Cooper Dold has Twin Lakes on a championship path

Even as a youngster, Cooper Dold had all the makings of a great quarterback.

“When I started playing flag football when I was five years old, I liked being a (wide) receiver and quarterback back then,” recalled Dold. “I was pretty good at throwing the football accurately, so I helped the team more at quarterback and ended up playing there the most.

“Our team was one of the few in flag football that would throw it, so those plays started the spark of making big plays with the guys and winning games.  That’s also when I fell in love with the game and the quarterback position, but I still like going out and running routes and catching balls. If I wasn’t a quarterback, I’d definitely want to be a (wide) receiver.”

Since taking part in tee ball (baseball) when he was four years old, good times have followed the 6-foot-3, 180-pound Twin Lakes senior standout wherever he has been on the playing field.

As a freshman, he played a big role on the diamond in 2024 to help the Indians claim Class 3A sectional and regional baseball titles and fall one game short of playing for a state championship.

Primarily used as a utility player, he has a career batting average of .378 (108-of-286) with 97 runs scored, two home runs, 52 runs batted in, and 76 stolen bases.

“Baseball has a lot of failure and adversity, so you have to learn to handle that,” Dold said. “You especially have to work to have the right focus of celebrating and staying together as a team. We have had a success in our three years with Coach (Jake) Burton, including a semistate run. We have also tried to carry over that success to the football field.”

Fast forward to last fall on the gridiron when he guided the club to their first Class 3A sectional crown since 2002 as well as their first 10-win campaign since 2003.

Over his first two seasons, he completed 388-of-646 passes for 5,281 yards with 50 touchdowns and ran 118 times for 406 yards with eight scores.

“I feel I have a great understanding of the offense and am a leader on the offense side of the ball,” Dold said. “My strengths are my accuracy, being able to create and throw on the run, and my pocket movement. My escape-ability has improved a lot as well as being able to attack all parts of the field with different throws.”

Despite recently establishing a new record for touchdown passes in a game, individual accomplishments are not important to him.

“Being a good teammate and celebrating the team and others’ successes on the field always helps whatever you are playing,” explained Dold, who went 17-of-23 for 381 yards with six touchdowns in a 49-13 win over Delphi on August 28. “When you don’t worry about ‘your’ success and focus on the team goals of preparing, competing, and winning, good things happen. Winning is fun, stats are great, but it’s all about the team and winning first.”

“I think anytime you compete in a team game, you have to know your job and do your job. That translates to baseball quite a bit.  It takes all the pieces of the team to make it work. The quarterback and skill guys get all the press and hype, but our offensive line had five returning starters back, and they set the tone for the offense. We ran for over 200 yards in week one (49-18 win over North Montgomery) and threw for almost 400 yards in week two (Delphi). That doesn’t happen without those guys and the running back and wide receivers executing.”

Dold, who is 34-of-47 for 829 yards with nine touchdowns and two interceptions this season, has plenty of admiration for several individuals for all of his good fortunes.

“I have had a lot of people in my corner my whole life,” recalled Dold. “My parents have been my biggest supporters. My dad (Steve Dold) has coached me in baseball and football my entire career. Other coaches that have had a huge impact on me are Coach (Sean) Brummett, who has been my baseball coach and mentor since I was four years old. Coach (Anthony) Morelli, who is my quarterback coach from X-Factor Quarterback Academy in Westfield, Indiana. I have worked with him since seventh grade and he has been the biggest impact in the game of football. Coach Greg Dunkle, who has worked with me since I was 11 years old as a speed coach. He’s the best. Then, there are two (Indiana) Hall of Fame coaches for my high school career in Coach Burton in baseball and Coach (Kevin) O’Shea in football.

“We also have a big family with my brother Tanner, my grandparents, uncles, aunts, and cousins who all come out and support me. There are a lot of other coaches and families that have supported me as well through my career and I’m very thankful for all of them.”

O’Shea, who has won 262 games over his 30-plus years on the sidelines and guided Lafayette Central Catholic to five state championships, has watched Dold blossom into a difference maker over the years.

“Cooper’s strengths are his work ethic, command of our offense, and the ability to make almost all of the throws,” explained O’Shea. “He can still improve his footwork and confidence throwing into tight windows, but he is a leader by example and has the support of his teammates by being out there throwing to them all summer long.”

Having someone like O’Shea to teach him the ropes has been a privilege for Cooper.

“Coach O’Shea is a great coach and has had a huge impact in my development in the offense and as a quarterback,” explained Dold. “He has had a ton of success in the game, including winning multiple state titles, so he knows what it takes and what it should look like.

“My freshman year, I was injured, but I was able to learn the offense from the sideline and from being around him. My sophomore year, was me just getting acclimated to the offense on the field in games vs. the sideline. There was a lot on my shoulders that year and he was pretty demanding of a standard. He can be pretty hard on me, but will be supportive too. Last year, the step was efficiency in the offense and our growth as players. Our relationship took another step with a lot more conversations and the grasp of the offense.

“This year, we want to put it all together and execute on offense and make a (tournament) run. Every year our relationship has taken steps and grown. He is still demanding, but our conversations have changed as my development has grown. Now we share a lot more. He asks what I like and who we want to get going in games. It’s been a great start this year. Running a college-style offense in high school with a hall of fame coach that played quarterback at the next level is a huge reason for my success and our growth as an offense.”

His accomplishments have not gone unnoticed as he has received interest from Wabash College, Indiana Wesleyan University, DePauw University, Marian University, and Georgetown College (Kentucky).

“Cooper is willing to do whatever it takes to win,” O’Shea said. “If it means throwing for 300 yards or if we need his legs to rush for 100 yards, he’s willing to do it.”

In order to compete at the next level, though, Cooper knows he still has to make some improvements.

“I realize I need to get bigger, faster, and stronger because the size and speed of the college game is a jump,” Dold said. “I have to trust myself and my guys and anticipate the throw so my timing needs to be on point.

“This year, I am working to help my guys more on the little things on the offensive side of the ball with alignment, coverages, and where we want to attack the defense. My first few years, I have tried to run the plays called vs. taking what the defense gives me and looking for where we can attack. I am trying to take more of what the defense gives me this year. We can attack zone or man and how the defense wants to defend us. Our wide receivers have worked hard on that and the results in the stats show because we are improving there.”

He definitely knows he would be nowhere without all of his buddies.

“I feel like I have a great relationship and bond with my receivers,” Dold said. “We have spent a lot of time this off-season throwing routes and connecting. I feel great about my guys. We have offensive (player) meals every Wednesday at my house. We eat and bond together. It has been a lot of fun and I believe we are a tight group.”

Away from all of the competition, he tries to keep things simple.

“I like to play golf, go to youth group, attend other school team events to support them, and hang out with the guys,” said Dold, who currently has a 3.7 grade-point average. “After I’m done playing, I want to get into a career in business or finance.  I really think that will be clearer once I get into college.”

Before worrying about his future plans, he believes there is some unfinished “business” to attend to first.

“We have a great team and besides staying healthy, we have to continue to work and develop so we are playing our best ball during the playoffs,” Dold said. “We want to bring the first regional championship to Twin Lakes. We have a very tough sectional including Andrean, who won it all last year (in Class 2A), and Griffith, so we have to continue to work and believe in each other. We would love to make a deep run in the playoffs. We just have to keep working every week so we are ready to compete.”

The next step in their mission comes on September 11 when No. 7 (Class 3A) Twin Lakes (3-0) travels to Oxford to take on Benton Central (0-3).