IHSAA Week 1 Preview: Harrison v. West Lafayette @ Lucas-Oil
Trey Ostrom 
On July 21st, the Indianapolis Colts announced that one of the IHSAA’s most exciting events would be coming back to Lucas-Oil Stadium for the 2022-23 football season; the “Horseshoe Classic.” With last year raking up such a large success with Ben Davis taking on Brownsburg at Lucas-Oil, fans all across the state were excited to hear that the kickoff event would be returning to “The House That Manning Built.”
This year adds an extra element to the excitement as two local Lafayette squads, West Lafayette v. Harrison, will be coming down to Naptown for the first matchup of the double-header evening. With both teams ranking at the top of their classes, that being West Lafayette at No. 2 in 3A and Harrison ranking No. 9 in 5A, the two rivals will duel it out to start the season victorious.
West Lafayette was ranked the No. 1 team in 3A last season before losing to State Runner-Ups Brebeuf Jesuit in the first round. Yet, how Head Coach Shane Fry puts it, “It stings, but it makes our guys hungry… that’s sort of the inspiration for our guys this year.”
West Lafayette looks to make a deep run in the playoffs now that defending 3A state champs, Gibson Southern had to move on from Purdue commit and superstar quarterback, Brady Allen. West Lafayette seems to have their own rising star at QB with senior Max Mullis leading the Red Devils.
Mullis finished off his Junior season with an impressive 35 touchdowns to go along with 2,272 yards. Heading into his final year at West Lafayette, he now has the attention of a multitude of colleges including an offer from DePauw University. According to the senior star, the loss to Brebeuf last season will be the driving factor for the team this season. “We haven’t gone far in the tournament for a long time and we are going to change that,” Mullis told us when speaking to him.
Complimenting Max’s versatility is running back Connor Blankman. After rushing for 659 yards and 10 touchdown as a Junior, he received interest from Indiana Wesleyan and Marian while similarly receiving and offer from DePauw University. Yet who may be the the most dangerous on the offense is 2023 interior lineman, Luke Amann. Weighing in at 270 lbs and 6’3”, Luke has made “Indiana Preps Preseason All State Top 22 – Small School” team. Coming into his senior season, Purdue will have a stern eye on the local athlete.
As for Harrison, the Raiders had won a conference championship last year going 8-2 though we’re knocked out of the playoffs in sectionals. With that disappointing ending, Harrison is in a very similar mindset as West Lafayette being the “hungry underdogs.” When talking to senior receiver Jake Walters, he told us, “We all know what we are capable of doing, it’s just a matter of going out onto the field every week and showing everyone what we can do.” A “prove-it” win to start out the year against West Lafayette is a must if they hope to have a successful season.
6’4” QB Ben Henderson leads the way for the Raiders. Henderson has dominated the high school basketball scene with accolades including “First-Team All NCC, All-State Honorable Mention, Honorable Mention Academic All State, and First Team All Area (Big School Division).” Earlier this month, he had committed to Marian University to continue his academic and basketball career. Though Ben was an all-state safety last season, he’ll take snaps under center for the first time as a starter.
Who he’ll be throwing to? 6-foot-5 receiver Jake Walters who has been rumored to be a favorite to break out this year. When talking with Jake, he told us at Indy Sports Topic that he expects to, “Make the big plays when my number is called…” On defense, Gavin Goodwin was one of the Lafayette’s area top tacklers. As an athletic freak, he’ll undoubtedly be a leader on the defensive side.
