MARION, Ind. — In the past decade, Muncie Central has struggled on the gridiron. After only tallying 13 wins in the past five seasons, the Bearcats were due for a change of pace, so over the off-season, they hired Kyle Buresh.
Buresh previously coached at Mississinewa. Over the past two years, Buresh led the Indians to back-to-back undefeated regular seasons and a sectional championship in 2023. There was no question that Buresh could coach winning teams, but with a Muncie Central squad that went 2-8 the previous season, establishing a winning culture was necessary before expecting success on the field.
Junior safety and wide receiver Kye Hiatt knows that the culture shift was vital for the team’s success this year.
“Buresh came in and he just took over, and he just put in the culture that we needed and put everything together. Then, we just went out there and did our thing,” said Hiatt.
Hiatt opened up scoring for Muncie Central in their win over Marion with an 87-yard punt return touchdown in the first quarter. Hiatt also hauled in a 14-yard receiving touchdown later in the game. On the opposite side of the ball, he recorded two pass break-ups and a fourth-quarter interception – his sixth interception of the season.
Only being a Junior, Hiatt hopes this year’s success will act as a stepping stone for bigger things ahead.
“They look down to us in football, and we’re starting to put a notice to Muncie and the whole state that we’re here and that we’re going to do something,” added Hiatt.
Hiatt wasn’t the lone bright spot in Muncie Central’s victory. The senior backfield tandem of Dae’cion Echols and Landan Johnson combined for 298 yards and four touchdowns on the ground. Similar to Hiatt, Johnson has seen a significant culture shift between this season and last.
“I feel like we got more guys disciplined this year. They're more like, ‘all in’ this year, and they’re willing to be great and put in the work for it,” said Johnson.
In addition to the culture shift within the team, Johnson hopes winning games on Fridays can shift the culture throughout the Muncie Central community.
“The kids coming up in the ‘Central, having them that mindset, cause you know, in the past, they feel like we’re not really that good and stuff like that,” said Johnson. “But now, if we change the culture and stuff like that, we can bring a winning culture back to Muncie."
The Bearcats will host the Logansport Berries in the sectional semi-final Oct. 31, at 7 p.m.
For more information about Muncie Central, visit munciecentralathletics.com
Contact Jayden Collins with comments at jayden.collins@bsu.edu.
