July 5 – Jimmy Sullivan, Chargers hone passing game as new season looms
DAVID VANTRESS
Carroll High School rising junior quarterback Jimmy Sullivan is laser-focused on a pass during the Parkview Sports Medicine 7on7 Tournament at East Noble on June 21.
KENDALLVILLE — Area high school football teams observe the four seasons.
The preseason, the regular season, the postseason and the offseason.
With the calendar in the second half of June, it’s still the offseason. But 16 Northeast Indiana teams, including Class 6A state runner-up Carroll, descended on Kendallville on June 21 for a major new event designed to help them get their passing game in gear for the looming 2023 season.
Parkview Sports Medicine combined with East Noble High School to host the inaugural PSM 7on7 Tournament. Eight teams gathered at the high school in the Surge Division, while eight more were at East Noble Middle School in the Thrive Division.
At the high school, on the Knights’ artificial turf field, IHSAA Class 6A state runner-up Carroll defeated East Noble, 28-6 on the arm of rising junior quarterback Jimmy Sullivan, who is already drawing Division I scholarship offers. He picked up an offer from the University of Minnesota last week.
Receiver Hansen Haffner, who hauled in several TD tosses during the tournament, will be one of Sullivan’s prime targets in 2023 and is looking forward to the challenge. He knows the Chargers enter the season with a target on their backs after making it to the state finals last season.
“We want that, being looked at as the team to beat,” Haffner said. “It’ll make us work even harder in practice and give us something to be motivated for.”
Carroll head coach Doug Dinan liked what he saw from his skill guys on the steamy turf at East Noble.
“We competed well,” Dinan said. “It’s June, and it’s 7-on-7, so we need to keep things in perspective. But this is great for quarterbacks and receivers, working on their timing, and our defense working on coverage.”
The rest of the summer for the Chargers will consist of a lot of conditioning, as well as some summer joint practices with East Noble in July, Dinan said. Those workouts will be in helmets and shoulder pads.
Fall camp officially begins July 31 with non-contact drills. Full contact drills are slated to begin Aug. 4.
The Chargers open the 2023 season Aug. 18 on the road at Hamilton Southeastern. Carroll defeated the Royals, 21-15 Nov. 18, 2022, in the Class 6A Northern Semistate at Carroll.