For the last two seasons, Griffith has been looking ahead to its sectional, facing perennial #3A power
Knox. Well, the Redskins are now 2A and out of the picture, but 3A requirements lifted 2A state champ
Andrean to 3A and into the Panthers’ sectional in October.
The ‘59ers (13-1) are currently ranked #1 in the Coaches Poll and the USA Today 3A preseason poll. Twin
Lakes (10-3) is also in that sectional. The Indians are #8 in the preseason Coaches’ Poll and #9 in the USA
Today poll. The Panthers are #14 in the latter’s rankings.
Griffith can worry about that in 2 months. In the meantime, it will be the skill players on Offense that
could determine the fate of Coach Phil Mason’s 26 th season as a head coach and his 4th year overseeing
the Black & Gold. Griffith ended last season at 9-2 and ranked #8 in the AP 3A poll.
“We need to bully people,” said Mason (pictured) in a recent interview with Region Sports Network’s
Chris Ramirez. Though for a team that amassed 15 starts in the last two seasons beating opponents by
more than 35 points per game, you have to wonder what Mason has in mind.
There are 10 seniors returning from that squad who are expected to give Mason a deeper run in the
playoffs. Griffith’s offense lead by senior quarterback Ryan Bullion (pictured #10) averaged nearly 47
points per game last year. Bullion at 6 feet, was a statistical leader in the Region throwing for nearly
1,900 yards. He has gotten better every year and seems ready for another breakout campaign.
Bullion will be tossing to a number of targets, but most prominent in the mix is senior wide receiver
Jason Qullin, a 6-1 speedster (pictured #13). Quillin should be playing on Saturdays somewhere next
year. He snagged 60 receptions for more than 1,300 yards and 22 touchdowns and was an All-Greater
South Shore Conference Receiver in ‘25.
When the Panthers get tired of throwing, they will hand the ball off to 5-8 senior Desmond Neylon
(pictured #3). The transfer came out of nowhere last season with no hype to post nearly 1,700 yards
rushing. He broke a school record for a 99-yard gallop against East Chicago Central last autumn.
Even though these players will grab most of the headlines, Mason, a former offensive lineman at Illinois
State 40 years ago, thinks of himself as a blocker through and through. He seems to be most proud of
the returnees he has in the trenches.
Stanley Lesko, a 6-3, 235-pound senior comes to top of Mason’s mind. “He’s already had a couple D2
offers, “adds the Panther coach. Lesko looks to go at right guard along with another senior in 6-4, 295-
pound Gavin Edwards (pictured #77) at right tackle.
Edwards has letters from Ball State, Western Illinois and UIndy, but has committed to Northern Illinois.
The Northwest Indiana Times ranks him as one of the top linemen in the Region. He was just named to
Indiana Preps Sports Network 2026 Pre-season All Indiana Team Offense. “He’s the heart and soul of
the unit,” adds the Panther head coach.
Senior Sean Mitchell (6-0, 300) will anchor the O Line at center. Mason thinks he could also play at the
next level. Zavion Brown, a 6-1 senior is a versatile tight end who can catch and also block. Junior
Grayson Verbich (6-5, 305) anchors left tackle, while classmate Max Angel (5-10) is at left guard.
On Defense, Mason is very high on junior linebacker Hunter Butkus (where have I heard that name
before?). “At 5-10, he really reads the run game well,” says Mason. Senior Jacob Hemphill is Butkus’
running mate in the unit. He’s a 6-0 senior who can play either safety or corner.
Remainder in the D backfield includes 5-8 senior Mason Litke and 6-2 senior Davon Thomaston, who
may also find himself a target for Bullion in the offense. Junior Aaron Wilson at 5-11 should also play a
lot of pass defense this season.
Looking at the schedule, it appears a little tougher than last year’s when few Panther foes had better
than .500 records. This season, Griffith meets four teams with winning campaigns from ’25. The
Panthers travel to the Inferno in Week 3 to meet Lowell. The Red Devils were 9-3 last year ended up
ranked #12 in the AP 4A poll. Griffith has not beaten the Red & Black in its last six tries. Last victory was
in 2016. Lowell crushed Griffith 42-14 in the Boneyard last season.
An upgrade to the schedule comes in Week 6, but it’s another tough road game at Rensselaer Central.
Indiana Football Hall of Fame coach Chris Meeks’ Bombers are regularly ranked amongst the state’s best
2A squads. No difference this year at #12 in the Pre-Season Coaches Poll. Griffith lost to RC 42-13 in the
second round of the ‘23 sectional when the Bombers were 3A.
Calumet was 6-5 last year and travels to Griffith in Week 8. Wheeler (8-2 in ‘25) always a tough game
ends the regular season. The Bearcats finished the season ranked #11 in the 2A AP poll. The two teams
have split the last four contests.
When you analyze the rest of the schedule, you can never take anything for granted, but it looks like
smoother sailing. Highland hasn’t had a winning season in 11 years and were 2-8 in ’25. They are
Griffith’s guests this Friday. The Panthers are at Munster (4-7) in Week 2. The Mustangs have had 12
straight losing years. It’s Boone Grove (4-5) in Week 4 at home.
River Forest in Week 5 on the road. The Ingots had a down season last year at 4-6 and had not had a
losing season since 2018. RF always seemed to give Griffith a rough time previous to last year. Gary
West Side is another 4-5 team. The Cougars have not had a winning campaign since ’23. The Black &
Gold travel there in Week 7.
Griffith won’s its division in the GSSC in ’25. It’s a notorious weak league. The Panthers don’t seem to be
ever going back to the Northwest Crossroads, so the regular season is what it is. Griffith has a chance to
keep themselves prominent in state rankings bulldozing schools they normally beat anyway. It is odd
that with such a squad loaded with experienced seniors, Griffith only got two votes in the Coaches Poll.
The challenge is to beat Lowell and Rensselaer Central and dominate 2A ranked Wheeler to get any
attention from poll voters. Mason has been building this team for this moment. Hopefully, that former O
lineman gets back to a deeper run in the sectional. “Dedication and hard work plus we have high
character kids,” he adds. It all starts Friday. All the chips seem to be in on this year.
