushman-Sr 5’10 170 saw considerable action in 2025 with 42 stops and 12 TFL. He seems to be the speed guy with Oldman the beef. Another backup in scrimmage was #58 Ryder Stone- Soph 5’10 245. #57 Parker Britton- Jr 6’6 250 was in street clothes at Scrimmage, saw some action in ’25 with 11 tackles, 5 of those for loss.

DB- Here is where some new faces come in. #5 Vickter Shoopman-Jr 5’8 165 returns at CB. He had 32 tackles in ’25 and 3 picks. In the scrimmage both #27 Jaxton Blevins-Jr 5’8 158 and #9 Kane Llewellyn-Sr 5’11 140 saw equal action at Cornerback. Both had a handful of tackles in ’25 but not a lot of varsity time. #11 Anthony Barfay (Soph 5’11 155) saw the most action at Safety, but also #2 Isaac Pope-Soph 6’0 155. Barfay also was a CB in those situations with Pope at Safety.

RP runs a 4-4 so just 2 Corners and a Safety. It will be hard to go straight at that DLine. Defense was outstanding all season. 9 of their 12 games saw opponents score 7 or less points in a game, and the game high was 13 until the 29 south Putnam put up in the overtime loss that ended RP’s season. Only 2 opponents had a rusher over 100 yards- Taylor from Cloverdale with 107 and Benton from South Putnam with 251.

08/21/2026

And you thought I'd forget you LOL

Riverton Parke Team Info!!

TE- #8 Jackson While- SR 6’2 170
T- #69 Joel Harrah- Sr 6’5 275
G- #53-Zeke Golay-Sr 6’3 270
C- #50 Josh Ushman-Sr 5’10 170 or #64-Zane Organ-Soph 6’2 205
G- #77 Lane Griffin- Sr 6’4 280
T- #54 Cody Trubizio-Soph 6’2 230 or #57 Parker Britton- Jr 6’6 250 (DNP Scrimmage)
TE- #24 Nemo Knox-Sr 5’11 185 or #22 Noah Pope-Se 6’1 185 (DNP scrimmage)
WB- #5 Vikter Shoopman-Jr 5’8 165 and #9 Kane Llewellyn-Sr 5’11 140
WB- #27 Jaxton Blevins-Jtr 5’8 155 or #25 Jett Lesniak-Sr 5’11 170 (DNP Scrimmage 2025 starter)
FB- #17 Derek Collom-Sr 5’10 180 and #6 Marcus Lindley-Jr 5’8 180
QB-Brody McConnell-Sr 5’11 175

QB: #13 Brody McConnell: Senior 5’11 175. Steps up to start this year with graduation of last year’s starter Sanders. McConnell threw 2 passes completing both for just 8 years in 2025 and ran 66 times for 465 yards with 5 of those going for TDs. RP wasn’t a passing attack team with Sanders throwing for 451 yards an 8 TDs on only 43 attempts (35 completions for an impressive 78% completion rate). Seeing as how RP won every game by an average of 44 ppg until the OT loss to eventual state champ in 1A South Putnam. The season high game passing was 73 twice (South Verm and Parke Heritage), with a high of just 6 pass attempts (Fountain Central). Scrimmage wise I didn’t see a pass attempted! Now…that could be because they knew Linton was watching. I’m sure neither team revealed a lot.

RB: bread and butter. I saw double wing with RB tight on the QB who was under center. A lot of double TE, and sometimes unbalanced line. Some sets with TE, WB and the normal RB at an H back with another kid at TB. Basically over-stacking one side with either a pitch to the TB or the QB spins and keeps. They do another version of this where there isn’t the H back, but the opposite wing comes in motion and leads the RB to the power side. They also ran Wishbone with an assortment of backs with quick hitters but also handoffs and or pitches with 2 leading blockers. Another thing I saw was where they faked the pitch and the runner would leap as if the pitch was too high, then the QB handed off to the WB coming from the opposite side. Linebackers and back side defenders have to stay home.

