Athlete of the Week: Elyas Zapata INDIANAPOLIS (WISH) — It’s been a historic season for Decatur Central boys basketball. The Hawks set a program record for wins in a season with 20 and won their first regional championship in program history as well. One of the main drivers of the team’ s success is senior forward Elyas Zapata. He leads the team in scoring (14 points per game) and rebounding (seven rebounds per game) Zapata credits team chemistry and playing together as a unit for their run this season. “We’ve came back better and stronger than we were last year,” Zapata said. “Coming from a 7-16 record last year, it’s really disappointing. But the way we flipped the program around, it’s really spectacular. Nobody even thought we were going to do this. Everybody thinks we’re at the same record as last year. We were going to do nothing. But turning our program around is really good.” Zapata has a special relationship with his head coach, Bryan Surber. “I’ve known Elyas for a long time,” Surber said. “He actually used to live right across the street from me and would be in my driveway playing basketball when he was younger. So the relationship between he and I is way past just coaching him in basketball.” Decatur Central is set to take on Mount Vernon in the semi-state semifinals on Saturday at 10 a.m. in New Castle. “It’ll be a great competition,” Zapata said. “It’ll be a great game, for sure. Luke Ertel’s a great player. They also got a bunch of great players on that team. I think we’re just going to go out there and do what we do. Do what we do best, and whoever comes out firing first and whoever keeps that energy after all four quarters, I think is going to come out on top.” If Decatur Central wins, it will play the winner of New Albany and Terre Haute North with a trip to the state championship on the line. For more on Elyas Zapata, watch the video above. ...read more read less