Until last year it had been nine years since North Side football had a winning season. But then the Legends finished 8-3 and earned a trip to a sectional championship against Snider. Despite losing that title game, the season was a success for North Side.
“I’m very proud of last year’s team, I’m very proud of those seniors, man,” head coach Ben Johnson Jr. said. “Those seniors set goals, and you know we was able to crush a lot of those goals that we set. And, you know they set a new standard here, you know, a new way. So, a lot of our younger guys understand what those new standards are and those new expectations, so they’re hungry and they’re ready to go.”
The upcoming season is about a month away. The Legends opener is on August 18th. As with many high school teams, North Side has a mix of returning players and new starters at various positions. The players are excited about the upcoming season, including defensive back, wide receiver, and quarterback Jamari Pearson.
“I’m looking forward to it a lot, you know. We got a lot of new faces, a lot of new kids coming in, a lot of stars coming back,” Pearson said.
One player who returns to this year’s team is Notre Dame commit Brauntae “Tae Tae” Johnson. While he plans to play defensive back for the Irish, Tae Tae is expected to play both defensive back and receiver this year for the Legends. He is coming off a 1,000-yard junior year. Though he is currently battling an injury, Tae Tae is expected to be ready for the opener.
“It’s very valuable to have him back,” Coach Johnson said. “He’s a four-year starter, so he’s seen everything. He’s seen the highs, he’s seen the lows. He’s very experienced, you know, dealing with Friday nights and he’s very relatable to the kids, letting them know what is it gonna be like and what it’s going to take, you know to be successful on the field.”
On defense, the Legends return plenty of talent, even after the likes of DaVon Doughty, Brashawn Bassett, Aden White have graduated. Josh Masasu returns after racking up nine tackles for loss as a sophomore. Senior defensive tackle Da’von Haney also returns after averaging four tackles per game last year. In the secondary, North Side brings back Jamari Pearson and Tristen Newsome who combined for three interceptions last season. Juniors James Early and Tobias Delaney have also done well in practice.
“This defense could be great,” safety Tristen Newsome said. “I feel like [we’ll] be better than last year when we had DaVon Doughty and Brashawn Bassett. So that just goes to say for itself.”
“[Our defense is] gonna be really good, having the stars that we had last year coming back and a lot of new cats coming up and the starters that played last year uplifting the players that never played,” defensive tackle Da’von Haney said.
“Josh Masasu is just a beast. And then you got Tristen Newsome on the back end,” Coach Johnson said. “And then, you know, Jamari Pearson is just a straight lockdown corner. So we’re just very excited to have guys on all three levels that can dominate a game, especially Davon Haney in the middle on the trenches.”
There are a few offensive positions that will have new starters. Running back Jontae Lambert was the fifth leading rusher in Indiana, carrying for 2,257 yards, and adding 17 touchdowns. Three of North Side’s top running backs so far are Chris Granger, Kamden Johnson, and Javius Davenport. Davenport has experience in the Legends’ offense. He averaged five yards per carry. Johnson transferred in from Homestead where he was the Spartans’ leading rusher. Granger had just four carries last year, but he has impressed his teammates in practice.
“Javius, he played last year, so … I’m expecting for him to come out and do his job,” Pearson said. “Kamden, he was at Homestead, we’ve seen what he can do. Chris Grainger, we know what he can do, we’re just trying to see what they can do in the game play.”
“Losing Jontae kind of hurt, but we have other running backs like Kam Johnson and Chris Granger that’ll fill the role,” Newsome said.
North Side will also have a new starting quarterback this year. Last year’s starter Bohde Dickerson graduated after a 2,000 plus yard season where he threw for 28 touchdowns. This year, Dylan Schible and Jamari Pearson are competing for the starting job.
“Dylan Schible, he knows the offense, he’s been in the offense for three years now,” Coach Johnson said. “And then, you know, Jamari Pearson, he’s just a dynamic kid that, you just put the ball in his hands he can make throws, he can also take off, you know. So those two guys will be helping us at that position and, you know, lead our team to victories.”
North Side’s opener is against Northridge, out of Middlebury. The Raiders are coming off back-to-back sectional championships.
“I expect a great game week one. Everybody wants to come out week one and show the whole state what they’ve been working on all summer,” Newsome said. “And them over there in Middlebury, I know they’re working just like we’re working, so it’s gonna be a great game.”
