Last week, the Bishop Dwenger Saints captured their first outright SAC title since 2018. It was also the first time since the 2020 season that they shared the conference championship. In 2020, the Saints lost in Regionals to Zionsville, and in 2018, Dwenger defeated Evansville Central to win the Class 4A State title. That was also head coach Jason Garrett’s first year with the program. Prior to 2018, Chris Svarczkopf led the Saints to 4 state title games, but lost all of them (2015’s title was with Ernie Bojrab).
Since taking over the program, Garrett has done an exceptional job at sustaining the previous success at Dwenger. After winning his second outright conference title in his seven-year tenure, Garrett’s confidence in his team is at an all-time high. After defeating the South Side Archers last week 28-12, I was able to catch up with coach Garrett to talk about what it feels like to be on top of the SAC once again.
“I feel great. I’m so happy for our guys. It’s been a long time coming. A couple of years here, we’ve weathered the storm of adversity, injuries, young players, and a tough schedule. This senior class has stuck together. Couldn’t be happier for them,” coach Garrett.
“A guy that comes to mind is AJ Shefferly. Last year, he carried the ball quite a bit for us. We knew he was able to do that on the offensive side. He’s been a dominant force on the defensive line and has been carrying a heavy load for us. Andrew Trahim, taking over the leadership in a similar way. Playing offensive tackle and going two ways for us, playing nose guard as well. When we need a yard, we go behind him. Houston Ellinger, a lot of great stuff on defense and he’s carried the load for us on offense. We finally got a quarterback in Henry Jordan that has been able to stay healthy. Gosh, he is still probably in single digits in starts. He’s getting better every week. Passing game is coming along with his reads. I challenged four weeks ago to take control of the huddle. Probably the biggest suprise and the leader of our defense is Doug Henry. He’s leading the team in tackles, he’s everywhere, big hits. You name it. Those are the guys that are leaders us right now and we’ve got a lot of guys stepping up,” Coach Garrett added.
When I caught up with most of the players to talk about winning the SAC title, their response was the same: “Bringing back the bell was nice, but we want more than just a conference championship.” I was able to catch up with the senior quarterback Jordan to talk about his early struggles this season, winning the conference, and how he’s been able to overcome that this season.
“Very thankful that God has allowed us to bring the bell back home and an awesome feeling as a team to reach that goal and definitely hope we can stay healthy and make a good run in playoffs. I struggled a bit in the first couple games just trying to get used to the speed of everything but I’ve grown a lot throughout the season and beyond blessed to still be healthy and still playing. Being the first season I’ve made it this far healthy, it has helped me to not take anything for granted. To be able go out there every Friday night grateful God has allowed me to play another game with the guys I’ve played with since growing up,” Jordan replied.
Two players who have stepped up huge for the Saints have been sophomore running back Kolyn Campbell and senior wide receiver Beckham Russell. Campbell leads the team in rushing with 445 yards and five touchdowns. Russell leads the team in receiving with 382 yards, along with two touchdowns.
Last season, Dwenger was able to reach the Sectional Championship game, but fell short in a 38-0 loss to the East Noble Knights. With the possibility of a rematch coming this season, this year’s team has been battle-tested this season. Their two losses were against Indianapolis Roncali (3-0 in Week 1) and an improved Northrop Bruins team in Week 6 (21-18). First up for the Saints in Sectionals is a Leo Lions team that is led by speedy, dynamic running back Nathan Foster (13th in the state in rushing yards). The last time Dwenger played the Lions was back in 2021 when they lost the Sectional Championship game to them 31-13.
It should be a good one, and it will be a great way to kick off Sectional play in Northeast Indiana for our Game of the Week.