The yearly gathering of the state’s best high school football players doesn’t, nor has it ever, included participation ribbons, medals or trophies.
Not that former Whiteland linebacker Daniel Adams would accept it anyway.
Adams, part of the South All-Star roster with Warriors cornerback Quinn Warweg, won’t require a defensive series or two to get the competitive fires burning the way they were last fall.
He’s already there.
“I’m not there to just play,” said the 5-foot-10, 213-pound Adams, who finished his final prep season as Johnson County’s leading tackler with 145 (or a mind-boggling 14.5 per game). “I’m there to win.”
Warweg, a 6-foot, 173-pound Butler commit whose athleticism and gridiron instincts enabled him to compile statistics in six categories (passing, rushing, receiving, tackles, interceptions and touchdowns), in 2021, is no less stoked.
The two report to the University of Indianapolis on Tuesday. The longtime friends and teammates will room together in the days leading up to the July 15 game at Ben Davis.
Adams and Warweg were notified in March that they would be part of the South roster.
“I noticed that I had made the (Class 5A) all-state team, so being able to play in this game definitely was in the back of my mind,” Warweg said. “It’s going to be a great time playing with the best football players in the state and being able to showcase my talents.
“I also think playing well and helping us win will prepare me better for college. I think everyone on the team has a little chip on their shoulder, including me.”
Adams is committed to play football at Lake Forest College, a Division III program located just outside of Chicago.
As a result, Adams and Warweg, who have been occupying the same football fields either as opponents or teammates since early elementary school, will represent the same team the last time.
Whiteland coach Darrin Fisher, whose defensive coordinator, John Preston, is a South All-Star assistant coach, looks forward to watching it unfold.
“Daniel is the definition of a self-made man. He loves everything about football,” Fisher said. “He loves practice, he loves watching film and he loves the weight room. Daniel is a grinder who has made all of this happen. And he is an extremely physical football player. He loves contact.”
“The thing I love about Quinn is he has competitive moxie. He has the ability to mold himself to be the football player he needs to be for us to win.”
That, Adams says, is why they’re there.
“It’s pretty special mainly because I’ve worked all my life to get there,” Adams said. “It’s really cool that I get to be part of this as a Whiteland guy. That’s a badge of honor.”
