HAMMOND – It’s no secret that Bishop Noll football has been struggling in recent years, so much so that the school was forced to suspend varsity play in 2018 when the roster dropped to only 15 healthy players.
The program returned in 2019 for a junior varsity schedule of seven games, and beefed up its roster to again field a varsity team in 2020, a season unlike any other due to COVID-19 interruptions.
The coach who weathered all those obstacles, Wayne Racine, left to return to the college sideline this year, and the Warriors chose a young coach with plenty of optimism to lead the Warriors back onto the field for a varsity season facing a new challenge.
With a new football field under construction this year as part of the school “Fielding Our Future” outdoor athletic facilities renovation, Noll will spend the entire 2023 season playing on the road, even arranging for Homecoming and Senior Night festivities at opponents’ fields, but even that obstacle doesn’t phase Tyler Milby, 28. An assistant coach in Northwest Indiana for the past six years, Milby was introduced as BNI’s new head football coach in February by athletic director Cynthia Wilson.
“I am dedicated and committed to building the best high school football program in Indiana,” Milby said then,” and nothing since has changed his mind. “When I saw the opening come up, I thought, ‘Whoa, it’s Bishop Noll, (with) such a rich history and great potential, and we will work hard to build it back up.
“You can make any excuses you want, but I see a group of young players that are hungry to win,” Milby said of his team. “They have the talent to win – there are some great athletes on this team – and now we have to get that talent out of them.
“The competitor in me wants to win a state championship this year, and I know that isn’t realistic, but it is about getting these kids to believe in one another to get it done. If they believe in me, that’s good, because then they will listen to me, but if they believe in each other, they will succeed together.”
By next season, Phase I of the football stadium rebuild at BNI should see a new turf football/soccer field rimmed with a regulation track, field event competition areas and lighting, and a new grandstand with seating for 1,500 and a press box.
This year’s seniors won’t play on that new field, but they are working hard, said Milby, “to leave this program better than when they started.” “Angel Alvarez is a senior one of four captains by the team, and he is leading by example. He’s not afraid to call out a player who’s not getting it done, but he is also willing to help them.”
After four years as a linebackers coach at Wheeler High School, former Lowell High linebacker Milby spent the past two seasons as defensive coordinator at Calumet New Tech High School in Gary. In those two years, Calumet went 15-6 and posted six shutout victories. The 2022 team finished 9-2, matching the best record in Calumet history, and his defense set school records for total tackles and tackles for loss.
“We will work hard on both sides of the ball, but I do believe the old cliche that defense wins championships,” he said. “We are going to play hard-nosed defense, running as many hats as we can to the football.”
Milby credits Calumet coach Cody French with his growth as a coach. “Cody was a great mentor and taught me a lot in my two years with him,” Milby said. “I owe him a lot for my success.”
The new Warrior coach said French changed the culture at Calumet, a struggling program, and created a winner, the same thing he plans to do at BNI. “When you lose so much, you lose kids, and the program suffers. Cody turned things around at Calumet, and we can do that, too,” said Milby.
Bishop Noll principal Lorenza Jara Pastrick said Milby “has great energy and passion” about the game of football, “and I’m looking to see that transfer to our students. We must get competitive, close the gap and make these players believe we can and will win,” Pastrick said. “Tyler knew our team, he studied us and came in with player development plans and a real vision for the immediate future.
Pastrick thanked Racine, now a defensive line coach at Cornell College in Iowa, for his efforts to build the program. “Coach Racine did a great job stabilizing our program, getting kids out to play and giving football a chance,” Pastrick said.
Milby is a 2017 graduate of Saint Joseph’s College in Rensselaer, where he received his bachelor of science degree in exercise science with a minor in education as a member of the school’s last graduating class. He will teach physical education, health and weight training at BNI. Engaged to be married to Cheyenne Foor in 2024, he just bought a home in Hebron.
Steadily building Noll’s roster from 25 to 39 players during preseason, the Warriors boasted 49 as they prepared for a scrimmage at Lake Station on Aug. 11 and the season opener vs South Bend Clay on Aug. 18 (played at 6:30 p.m. Central time at South Bend Riley High School).
Milby is also looking ahead to what he hopes is Noll’s first visit to Lucas Oil Stadium in Indianapolis on Saturday, Aug. 26, when they have a noon kick-off vs. Osceola Grace. “We hope plenty of fans will join us for that game, and then return at Thanksgiving (for the IHSAA 2A State Championship),” he said. “You’ve got to believe, and I do.”
Caption: "There's too much talent (at Bishop Noll) not to win," new head football coach Tyler Milby told Warrior supporters at a fundraising event at St. Mary in Crown Point on May 31 for "Fielding Our Future," a plan to renovate outdoor football, softball and track facilities at the Hammond school. "BNI is the gem of the region, and we are going to do great things." (Marlene A. Zloza photo)