Kick4fun

Ben Davis may win a blowout. But if this is close, Zionsville wins. BD is primarily a running team. Zionsville has a reasonable chance due to fact their defense is much better vs. the run.

Temptation: Your argument is on point IF you are arguing that they are playing the best right now. But BTF and I are commenting on your assessment that their body of work is the best. 5-4 regular season. Not a full season of great work. Beat 2 teams that could reach the final, but 4 losses.

Struggle to say BD has the most notable body of work. Some great wins and some questionable losses. And their performance last week does not rank as high as others 1. Carmel 2. CG 3. WC 4. BD 5. Homestead 6. Merrilville 7. Z 8. Warsaw Predicition: WC/CG is a toss up. There will be an upset in one of the other 3 games

This is the first time I have seen this article. I believe the title is inflammatory and false; a different look at the numbers would suggest the following title: High School Football Participation Numbers Decreased Slightly, but that is OK There is absolutely NO evidence that football is Dying a slow death. There is still plenty of participation. The author points to a 6.5% decrease in athletes playing football and the rise of Lacrosse. What the author does not point out is that the decrease in participating schools across the country has been 1% in 10 years. That means that 99% of the US high schools that fielded teams 10 years ago still have students excited about playing football. 1% decrease in schools participating is not a slow death. Furthermore, the author makes additional points that explain the slight decrease in participation. Most notable of these is the decline in the total number of boys in this country aged 15-19. His census numbers showing that there are 700,000 fewer high school boys in this country accounts for a 6% decrease in the number of high school males. So football participation has decreased at the exact same level as high school boys attending high school. Amazing coincidence (haha). Bottom line: Using his numbers, the same proportion of boys are playing now as did 10 years ago. Hardly a dying sport. There is some truth to arguments that sports specialization causes some athletes to choose other sports (baseball players choosing fall ball over football). There is also truth that some families are pushing kids in different directions due to concussion risk. And there are a few families that see sports as a path to a scholarship and push their kids toward other sports that that they mistakenly believe are easier routes to that scholarship. But overall, our communities are excited about this Friday night and the beginning of football season. Players are excited. Students look forward to attending and entire communities are coming together on Friday nights. Football is definitely not dying.

There are 10 schools from north of Lafayette. Either Zionsville and Laf Jeff go north and join some combo from the Region. OR, some combo of HSE/Fishers or Noblesville/Westfield go to Ft Wayne. Either way, would suspect Laf Jeff and Zionsville to be paired together.