ROCKTON, Ill. (WREX) - As the summer fades and kickoff looms, the Hononegah Indians are once again preparing to defend their share of the NIC-10 crown.

The 2024 co-champions enter the new season with one of the conference’s most drastic roster turnovers in recent memory — but don’t confuse change for weakness.

“We’ve reloaded very well,” said senior center Max Benson. “We’ve lost a decent amount of guys, but throughout summer camp, we found some great guys to fill in those spots.”

Head coach Brian Zimmerman echoed the optimism. While the departures were significant, Zimmerman noted that the program's depth and developmental consistency have helped bridge the gap.

“We had quite a few seniors that started in starting roles for us, but I feel like we had a lot of juniors that had an op

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