Jim Mashek

SPARTANS WILL PLAY FIVE OF THEIR FIRST SIX GAMES ON THE ROAD

South Warren High School’s football team has had plenty of success over the years, including last year’s 12-2 finish that closed the Spartans’ 2024 season.

They’re poised to do more of the same over the next few months.

This time, however, the tradition-rich Spartans will be doing it in the KHSAA’s top classification, Class 6A, but they’ve always embraced a tough schedule to get ready for the playoffs.

That will certainly be the case this season.

“This is what you want, if you’re a competitor,” veteran South Warren coach Brandon Smith said.

South Warren has won three KHSAA state championships since opening its doors in 2010, most recently in 2021. The Spartans were one victory away from another title game appearance last season, but Bowling Green High School used two early kickoff returns for touchdowns to build a double-digit lead before holding on for a 31-28 victory in the KHSAA Class 5A semifinals.

“Personally, I still think about it,” senior wideout/cornerback Jake Carter said. “You can’t be ‘one foot out, one foot in.’ The competition is always there.

“We’re going to get after it.”

There will be other changes for the Spartans this season.

Besides competing in the KHSAA’s top classification, they’ll be playing on a recently installed artificial surface, which should be beneficial for the Spartans and their team speed. They’ll play five of their six first games on the road, but the one home game will be a non-district matchup with Bowling Green, the defending Class 5A state champion and South’s longtime rival.

“I’m really excited about the challenge,” Smith said. “I think (Class 6A) is the best football in the state, and our kids are excited about it, too.”

There will be plenty of new faces, like any other season, starting at quarterback.

Three-year starter Bryce Button has moved on to Eastern Michigan University, and Smith has been looking at two possible successors, junior Camden Page and sophomore Chase Bell, during summer practices. Page was effective when he finished out games for the Spartans last season, completing 17 of 24 passes for 139 yards and three touchdowns.

Page played primarily at wide receiver last season, finishing the campaign with 22 receptions for 273 yards and two touchdowns. He’s been a three-sport athlete for the Spartans for the last couple school years, playing basketball and baseball after the football season. South’s leading receiver, Jake Carter, also returns. Carter usually plays in the slot and he led the Spartans with 52 receptions last season for 792 yards and a team-high 13 touchdowns.

South Warren also returns its leading rusher from 2024, Kayden York. Like Carter, the 5-foot-7, 170-pound senior might look a little on the smaller side. But he’s tough between the tackles, as well as in the open field, and he rushed for a team-high 852 yards and 12 touchdowns as a junior. Veteran receivers Isaiah Bridges and Justin Cupps bring experience to the table, too.

On the offensive line, the Spartans will be buoyed by returning starters Malik Butler and Kyler Lyons, but Butler will also get extensive playing time on the defensive line. South Warren also returns senior placekicker Alen Alic, who converted 64 of 67 extra-point attempts while adding five field goals.

“On paper, the defense should be our strong suit, at least in the beginning of the season,” South coach Brandon Smith said. “I think the leadership is coming along. We didn’t lose a big senior class from last year, but those guys were the leaders of our team.

“It’s still wide open at quarterback. Pretty soon, we’re going to be into our weekly routine. We’ve got to take some of the names (on the depth chart) out of pencil, and put them in, in pen.”

South Warren will be part of a new look Class 6A, 2nd District, playing Central Hardin, Meade County and Daviess County. The Spartans will open the season in a doubleheader at Lexington Christian Academy, squaring off with Bryan Station High School on August 22 in Lexington. Bryan Station went 7-5 in the KHSAA’s Class 6A ranks last season.

Two other players to watch are twins Cole Helton and Clay Helton, sophomores who are the sons of WKU head coach Tyson Helton. They’ll play tight end and outside linebacker for the Spartans. Smith likes versatile players who can contribute on both offense and defense.

“(The Helton twins) are very competitive,” Smith said.

South Warren has a challenging schedule with just four regular-season games at home — Bowling Green (September 12), Meade County (October 3), Daviess County (October 24) and a Halloween matchup with Class 4A contender Logan County. In Week Two, the Spartans will tangle with Louisville’s DuPont Manual High School, which went 10-2 last year in the Class 6A ranks.

Coming next: Greenwood.