Nebraska 4-star tight end commit Thomas Fidone garners a lot of attention. Opposing teams, fans and media are constantly focused on him and for good reason. Fidone has more than lived up to the offseason hype by starting his senior campaign off well.
Yet it’s the Lewis Central defense that would get the game ball for Friday night’s performance if I was handing out such things. Titans coach Justin Kammrad was pleased with the defense following the 34-7 win over Creston that moved his team to 3-0.
“We’ve always hung our hat on being good defensively and being able to stymie teams and that kind of stuff,” Kammrad said. “We did some really good things. We gave up a big pass play early on the game. We just were out of position and guys just didn’t see what offensive formation they were in. We didn’t check to the right thing.
“But overall, we love the fact that our guys fly around to the football. They get after it and they enjoy that part of trying to keep teams off the scoreboard.”
The Lewis Central defense has a bevy of players that fly to the football on a consistent basis. Junior linebacker Wyatt Hatcher has been impressive to watch this season so far. The defender (6-4, 205) explained how the defense wants to set the tone for the team.
“I think the energy that we bring just sets the tone for the whole game,” Hatcher said. “We just come out and hit. It really affects the whole game. So, we try to set the tone like at the beginning of the game or even in the locker room. It shows when we come out. Sometimes we had some breakdowns in the secondary but we made up for it later in the game. In the second half we tightened up.”
Hunter Deyo (6-3, 270), who is another another junior defender on the team, also had a big week. Deyo played another solid game anchoring the line for Lewis Central. The defense played well against the run all night. Deyo—who added another Big Ten offer this week from Wisconsin—credits the defense’s chemistry and hard work in practice with how they’ve played so far as a unit.
The schedule will get tougher as the season moves along for what the Titans hope will be a deep playoff run. If players like Hatcher, Deyo, Jonah Pomrenke and Logan Katzer have anything to say about it, the defense will continue to be something Lewis Central can count on all season long.
>> Each time I’ve seen Lewis Central play, sophomore athlete Jonathan Humpal is making plays. The sophomore standout is a good young player who will only get better. Get to know his name early because he could be the next breakout star for the program.
30-yard TD catch for rising sophomore @JonathanHumpal1 on a nice catch. Good PAT and @lc_ftbll leads 24-7. #iahsfb pic.twitter.com/e7rpwwoVXp
— Greg Smith (@GregSmithHV) September 12, 2020
>> Fidone ended the game with six catches for 97 yards and two touchdowns. That’s a good game even though he wasn’t satisfied with the effort after the game. It’s rare that at tight end is a must-see player. There is a buzz that he can take one to the house every time he catches the ball.
24-yard TD catch for #Huskers commit @ThomasFidone. His second of the night. Good PAT and @lc_ftbll is up 34-7 with 8:33 left in the game. #iahsfb pic.twitter.com/jgz2a7QgkH
— Greg Smith (@GregSmithHV) September 12, 2020
After the game I caught up with the Huskers’ commit who had a message for Nebrasja fans after leading his team to a win. Lewis Central also continued the nice streak of winning every homecoming game since 2014.
He can’t wait to be part of the #Huskers family, but first @ThomasFidone is focused on this season with @lc_ftbll.@GregSmithHV caught up with Fidone after his team’s 34-7 win Friday night. #iahsfb
More to come at https://t.co/LERP1TC5Tu pic.twitter.com/2ElyaUn2rj
— Hail Varsity (@HailVarsity) September 12, 2020