* Outlook – The 2010 season at Tippecanoe marks the 90th consecutive year the school will field a football team, and the Red Devils are looking to return to the playoffs after a run to the regional semifinals last fall.
“We graduated a good group of seniors, and we’re in a position where we’ve got some new faces coming in,” says head coach Charlie Burgbacher. “I think we have the opportunity to be in contention for a league title.
“We’ve made it to the playoffs every year since 2005. We hope our program is at the point where year in and year out it’s competing for a league title.”
Tipp is in one of the state’s deepest – and geographically intimidating – regions (a behemoth swath of schools that stretched from I70 to Lake Erie; from Columbus to Cleveland).
“A lot depends on how you do on your schedule,” Burgbacher says. “Then, there’s a lot that’s not within your control: how other people do in the Western Buckeye League, other leagues, etc. … There’s a lot that can happen. If you make the playoffs, it’s an accomplishment.”
One area where Tipp is most solid is special teams. Burgbacher believes Pignatiello could kick at the D-I level in college.
* Schedule – When asked what games he has circled on his calendar, Burgbacher doesn’t hesitate: “Within our division they’re all big games,” he says.
Tippecanoe dropped just two regular season games last fall: their season-opener against St. Paris Graham 28-3 and a 28-0 rout at New Carlisle Tecumseh. They’ll start their season the same way this fall with a Week 1 matchup against Graham. They face Tecumseh in Week 9.
8/27 @ GRAHAM LOCAL (ST PARIS)
9/3 @ GREENVILLE
9/10 MILTON-UNION (WEST MILTON)
9/17 INDIAN LAKE (LEWISTOWN)
9/24 @ BENJAMIN LOGAN (BELLEFONTAINE)
10/1 @ SHAWNEE (SPRINGFIELD)
10/8 BELLEFONTAINE
10/15 @ STEBBINS (RIVERSIDE)
10/22 TECUMSEH (NEW CARLISLE)
10/29 KENTON RIDGE
