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Very true. Should add that Bluffton had a talented middle school team the past couple seasons that are Freshmen this year. I'm sure their baseball run has added some fire to their football team as well.

Reminder to get your picks in. Calling @SPARKS Others are invited to pick as well.

Update

It is interesting what happens as kids grow. Middle school not always the indicator for high school success. For example, the seniors here at Rochester only won one game between their 7th and 8th grade seasons. The class behind them, Juniors, only won 3 or 4 both of their years. They played really well together week 1. Interesting to see what they do the rest of the season.

Hamilton was between them and was the 2023 starter. He carried the team during the 23 semi state game against North Judson. What's crazy is the current junior class has been thought of the weak spot among those before and after them. They've stepped up week 1. Collier was magnificent. The top players from their youth days in that grade are all gone & at other schools like South Adams and one at Northrop that is a big college recruit. He left AC for FW Carroll and then to Northrop if I'm not mistaken. Would have been fun to see if they all stayed at AC. Side note: watch for Bellmont to make some noise in the next few years. I'd say South Adams as well. Bellmont's 8th grade won the NE8 as 7th graders and could repeat. They beat our 8th grade again but it was 2-0 this time. Both teams had great defenses and some flashes on offense & special teams. South Adams 8th grade should be good as they were dominant in 5th & 6th grade. They for whatever reason didn't have a 7th grade team last year (think they played as a mixed 8th & 7th). Be nice if Bellmont was 3A, AC 2A, & South Adams 1A when those kids are seniors if they keep getting better.

His 2nd choice was Concordia so it didn't happen to be any else but his parents wanted him in private school.

How are these 8-man games currently officiated? Are the refs members of the IFOA? Are a lot of them also IHSAA licensed officials, doing 8-man games "on the side"?

I thought ESPN was already the SEC Network?

I said that Adams Central would come back down to Earth when Black at QB graduated. Then came Jamison Roach. I'm not even going to say anything when he graduates after this year because there will be some other kid coming up just as good or one ups him. Impressive stuff going on at Adams Central.

Crawford has gone white with PACK down the side. They haven't used the Cincinnati Bearcats CC in almost a decade. That was my thing, it didn't stick when I left.

Week 2 Picks Bloomington North (0-1) at BNL (1-0): The Cougars lead the all-time series with the Stars 25-14. They’ve won the last seven games and 18 of the last 19. For a second year in a row, BNL pulls off a surprise win against Martinsville in week 1. They hope to avoid last year’s follow-up when Bloomington North defeated them 29-20. Based on how bad the Cougars looked against Bloomington South last week, I like the Stars’ chances this time around. Columbus East (0-1) at Columbus North (1-0): The Bull Dogs lead the all-time series with the Olympians 30-25. This classic rivalry has been a pretty one-sided affair over the last ten years as Columbus North has won five straight and nine of the last ten. North already has the record for the most consecutive wins in the series and they will look to extend it to six. East had a good first half against Mooresville last week but turnovers were a killer in the second half and overall. North’s defense looked impressive against a usually solid Whiteland team en route to a 14-7 victory. I question, though, if Mooresville is trending down based on last season’s 5-5 record and with having a new coach. I also wonder if Whiteland is due for a bad year based on all the graduation losses. Nevertheless, the Bull Dogs seem to be the safer bet here so I’ll take them. I’ll be surprised if it’s close. Jeffersonville (0-1) at Seymour (0-1): The Red Devils lead the all-time series with the Owls 37-28-1. Jeff has won the last two. Interestingly, the teams have traded consecutive wins over the last eight years. Seymour scored wins in 2018 and 2019. Jeff followed that with wins in 2020 and 2021. Seymour added a couple in 2022 and 2023. And, like I said, Jeff won in 2024 and 2025. Like East, Seymour had a good first half last week (against Greenwood) but the wheels came off in the second half. The Red Devils got pulverized but it was against a very good Lawrence Central team. Not really sure who to go with in this one but I’ll just say Seymour squeaks one out. New Albany (1-0) at 2A #3/#5 Indianapolis Lutheran (1-0): The Bulldogs and Saints met for the first time ever last year and it resulted in a 17-0 Lutheran victory. The Bulldogs landed a shocking 28-7 win last week against another 2A powerhouse in Providence, which snapped a 16 game losing streak. Meanwhile, Lutheran beat a perennially weak Crispus Attucks team 35-0. As much as I’d like to pick New Albany, I’m still a little hesitant. I need to see more from them before I hop aboard that train. Therefore, Lutheran is my pick. Whiteland (0-1) at 5A #6/#7 Floyd Central (1-0): The Warriors lead the all-time series with the Highlanders 3-0. This year’s game will be the first ever to take place at Floyd Central. Whiteland looked disappointing in last week’s 14-7 loss to Columbus North while Floyd Central looked mightily impressive against 3A powerhouse Gibson Southern. As opposed to the Titans, the Warriors are bigger, have more depth, and use a tricky offense so this could be a tougher game than most expect. @Fkfootball is going to call me a hater but I’ve got to see a little more evidence before I go all-in with the Highlanders. I’m taking Whiteland in a close game.

Sorry about that. Here are the PLC helmets. Not sure what I did with Mitchell. You can find it in the Google Drive folder.

Needs updated.

Only brownstown is our conference. Edgewood is mostly correct. Legs of horse more crossed. Same logo as SMU

Brownstown has a stripe down middle.

BNL Columbus North Jeffersonville New Albany Floyd Central

re: AC Mike Mosser is a heck of a Coach

Rules question (these are from AI). How can you have five in the LoS and have four players in the backfield in eight-man football? ETA: Also in Indiana do teams play on narrower fields? And do they play on 80- or 100-yard field lengths? Team and Line Requirements Players: Each team has 8 players on the field at a time. Line of Scrimmage: Only 5 players are required on the line of scrimmage at the snap (compared to 7 in 11-man). Backfield: A maximum of 4 players may be in the backfield.

Faith Christian started in 8-man from having no football and moved to 11-man. 8-man was a good way for them to "introduce" football to the school and then get enough critical mass from that interest to expand into 11-man. It's still tough sledding for them as a school without an established football culture, but I think schools with no football, can leverage the 8-man option to start dipping the toe. Similarly, it's an opportunity for smaller schools that might be struggling to take a step back without actually killing the sport completely.

I'm sure Cathedral has some recruits too. What's the skinny?

Do you pay for a CalPreps subscription? If not, how are you getting to the predictions?

I live in Boston. No kids yet. Ticket prices are absurd for Patriots, Red Sox, and Celtics games. Red Sox tickets were affordable before they went on this dang hot streak!

8-man or 11-man football - let the school decide, let the community decide, let the players play and learn lessons for life.

"Owensboro" is misspelled as "Owesnboro" FYI