My View/Your View: Area’s top football coaches are? . . . The envelope, please

Is it too early to pick a high school football Coach of the Year? Maybe, but I don’t think it’s too early to bring up the subject. And we certainly have some obvious candidates in the Indianapolis area very deserving of such an honor as we enter the second week of the Indiana high school football tournament.

Let’s start with two coaches who’ve enjoyed fantastic seasons so far, compiling 10-0 records. Indian Creek’s Mike Gillin (Class 3A), who has never had a losing season in his nine seasons of overseeing the Braves’ program, and Monrovia’s third-year coach Kevin Hutchins (2A) are the area’s only unbeaten coaches in 2009. They certainly stand out.

So does third-year Brebeuf Jesuit coach Ryan Gallogly, who has his 3A Braves on the warpath with a 9-1 record. Gallogly has produced winning seasons in each of his three years at the school. Then there’s Ty Hunt of Cardinal Ritter, the 2008 Class A state champion, which finished the 2009 season No. 1 in Class 2A. Hunt is 47-7 in his fourth year at Ritter, the only high school he’s coached.

Pike’s Derek Moyers has enjoyed a productive 2009 so far (9-1), as well as during his three seasons at the Northwest side school, where he’s compiled a 30-5 record. He also led Pike to the state championship game in 5A in 2007, losing to Carmel.

And consider Center Grove's Eric Moore, the reigning 5A championship coach. He may have done his best coaching job this season. Only three starters returned, and he lost the depth of 30 seniors. Still, the Trojans are 7-3 despite being hit by several injuries and the flu bug late in the season. Moore must coach against his son, Tyson, a junior lineman for second-ranked Columbus East (10-0) this weekend. It would be even more of an accomplishment should Moore’s Trojans reach the Sectional 7 title game.

Like Moore, Carmel’s Mo Moriarity wasn’t greeted by much experience, especially on the offensive side after losing Indiana Mr. Football Morgan Newton. Yet, Moriarity, who guided the Greyhounds to a No. 1 season ranking in 5A and to the school’s first unbeaten finish in the Metropolitan Interscholastic Conference, is now shooting for a fourth straight trip to the state championship game and his second state championship in three years.

Certainly Cathedral’s Rick Streiff deserves mention when you look at that juggernaut he’s built at Cathedral that has the makings of producing a second straight 4A state title. Under Streiff, the Irish execute in a well-precision manner. They also own back-to-back victories over Carmel and Warren, who were No. 1 in different polls at the time to start the season.

I think that Scott May, whose only loss was to Fishers (10-6) in the second game of the season on a rainy night, has done a solid job at Hamilton Southeastern. Not only has May compiled a 28-5 won-loss record and shared three Hoosier Crossroads Conference titles in his three seasons at the Hamilton County school, he has built one of the state’s top defensive teams. The Royals are allowing only 7.0 points-per-game through 10 games this season.

And, of course, I think Fishers’ Rick Wimmer must receive very strong consideration, win or lose this weekend in a Sectional 4 semifinal against Carmel. What Wimmer has accomplished in such a short time is quite remarkable. He’s put the school’s first football program among the 5A elite in only four seasons, currently boasting a 9-1 won-loss record.

And though injuries are a big part of the game, the Tigers have held together quite well in their past three victories since losing junior Koby Orris, a terrific defensive back. The 5-11, 170-pounder had a knack for usually being where the ball was and was leading the team in tackles when he suffered ligament damage to his ankle and a broken leg in that four-point loss to Zionsville.

If you think I’ve overlooked someone or you want to share an opinion about any of the above coaches or any other coaches, let me know.

Mark Morrow is an online columnist for VYPE High School Sports Magazine, Central Indiana. He can be reached at mediamarko@sbcglobal.net or by leaving a comment.

Photos courtesy of Khris Hale and David Dixon