FW HS Football

Respect! Class act from a classy team.

🙏🏾🙏🏾🙏🏾

Sometimes, having a purpose to play for will get a team through a game or two, when facing a better teams. I think that Friday's game might not be too big for Carroll. Unlike many underdogs playing in their first championship game that might look around and see the bright lights of LOS and not being ready to play. The Charges will have a section of stadium wearing orange (not the Chargers' colors by the way) to remind them they have one more game to play, not only for themselves, but for #13. Just my take. I've seen many games with inspirational stories end up being lopsided losses, too. Hoping for a Carroll win.

I looked at the stats of the two teams and, other than rushing yards, they are extremely close. However, it should be noted that Carroll didn't play a full 6A schedule and Center Grove did, and so Carroll stats may be not be on the par as the Trojans. Still, I have watched most of Carroll's games over the last 15 years and I this team has more talent across the board than previous squads, and that's without having a returner all-state LB in the lineup. Plus, they are playing for a fallen teammate and I believe that they are staying focused because of that purpose and will be well-prepared for Friday's game. Center Grove is very talented and the fact that their kids have played in state final games at LOS over the past several years gives them an advantage. Still, the Chargers have been playing all season long for #13 and the fact that they are 13-0 and made it this far is a great story, but I think they can play another inspirational game. You'll see plenty of orange in the stands to honor #OwenStrong. I'm picking Carroll 27-21.

Great job Chargers! I was off by a few point (I had 22-13). Enjoy tonight and start focusing on a tough Center Grove squad that had a huge win over Cathedral. Prayers to the Royals’ player taken to the hospital in the 1st quarter.

How much do you think coaching experience will come into to play for this game? Coach Dinan has several more years of experience over Coach Kelly as a head coach, and the core of Carroll's staff has been with him during his 13 years. That experience showed last week when the team didn't panic after being down 13 at halftime and went up by one in the 3rd and blanked Lafayette Jeff in the 2nd half. I think the team also gained experience from last year's regional game with Westfield. The Chargers were down only 10 at the half to a really strong Shamrock team. Carroll needs a strong start Friday night to earn a trip to LOS. 22-13 Charger win (yes, those numbers are significant).

Available turf fields in Fort Wayne for Friday night: Homestead, Concordia and Spuller Stadium. The Luers/West Lafayette field a few years ago was awful and I believe hurt the Knights. I hope the higher ups at Luers learned a lesson from that game and try to get this game moved.

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Maybe. But Nowell pulled off the upset last year and I’m interested to see if lightning can strike twice. Go Knights! 🙃

If you consider the first five minutes of the first quarter “a while” then sure, those two games might be close. Otherwise, this is a snoozer week for good games in the SAC. I’ll try to stream the Brebeuf/Roncalli or Nowell/East Noble games if I can. Those should be good matchups.

East Noble 35 - Evansville Memorial 20.

Hobart’s D was on the field way too much after the first quarter and East Noble’s defense kept the game closer than what the score could have been. Two great teams made for a very entertaining game. Congrats Knights!

Ryan - don’t forget to pick up your chocolates in South Bend on your way home.

Passes can be purchased at the beginning of the school year for regular season games but can’t be used for playoffs. I thought semi-state admission was $10. It’s great that the community is helping out the kids. Well done EN!

Parker throws for 3 TDs and runs for 2. Plus, he’ll get a pick on D. Maybe some chocolates from the South Bend Chocolate Co. on the way home can make the trip worth the drive from Hobart.

Doubt it. Knights by 21.

Mid 1970s??? I believe that Indiana has laws to prevent what Tommy is suggesting from happening. You might be better off finding a date during "jello & bingo night" in the community room. 🤣

From the Fort Wayne area I would rank the best QBs as Luke Goode (Ft. Wayne), Bailey Parker (East Noble) and Jeffery Becker (Carroll). Goode is a pure pocket passer even though the Spartans run a read option offense. He has over 2,700 yards passing with 27 TDs and only 2 ints. Goode didn't run much, but showed that he could move outside the pocket and look for his secondary receivers or throw the ball away, which is why he only threw 2 picks. Parker is the areas best dual-threat QB also with over 2,700 yards passing. He has thrown 39 TDs with only 6 picks. He is also a threat on the ground and has over over 1,200 yards with 16 TDs. Toss in his 75 tackles, 3 picks and 4 fumble recovers on defense and he and Jake Archbold (also from Homestead) are two of the best athletes/all-around players from Northeast Indiana. Becker is a sophomore with tremendous promise. On the field he was Carroll's leader on offense and at times looked like he had the experience of an upperclassman. His 2,000 yards passing and 20 TDs are impressive, but he'll have to keep the interceptions (12) down in the future. He also was productive running with over 500 yards and picked up 6 rushing TDs. Parker will be playing college ball next year, probably at DB, but the two others QBs coming back next year, watching football on Friday nights in Fort Wayne will continue to be exciting.

I’m sure that East Noble is happy that they don’t have to make the 2 1/2 trip to Hobart. This should be a great matchup of a well-balanced offense against a hard-hitting tough defense. I’ll give the edge to the home team in this one, with the Knights winning 28-14 over the Brickies.

High school football at its best!

In their first game of the season, the Knights traveled 1 1/2 hours to Plymouth and had a slow start but came alive in the second quarter. Their trip to play Mississinewa is a little over 1 1/2 hours. The weather for Friday night looks to be a little chilly but clear with little wind, and this doesn't help the Indians. Mississinewa would prefer this game to be played in crappy conditions to limit the Knights passing game. As long as East Noble can get off the bus and get their offense moving from the opening kickoff, I see them winning 35-14.

FYI - there is a Fort Wayne Komets hockey game also on Friday at 8:00 at Memorial Coliseum, close to Zollner Stadium. The Komets usually draw around 8,000 and people come from around the area, so give yourself plenty of time to eat. Just in case the local eateries are busy. BTW - I love Wu's, Chinese food, just as good as nearby PF Changs. Plus, the stadium is only 10 minutes away and by that time you'll be hungry again for a hot dog and some popcorn. Have fun and enjoy!

Parker is a senior and will be playing college ball next year.

Crown Point over Merrillville 27 - 24 Warsaw over Penn 30 - 22 Homestead over Carroll 35 - 28 Carmel over Westfield 34 - 21 Brownsburg over Zionsville 45 - 14 Ben Davis over Southport 35 - 17 Warren Central over Lawrence North 42 - 28 Center Grove over Franklin Center 31 - 14

I bet Coach Zolman will try Archbold in the backfield. Even though he is Goode's "go to" receiver on many of the important downs, he has played RB in the past and the Spartans had success running against the Charges last time out. The now-injured Hardwick accounted for almost half of the 200+ yards Homestead gained against Carroll that night, but I could see Archbold running for 100 plus if given the chance. If Archbold does slide into the backfield, Goode will most-likely look to Little as his "go to" guy, plus he still has Kistler. Kistler has been hauling in and dropping fewer receptions over the past several weeks. Plus, he had a big game against Carroll earlier this year. Even with the tweaks that Homestead should make on offense, their defense must not allow Carroll (or their next opponent if they advance) to run on them the way that Noblesville did on Friday. But I do agree with many that Homestead should give Carmel or Westfield a good game. Carroll could, too, but they would have to play a near perfect game to make that happen.