It might seem daunting to take over a program that is coming off the best season in school history, a magical ride that ended with the team holding the state championship trophy on the turf at Lucas Oil Stadium.
But if there is anyone who understands that feeling, it is Cascade’s new football coach.
Nick Brickens, who won a state championship as a player at New Palestine and was part of two more state titles as an assistant for Kyle Ralph at his alma mater, is ready for his opportunity at Cascade.
“It’s definitely really hard to climb to the top,” said Brickens, who also won two NAIA national titles as a college player at Saint Francis. “It’s just as hard to stay there. I learned from (Ralph) what it takes to push players and your staff not to get complacent. He’s second to none in each of those qualities when it comes to maintaining that level of success.”
Cascade went 15-0 last season and won the Class 3A state championship, achieving several “firsts” along the way, including the Cadets’ first sectional title since 1992 and first regional, semistate and state titles the following three weeks. Connor Simmons, also a New Palestine graduate, led the program on an ascent over a six-year period that ended with last year’s title run.
Simmons stepped down at Cascade to take an assistant principal position at Southmont.
“We talked quite a bit back and forth about how he ran his program,” Brickens said of Simmons. “I want to build upon the program that he’s built. We’re not going to do things exactly like he did, obviously, but I want some things to stay and honor the tradition that he has going here.”
Cascade is in the odd position of moving down a class after winning a state championship, dropping to 2A due to enrollment. South Putnam, last year’s Class A state champion, will also be a part of the eight-team Sectional 38 field.
The Cadets will lose some key pieces to graduation, including quarterback Brady Trebley, two 1,000-yard rushers in Dayton Mink and Toby Savini and several others in a strong senior class. But there is talent returning, including defensive standout T.J. Turner (30 ½ tackles for loss) and Swiss Army knife Lucas Farmer, who made several big plays on both sides of the ball in the Cadets’ title run.
“After meeting some of the kids, you can see they are hungry to compete and get better,” said Brickens, who will meet with the entire team for the first time on Friday. “You get the feeling meeting them that they really want to be the best versions of themselves.”
Brickens ran for 1,627 yards and 20 touchdowns as a senior at New Palestine in the fall of 2015. He also played linebacker for three seasons, helping the Dragons to a Class 4A state title in 2014 and a 5A runner-up finish as a senior (the epic 64-61 loss to Fort Wayne Snider was his final game).
After Brickens finished college at Saint Francis, Ralph reached out to him about coaching. He joined the staff for the 2020 season.
“The job market was difficult with COVID hitting,” he said. “I didn’t think I’d do the education part of it, but after coaching I fell in love with it and went back and got my teacher’s license.”
Brickens joined Brett Cooper’s staff at Perry Meridian in 2021. Cooper, now at Ben Davis, was in the process of building the program there. The Falcons went just 2-8 that season but that experience helped Brickens see a different side of rebuilding process.
“You could see the culture start to build that season,” he said. “You wouldn’t have thought going out there for Week 10 that it was a two-win team.”
Brickens went back to New Palestine in a full-time position in 2022 and has been on the staff ever since, helping the Dragons to the 4A state title in 2024 and 5A championship last fall. He was associate head coach and special teams coordinator on Ralph’s staff.
Cascade does have a tradition of producing talented coaches. Whiteland coach Darrin Fisher, Mt. Vernon coach Mike Kirschner and former Pike coach and current Warren Central athletic director Derek Moyers are among those who have coached at Cascade.
“The community supports football and is supportive of the people in it,” Brickens said. “It’s very similar to New Pal. Seeing that support they had with coach Simmons was really exciting to see. I can’t wait to get started.”
Call Star reporter Kyle Neddenriep at (317) 444-6649.Get IndyStar’s high school coverage sent directly to your inbox with the High School Sports newsletter.
This article originally appeared on Indianapolis Star: Cascade football coach Nick Brickens comes from winning program at New Palestine