The Panthers ran for 4,660 yard last year with 75 rush TDs. 9.5 per carry. Lowest output all season was the loss to SP with 253 yards. In regular season the low rush was 330 (Edinburgh with only 25 runs!).Season high was 528 against N>Vermillion in sectional, with 497 vs South Vermillion earlier in the year. They put 12 Rush TDs on Covington, and hit 7 TDs on 7 occasions. They lost Vester (112-1386 17 TD) to graduation, but have several returning players who had solid numbers last year. Watching the scrimmage alone I saw 6 different Panthers run with the 1st team including the QB.

These were the returning RBs with significant numbers.
#5 Vickter Shoopman: Junior 5’8 165: 60-674 7 TD 11.2/carry
#17 Derek Collom: Senior 5’10 180: 84-683 19 TD 8.1/carry
#25 Jett Lesniak: Senior 5’11 170: 50-426 4 TD 8.5/Carry… street clothes at scrimmage. No apparent Inj. But he was on the Terre Haute Sports talking about the Linton game… so I suppose it’s a wait and see.

In the scrimmage Shoopman was a one wing with #27 Jaxton Blevins (Jr 5’8 155) at the other. Blevins had 146 yards on 16 carries last year. Three others saw a lot of scrimmage action as well: #6 Marcus Lindley (Jr 5’11 160) , #11 Anthony Barfay (Soph 5’11 155) and #9 Kane Llewellyn (Senior 5’11 140). Lindley at RB Barfay and Llewellyn at Wing. Back up QB appeared to be #10 Brody Jenkins (Soph 6’2 185). Barfay did have 3 TDs as a freshman. Also note that McConnell had 465 yards on 66 carries which leads me to think he might have played WB besides being back up QB in 2025. In the scrimmage he did keep the ball on a couple misdirection plays. Looking back at 2025 game football I was correct as McConnell was a starting WB.

#17 Collom was back at essentially a FB. There is no shortage of skill guys as each looked solid running the ball with Collom, Lindley and Shoopman breaking free for long Touchdown runs. If Lesniak is healthy I am sure he is a starter at WB with Shoopman. Collom at FB with 6 Lindley his backup.

Receivers: As mentioned, I didn’t see a pass in scrimmage, and there was only 45 passed attempted in all of 2025 season. The graduated RB Vester had the most catches last year with 8 while Collom had the most yards (157) and TDs (3). #8 Jackson While (Senior 6’2 170) had 6 for 127 and a TD is one of the Tight Ends, Shoopman and Lesniak both had 6 from their WB slots. #24 Nemo Knox (Senior 5’11 185) was the other TE, was on ’25 roster but had no offensive stats; he did have defensive stats. Another factor is #22 Noah Pope (Senior 6’1 185) was in street clothes in scrimmage, and he had a TD pass (his only catch in 2025) and is listed at TE. Another TE at the Scrimmage was #33 Finn Jones (Junior 6’0 180). Both starting TE’s from 2025 Harper and Roderick graduated (both at 6’3”!).

A few other Panthers in street clothes that could be involved besides the aforementioned Lesniak were seniors #1 Re*****on Malone (RB 5’11 175), and #7 Zander Delp (WR 5’11 160) Malone 11-99. Delp had no offensive stats, but did on defense in 2025.

Offensive Line: Looks like The Panthers return 3 starters in tackle #69 Joel Harrah (Sr 6’5 275), guards #53 Zeke Golay (Sr 6’3 270) and #77 Lane Griffin (Sr 6’4 280). #50 Josh Ushman (sr 5’10 170) saw a lot of time at G last year and looks to be a Center this year, as well as #64 Zane Organ (soph 6’2 205). The other Tackle at the scrimmage was #54 Cody Trubizio (soph 6’2 230) as well as #72 Mason Woody (Fresh 6’0 230). In street clothes was #57 Parker Britton (Jr 6’6 250) who I am gonna guess could be the normal starting Tackle given that he had defensive stats as a soph, and his size. #78 Bryer Oldham (Jr 6’2 280) and #58 Ryder Stone (Soph 5’10 245) both came in at Guard. #68 Cam Porter (Soph 6’1 215) and #65 Sage Bachtel (Soph 5’10 250) were in street clothes as well.

1 guy did all the kicking (PAT and Kickoff) as well as punting in 2025…Nery Luna Sosa. They have 4 kickers listed on ’26 roster 2 freshman, a sophomore and a junior. 3 of those also listed as punter. No clue who it may end up being.

08/20/2026